Magic Tea: Johar Joshanda

Everyone is getting sick. EVERYONE. Colds turn into bronchitis, fevers turn into the flu...and I am terrified of being down for the count. I do not do well when I'm sick and neither does Alex. And when we're BOTH sick...it ain't pretty, guys.

So back in March of last year (omg it's 2018. Happy New Year, btw) we went to visit Asia and stayed with some family friends in Hong Kong. It was the third city we'd traveled to in 10 days and between all the airports and nasty dry air in the plane cabins and germs...I woke up one morning with that feeling in my chest and throat and I just KNEW I was going to get sick. I mentioned this to my Tita Susie (my mom's bff from high school) and she said, "Stay there, I'm gonna get you some of this tea." And she brought out a few packets of Johar Joshanda.

She told me, "This is going to help prevent you from getting sick. I swear, it's magic." IIRC, one of her daughters worked with a Pakistani woman who introduced her to this tea and said the same thing: It's magic.

I was a little skeptical because that's what I heard about Emergen-C and Zinc: take both as soon as you start to have the first symptoms of getting sick and and it will help stave off the cold. Unfortunately I had the opposite effect and whenever I would do the Vitamin C and Zinc combo, the next day I'd wake up with a full blown fever and deep cough.

So I drank the tea, and drank another one that evening. I woke up the next morning and I still felt a little tickle in my throat but drank another tea. And then the morning after that, I didn't feel any symptoms. And I kept feeling no symptoms.

I guess it worked but I still wasn't a true believer because that could have been a fluke. Was my scratchy throat really due to me starting to get sick or because I've been in 3 planes in 10 days?

Fast forward a few months and THREE separate times I have felt I was going to get sick, I drank this tea...and none of the times has it turned into anything.

You guys. FOUR TIMES cannot be a fluke.

So let's talk about the taste. It's not wonderful but it's not terrible and it's definitely not medicinal. Kinda licorice-y, kind of minty, a little sweet. (Which makes sense because those are the three main ingredients.) It's not a tea I'd drink for the taste but if it prevents me from getting sick, I'll drink the whole damn box.

Buy it on prime and thank me later. (30 packets is only $7.99!!!)