Werner Herzog
1993
60 minutes
This is another Herzog documentary you're not going to remember very well. You will remember the circumstances under which you watch this more than the actual film, which deals with a Russian holy man named Vissarion and some lost city in Siberia.
What you'll remember instead is watching this at Pillion tea shop, a cozy cafe run by a couple who often come in the coffee shop where you do most of your writing. The shop is named after the second passenger seat on a motorbike. Since you no longer drink caffeine, you come in there sometimes for herbal tea. They have a particularly delicious tea/tisane that you enjoy which is a blend of raspberry and blackberry leaf, licorice root, alfalfa, lemon peel, anise, lemongrass, and bachelor's button petals. According to their website the tea is "subtle, sweet, and smooth" and offers up hints of black licorice candy. You've always been the weirdo who likes the black Twizzlers and the black jelly beans.
One regret in your life is the time in German class in high school that the Danish foreign exchange student brought in a treat called Saltlakrids or Salmiaklakrits, a sort of salty licorice which was apparently part of her family's Christmas tradition she wanted to share. This was universally panned by the American palates in the class. Some smartass asked her what the hell Santa brought the naughty kids if this is what the nice ones ended up with. She was clearly disappointed and nearly in tears at this universal rejection of her candy. You actually found it appealing aside from the saltiness, which was a weird vibe, and you wish you could have been the one to tell her that you only found it mildly vile.
Years later you'd grab a bag of salmiakki on a trip to Chelsea Market in New York to give it another try. To your surprise you found it much tastier than you remember, something that grows on you after having more than one piece. Some things are like that. You won't be adding salt to your herbal licorice tea any time soon, but you're glad you tried it again with a more mature palate.
It's a bit like a counterexample to the extremely inappropriate joke about broccoli:
How is broccoli like anal sex?
If someone forced you to have it as a kid, then you probably won't enjoy it as an adult.
Time to choose something different: