1. Pick a tea based on the time of day and what effects you want.
MORNING KICKER. If it’s the morning and you want a caffeine-packed drink to get you started, go for a Golden Honey black tea or Matcha green tea. Not only are these deliciously caffeine-rich, but they are also delicious with lots of breakfast foods- granola, toast, and fruit are all wonderful pairings. I recommend trying Golden Honey and Matcha with a splash of milk once in a while for a creamier, comforting drink to start your day.
CREATIVE JUICE. If you need a tea that’ll help fuel a creative project or get you through a tough problem at work, enjoy a steaming cup of Bai Mu Dan white tea. White teas are known as the intellectual’s tea because they encourage thoughts, daydreams, and overall creativity*. The amino acid called L-Theanine that is present in tea, is responsible for this effect because it stimulates a certain type of brainwave*. Added Bonus: this amino acid can also help you meditate, so if you’ve been having trouble settling your mind, grab a cup of Bai Mu Dan tea as a start.
SOOTHING SERUM. It’s evening and you want a tea to help you decompress and digest. In this scenario, I recommend an herbal tisane like Rose Buds or Soba Cha. Rose Buds is soothing and therapeutic, wonderfully paired with a bath. Soba Cha is a great digestive aid and tastes like popcorn or wheat toast. Soba Cha is nice to drink while watching a movie to curb cravings.
2. Make time for your tea.
We all have places to go, people to see, lists to check, and projects to accomplish but making time for your tea can mean making time for yourself and your sanity. I think we‘ve all tried to take up meditation, yoga, or journaling to reach our self-care goals but often these activities hold inconsistent places in our lives and never truly become habits.
Drinking tea is a simple solution, that doesn’t require following a class schedule or paying a membership fee. You can enjoy tea by yourself or with others, at any time of day, and as much as you like. Tea has an incredible ability to make you feel centered, grounded, and refreshed. Put simply: drinking tea is a do-able and flexible self-care activity.
If you don’t want to sit with your tea, take it to go. Live your life and run your errands with a travel mug but when it comes time to take a sip, be mindful. What do you taste? How do you feel? How is that changing as you work your way down the cup?
This mindfulness is a very important part of enjoying the experience of tea.
3. Re-infuse the leaves.
To make the most out of your tea from a quality AND quantity perspective, please reinfuse the tea leaves. A single teaspoon of good quality tea can and should be infused more than once. Not only will you get more tea from the same quantity of leaves, but you’ll also experience how the flavor and effects of the tea change across infusions.
A tea may taste smoky in the first infusion, caramel in the second, and bananas in the third. Each tea is unique and has a journey to take you on- listen to your tea.
4. Share your tea.
Once in a while, share your tea with friends, family, coworkers, and others to make the most of the experience of tea.
The tea time tradition has been a ritual for hundreds of years in many countries from England, to China, to Japan. Tea time is a simple activity that with repetition over time, has become an important societal pillar in these countries.
Tea has the power to fuel interesting conversation and new types of bonds with the people around you. I encourage you to build your own rituals and share a cup of tea with loved ones to enjoy the tea and your relationships in new ways.
Invite your girlfriends over on a Sunday afternoon for tea and talk about your weekends, your plans, and projects for the week. Or, ask your family to sit with you after dinner and have a soothing herbal tisane before going to bed.
Cheers!
Photographer: www.pexels.com/@daria
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.