Tete-a-Tea continued - There's always time for Tea

Experience the goodness

You probably read my first post on tea. Well, my search for finding non-caffeinated tea alternatives led me to explore small local tea places. I was fortunate to find this little gem of a place called Jayida che that serves good tea with a great heart. 

When I walked into the cafe I saw Aleathia, one of the partners, very purposefully packing each tea bag with her own hands, getting them ready for a baby shower. And that visual sort of put all my questions in perspective…I was also able to gather more hands on knowledge about certain topics that I was keen about. 

For example, some non-caffeinated teas have berries and flowers in them and I have really wondered about the benefit of that since most of the nutrients would be lost in the drying and steeping process. I have heard multiple responses and reasons for that one but Aleathia’s was probably the most impressionable one - “It’s about the experience. Berries and flowers make the flavor of the tea "round" and treat your taste buds and that's important”. For those on a health quest trying to hunt for the "most healthy ingredients”, an often overlooked fact is that it is the experience that gives you the happiness…Tea can be anti-inflammatory and full of antioxidants and all of that, but its impact on your body will be more if you truly "experience" the goodness. Your body will then respond better to all the ingredients.

My nutritionist friend, Tamila mentions about how food is like fashion. It changes by the season, it evolves over time and it's different for different people. One must keep an open mind, try different things and never be afraid to change if something is not working for you. And that is true for tea as well. The options are infinite, so explore different flavors and blends and see what suits you.

Blends can get really interesting

Check out these blends, makes you want to try each one of them

pic courtesy @immaculate.lens

Winter Wellness: Packed with immune supporting  herbs echinecea, nettle, mint, golden seal, black seed, and catnip.

Calming: This calming tea blend has passion flowers, catnip, and lemon verbana blended.The sedative nature of catnip helps to slow down the body’s natural cycles and induce a calm, relaxed state. Perfect as an evening beverage. 

Allergy Ally: Blend composed of green tea, nettle, pineapple, red clover, barberry root, and eucalyptus open up the upper and lower respiratory tract and helps with relief

Teatox: Contains yellow dock root, spearmint, sarsaparilla root, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and licorice root, full of herbs that help the body release harmful toxins.

Energy Adjustment: Curated with green tea, shisandra berry, mint, ginkgo leaf, gotu kola, licorice root, and ginger aids in uplifting and energizing any time of day. Popular with gym goers and pretty much anybody for a boost of energy

Balance for women: This one is a marriage of mint, yerba mate, star anise, chamomile, raspberry tea leaf, and saw palmetto to help female hormones balance out during pmsing, menustrual cycle and menopause

Hakuna Matata : Has lavender, chamomile, St. Johns Wart, and ginseng. A feel good tea that can brighten up your day and give you a jumpstart when you're feeling low

Snooze Button : This soothing Chamomile blend has a hint of sage and is splashed with sweet papaya. Very popular with kids.

The list can go on.

So how do you go about fixing the most perfect cup of goodness?

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•     Steep to perfection

             The process of steeping (to soften the leaves and extract flavors) depends on the                 type of tea. As per this website  the following should be used as a guideline.

o    For standard black tea, freshly boiled water should be used - with temperatures above 95°C (203°F).  

o    Water should be left to cool down for at least 30 seconds when making green and white tea, with a recommended temperature of 74°C to 85°C (160°F to 203°F). 

o    Oolong tea is best steeped in 85°C (185°F) water. 

o    Herbal teas should be steeped in water with a temperature of 95°C (203°F). 

o    Regardless of the temperature, the standard explained that tea should be steeped for six minutes.

These temperatures are just guidelines. Don't go by the book, experiment. Just remember the herbal and other lighter teas like green tea, the temperature should be below boiling point else you will get a bitter flavor. For other black teas etc. just about boiling point. If your tea is made from spices like cinnamon, clove, cumin, turmeric etc. then one can boil it till it reduces to half the amount, or bring the tea to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes depending on the ingredients and the potency you are looking for                    

A sweet deal

When it comes to sweeteners, a lot of my friends use honey. Honey, the honey becomes toxic at 40 degrees C…a definite no no. Try using organic jaggery
(Jaggery is an unrefined sugar product made in Asia and Africa. It's sometimes referred to as a "non-centrifugal sugar," because it's not spun during processing to remove the nutritious molasses) available at any Indian store. Even better, find a blend of tea that has a natural sweetness to it.

• Bags to riches

When choosing tea bags, pick the premium ones that come in a silk sort of material. These are fine. Your tea bag should not only be non-toxic but should also have enough room for the tea to expand. So the tea bag should ideally be filled 1/3rd with tea leaves. Unbleached, un-chlorinated cotton muslin tea bags are equally good. Here's an example from Amazon. These tea bags are reusable and useful in case you don't want to carry loose tea around, to your work place for example.

• Let loose

The best way to make tea is to use the good old loose tea which you can then strain with a stainless steel strainer. This gives the herbs and tea leaves enough room to expand and lend flavor. It's safe and healthy.

• Always, always the small business around the corner or even across town

I had over a 100 teas to choose from
at a Russian Crepes Tea House at Springfield, MA

If you have a choice, go with a small local tea place that uses good ingredients, cares about how they make their tea and helps you find your potion. Ready made tea off the shelves, is ground in big machines, made into more of a powder so it takes less space to package and is not as fresh. You’d rather go with tea blended fresh and in small batches so you get the best flavor and benefits. 

Honestly, I think I might do more girl's lunches and dates with hubby at a tea house. Find a small quaint nook and have endless conversations, as the steam from the teapot blurs out the chaos around us and hot tea keeps reviving our connections.

Cheers!

Ayesha

Choose WellThee is about making choices that enhance your Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual wellness. Follow me on facebook to keep yourself posted on exciting events in the wellness space.