I’m an iced tea guy.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020–27 Days to 40

Have you ever seen Spike Lee’s film Clockers? This is hard for me to believe but the film was released almost exactly 25 years ago. And I was there in the theater on opening night.

The movie introduced us to Mekhi Phifer, who landed the lead role in an open casting call. Clockers also had a phenomenal soundtrack that included the DJ Premiere-produced, “Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers” and Marc Dorsey’s “People in Search of a Life,” a beautiful, jazzy and mellow ballad that opens the movie, played over very realistic-looking, simulated gruesome crime scene photos. That stark contrast is chilling.

All in all, Clockers is a very good film. It’s not my favorite Spike Lee joint, or even in my top three of his movies but I like it.

There’s one aspect of that movie that has had an impact on my life, and is still very much in my life each and every day. And I will admit, it’s kind of weird.

Phifer’s character Strike is seen throughout the film drinking a beverage called Chocolate Moo, which I’m guessing was a fictional version of Yoo-hoo. And everyone knew that it was Strike’s drink of choice. It comes up throughout the film. It’s very much a part of his identity. If The Big Lebowski (my favorite movie of all-time) is more your speed, it’s like The Dude’s White Russian.

And 14-year-old me thought to myself, I need to have a drink to be my thing too. What drink that would be was actually a very decision for me. It was iced tea.

I’ve always loved iced tea. In my childhood, I drank iced tea mostly at home in a pitcher made from a powder mix, a powder mix that I spilled more on the kitchen floor than I actually drank. For that reason, my father was not a fan of that mix.

At 14, when I had some lunch money in my pocket and access to a vending machine, I upgraded from the mix to a can of iced tea. Lipton Brisk was in the vending machine. And that would be my drink of choice throughout high school. I’m not entirely sure anyone in high school noticed that it was my thing, but if they were paying attention they would have known what’s up.

In college I upgraded from Lipton Brisk to Snapple. And what a fine upgrade that was. I don’t drink alcohol (we’ll cover that when we get to 21 days) so being the guy drinking a Snapple at a party while others were drinking out of red solo cups made me stand out. Snapple became my thing. I had succeeded in my very strange mission of making a drink a part of my identity.

And it would go far behind college and into my adult life all the way up to 2014. I was the Snapple guy.

It took me all the way until I was 34 years-old to realize that maybe drinking all of those calories wasn’t a great idea. But it’s so delicious. I know. And it’s also my thing. People buy Snapple for me. Tim and Snapple go together like peanut butter and jelly, Jordan and Pippen, Scorsese and De Niro. Am I really going to quit that sweet, sweet, so very sweet, Snapple iced tea?

Yeah, I am. It’s too sweet.

This divorce wasn’t going to be easy but this divorce was very necessary. I had to cut out all that sugar. I was drinking at least three Snapple iced teas per day.

I’ll quit Snapple, but I’m not quitting iced tea, I thought. So it was time to find a replacement. A replacement iced tea that didn’t have any sugar and was actually enjoyable. Good luck! Have you drank an unsweetened iced tea that you actually liked? I hadn’t.

After a couple tries at something new, it finally happened. I found it! An unsweetened iced tea that was actually very good. Honest Tea’s “Just” Black Tea is my jam and has been ever since.

There’s one problem though, it’s not easy to find. My local Whole Foods is one of the few places that carries it. The next closest place is a good 15 minutes away.

By the way, I should say that we are talking about the glass bottle version, not the disgusting plastic bottle version. The difference between the two is so drastic, it’s hard to believe that they’re both made by Honest Tea.

The switch from Snapple to Honest Tea, although it was difficult, paid off for me. In a very short time period I lost a significant amount of weight that I will give partial credit to the new drink. Now all that weight is back, and then some (thanks a lot COVID).

But I’m happy to have Honest Tea in my life. I just wish it was easier to find. If you see any Honest Tea “Just” Black Tea at your local store, have one. But just one, and let me know so I can go buy the rest.

Or maybe the good people at Honest Tea are reading this right now and preparing an endless supply of Just Black Tea for me as a 40th birthday present? Maybe? Come on Honest Tea! Make. It. Happen.

Tim Hammill is a communications professional in the nonprofit sector. He’s turning 40 on October 20, 2020. He’s writing about the final stretch to this milestone age in 40 Days to 40, a collection of stories, thoughts, reflections and whatever else comes to mind each day. In addition to writing a blog, Tim has also decided to donate his birthday to This Is My Brave, an organization he very recently learned about that brings stories of mental illness and addiction out of the shadows and into the spotlight. If you’d like to support Tim’s birthday fundraiser, go here.

Additionally, there are three other organizations that are close to Tim’s heart: Save the Children, Stand Up To Cancer and the Bridgeport YMCA. Click on each to learn more and to support their work.