A simple and effective way to take a relaxing break is to brew yourself a cup of tea. Tea has a strong association with being calm, peaceful, and bringing you back into the moment. It’s something that we often sit down and enjoy, rather than something we line up at the drive-thru for.
You can never rush through a cup of tea. In the first place, you don’t want to burn your tongue. Secondly, it takes several minutes for your tea to properly steep, so enjoying it requires some patience. Every culture seems to have their own rituals and methods when it comes to preparing and serving tea. Regular tea-totalers will tell you it’s worth giving tea a try.
Here are a few tea basics from realcampus.ca:
White Tea – White tea is uncured, unfermented tea. It generally has a sweet, light grassy flavour.
Green Tea – Green tea often gets a bad rap. It is sensitive; if you use boiling hot water on these leaves then they will burn. Another factor is how long it’s steeped. This tea needs 2-3 minutes tops. This may not be ideal for people who brew a cup of tea and then walk away, so a timer is helpful!
Oolong Tea – Is it a green tea? Is it a black tea? Well, it’s sort of in between. Oolong tea can vary greatly in flavour, ranging from nutty to fruity to floral. This tea has a lot of longevity as the same leaves can often be steeped up to six times!
Black Tea – Black tea seems to be the one that everyone has in their cupboards, even if they don’t drink tea. It’s often used as a base for flavoured teas, although many people enjoy it on its own.
Rooibos Tea – Rooibos, which is pronounced “ROY-boss”, is a naturally caffeine free tea from South Africa. All of the previous teas mentioned are from the same plant called, camellia sinensis, which is why they are all caffeinated. Rooibos, also called Red Bush tea, is a different plant altogether. Much like black tea, rooibos is often used for flavoured blends and can be made with milk and sugar.
Herbal Tea – Herbal teas are actually not teas at all! They are called tisanes. Herbal blends can be made from anything including herbs, spices, dried fruits, and even chocolate.
So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or irritable,
