Daily Archives: May 11, 2022

Travel/Food

Origins of matcha

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By: Ashley Harris

Image taken from:
https://mymatchalife.com/matcha-history/

Matcha was originally discovered in the 8th century by a Buddhist monk named Myoan Eisai. However, matcha was not made popular until the 12 century. There is no specific place where matcha was first found, but it can be traced back all the way to the Tang Dynasty in China.

Contrary to popular belief, matcha’s original form is not powder. In fact, to make just 30 grams of matcha, it takes on average, 1 hour to produce.

You might be wondering how exactly matcha is created. Well, it’s actually pretty simple despite the amount of time it takes. According to TeaSource, “It is made from the highest grade of Gyokuro Japanese green tea. The finest shade-grown tea buds are plucked, the stems and veins are removed, and the leaves are carefully ground into a fine powder.”

While matcha can be drunk by itself, it is widely preferred in many different flavors and milks. Some popular milk choices involve, almond milk, oat milk, whole milk, and even goats milk. As well as this, there are many different flavors to choose from such as, brown sugar, toffee nut, raspberry, cinnamon, strawberry, and pretty much anything you can think of!

Image taken from:
https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0001056/

It is not only the sweet earthy flavor that draws people towards matcha, in fact, matcha has countless amounts of health properties such as: enrichment of antioxidants, possible protection of the liver, boosting in brain function, prevention of cancer, promotes heart health, and many more.

Matcha has been evolving since its first day of arrival in the 8th century. From only drinking it with water, to being able to order a venti matcha frappuccino at Starbucks, matcha has paved the way for many teas around the world.

So, now that you know more about matcha, are you willing to give it a try?

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ teaser

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By: Salman Said

Thor mediating and staring at the sunset, on a different planet. ( Thor: Love & Thunder Teaser ) Image taken from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgB1wUcmbbw

The new teaser for ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ has arrived and the teaser garnered 34 million views on YouTube in the first 10 days of its release. The last we saw of the lovable god was during ‘Endgame’ when he went into a deep depression from the deaths of his family, and failure to save the universe. Towards the end of the movie he finds solace and begins his travels with the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

During the teaser he goes through a rigorous training montage wearing a trucker hat titled “Strongest Avenger” a memento to the self-proclaimed nickname he gave himself in ‘Thor Ragnarok’. Afterwards, he comes out muscular; his hair is back to its long blond ponytail look, and his prosthetic eye finally matches the color of his other eye.

The song that plays in the teaser, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns N Roses, depicts Thor’s new found freedom after vacating his royal position to Valkyrie. The song fully captures Thor’s transition to a new portion of his life. He exclaims “My superhero days are over” before the beat drops, only adding onto the fact that he’s ready for this new transition. We also see him promptly leave the Guardians of the Galaxy, further doubling down his previous exclamation.

The teaser points to a more peaceful phase in Thor’s life, one without war and bloodshed. Toward the middle we see Thor soberly looking at a snowy monster. In the comics, this monster was a god itself and a long-time friend of Thor. We don’t see the antagonist, Gorr the God Butcher, in the teaser, but seeing the corpse of a god, it’s safe to say that Gorr was the culprit. 

Gorr, who’s played by Christian Bale, is set to make his MCU debut this July. In the comics, Gorr was born in a barren land without food or water. Gorr’s family and village were very pious and prayed for salvation from the gods, but their prayers were never answered. Gorr tragically lost his pregnant wife due to these conditions and was left widowed with one son. When his son, Agar, was near death, Gorr lied to him to ease his suffering. Agar subsequently died soon after.

The grieving father stumbles on 2 gods fighting on his planet. In disbelief Gorr stands and watches but, one of the gods begins to cry out for Gorr’s help; angered that a god was asking for his help after countless times Gorr himself cried out for their help, he picks up the All-Black Necro Blade, and murders the god. 

Now on a mission to murder every single god, punishing them for their laziness and mistakes, he flies across the universe with the Necro-Blade and murders gods, one by one.