One day, "Mutato" Assistant Editor Doug Cummings came into the luxurious "Mutato" headquarters, shaking his head with disbelief.

"They have green tea ice cream upstairs."

"Oh yeah," I said. "I've had it. It's great." I explained to him that I had worked for a Japanese restaurant that served the said ice cream flavor, and it was actually really good.

After trying it, Doug was hooked. For a while, the two of us lived in a wonderland of Student Union dining. In the mornings, Doug and I would sip mimosas and snack on the Fiddlee Fig's tasty "Green Tea Ice Cream Breakfast Sandwiches." By noon, we would find ourselves wandering over to Louie's Lower Level, specifically to the Green Tea Ice Cream Grazing Bar. And then we had a sensible dinner.

It seems that they no longer serve green tea ice cream upstairs, however - a realization that was never voiced between Doug and I. We just quietly went about our own separate eating pursuits - occasionally the stray Taco Bell Bean Burrito would bring us together, but only for a moment. Needless to say, our friendship suffered (as did our working relationship, as anyone who saw our first issue this year can attest to).

The days at our "Mutato" penthouse seemed to blur together. Occasionally, I would venture into Louie's Lower Level and find myself staring at the empty offerings of the Grazing Bar for hours. I was like this, in fact, when Doug literally bounced up to me recently, a certain spring in his step, a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Hey ... I just had an iced green tea," he proclaimed, absentmindedly popping fried shrimp into his mouth without weighing them or paying for them. "Yeah ... Arizona makes an 'Iced Green Tea with Honey' drink. It's great!"

I wanted to believe Doug. After all, I had enjoyed a few bottles of Arizona's "Iced Tea with Ginseng," and besides, Doug only lied about his past. Strangely enough, however, the heralded confection could not be found. I tried all the usual spots - convenience stores, drug stores, supermarkets - but to no avail. I regarded Doug with a knowing wink whenever he would reference his new found pleasure drink, but inside I was a troubled man.

That is, until this weekend, when another friend chanced upon a couple of bottles of "Iced Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey" at Osco. First I regarded the bottle's packaging. Replacing Arizona's usual southwestern tack was a serene, Orient-influenced nature painting. A soothing green (similar, yet a little more pastel, to the color of our once-loved ice cream) backs a serene pond replete with koi. Suitably relaxed, I cracked open the bottle and let the sunshine flow.

Arizona's "Iced Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey" is the supreme bottled beverage. You can have your Jostas, your Jolts, your little colas ... but come home to the best. The gentle bitterness of green tea melds with Sue Bee honey, chasing down your throat in a moment few are worthy of experiencing. This is no ordinary Snapple knockoff. This is spiritual.

I called the Arizona Beverage Company for answers to some of the questions that flooded into my brain after my new enlightenment.

For instance, why green tea?

Francie Patton, vice president of corporate communications, says, "We've seen how people are very interested in health drinks. Green tea is very healthy. But it's very hard for people to make a good green tea. We found a recipe that worked, and we were able to tie into Sue Bee Honey."

I asked her if the tea was very popular, and explained the difficulty I had had in finding it.

"We can't make enough of it," she laughed. "(Our customer service line) has been ringing off the hook. We have three different plants that are able to put the label on it, and they can't put the labels on as fast as we can sell it."

Patton talked to me for awhile about the health benefits of green tea - potential anti-cancer agent, prevents tooth decay, aids in digestion - and ginseng - a natural energy-booster. But when I asked her about the high level of high fructose corn syrup, there was silence. I'm not the healthiest person or anything, but if I had one complaint about the "Iced Green Tea," it would be its sweetness.

"I don't know," Patton hedged. "We'll look into (a version with no corn syrup)."

When I asked if the beverage company had any other daring plans up their sleeves, she was more forthcoming.

"We have ideas stacked up like planes on a runway. Just watch."

Until then, share in Doug's and my secret.

You won't be sorry.

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