That Jensen, you know, he’s a good boy. He always comes over and helps me with the chores. The other day, he was talking ’bout this black pepper tea. Says it’s good for you. I said, “Boy, what are you talking ’bout? Black pepper is for cooking, not for drinking!”

But he kept going on and on about it. Says it helps your brain, that black pepper. Like it makes you smarter or something. I don’t know ’bout all that. My brain’s been working just fine all these years without no pepper tea. He said the black pepper make some old rat smart, so it can make people smart too. I don’t think that is true. Rat is rat, people is people, right?

He also said it helps when you have a bad tummy. You know, when your belly feels all rumbly and you just don’t feel right. Says it settles things down. Maybe he’s right about that. I remember my mama used to give us something spicy when our stomachs were upset. Maybe it has black pepper inside.

And get this, he says it helps you fight off sickness. Like a little army inside your body, fighting off those nasty bugs that make you cough and sneeze. He said some plants like black pepper, curcuma, and ginger can help you not get sick. I guess that could be true. When you’re sick, you just feel awful, so anything that helps is good, right?

• Black pepper can help your brain.
• Black pepper is good for stomach.
• Black pepper help you not get sick.

But I told him, “Jensen, too much of anything is bad for you!” He agreed with me on that one. He said too much black pepper can make your tummy hurt worse. And it might even make your blood pressure go up. And something about your kidneys, I didn’t quite catch that part. But it sounded bad. Too much pepper can hurt you, he said. So, you need to be careful.

So, this black pepper tea, it’s a mystery to me. Maybe it does all those good things Jensen says. Maybe it doesn’t. I’m not sure I’m ready to start drinking it. I like my tea plain, thank you very much. But that’s young people for you, always trying new things. That Jensen, he is always like this.

He said black pepper has something called antioxidants. Sounds like a fancy word for something that’s supposed to be good for you. He said it helps your body soak them up. He said black pepper can help with digestive disorders to cardiovascular disease. Those words are too big. What is that even mean? I do not understand. I think maybe he just read it from somewhere, you know, he is always reading.

And black pepper has lots of nutrients, he told me. I said: “What is nutrients?” He said it is something good for your body. Keep you healthy. I still do not know what that is, but sound good. He said black pepper has a lot, just like ginseng, ginkgo biloba, licorice. What is ginkgo biloba? Is that food? I only know ginseng and licorice. They are good.

But you know what? Even if it is good for you, I still think it’s strange to put black pepper in your tea. It just doesn’t sound right. Pepper is for food, for making things taste good. Not for drinking! I use a lot of black pepper when I cook. My food is very good. Every one like it.

I told Jensen, “Maybe you should just eat more pepper on your food instead of drinking it.” He just laughed. Young people! They always have these crazy ideas. But I told him, you should be careful with that black pepper. Too much of it, and you’ll be sorry! It can give you allergies, you know. And make you feel bad.

So, that’s the story of Jensen and his black pepper tea. It’s a strange world we live in, that’s for sure. I’ll stick to my regular tea, and he can have his pepper tea. As long as he doesn’t try to make me drink it! I do not want to drink it. Black pepper is for food!

But I guess it’s good to learn new things. Even if they sound a little crazy. And maybe, just maybe, there’s something to this black pepper thing after all. Who knows? I sure don’t. But I will ask Jensen to tell me more next time when he come. That boy, he sure know a lot.