Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Steep Thoughts- The 'Why Tea Is Better For Me' Edition


I used to be a morning coffee drinker, but for the past few years I reach for tea. Lately, Rishi Organic China Breakfast is my go-to morning tea. It's strong, with a good bold flavor, and is very smooth. It's also easy to find at my corner store, so I can replenish when necessary and not wait for a delivery. There are other Yunnan teas that I love for the morning, but China Breakfast has just been my recent favorite.

Nowadays when there is a lull in our morning craziness I prepare it in my tumbler, take out the strainer, and tote it along to work. I like to sip it while I'm on the train so I can relax for a few minutes and read a book. So by the time I get to the office I'm almost sane, and awake.

I had an accidental experiment the other day- there was a large amount of coffee left over from a brunch party, and I decided to take some in my tumbler instead of my morning cuppa tea (I know that is blasphemy, but I don't like to waste things). I sipped the coffee on my morning commute, and I didn't have the overall feeling of peace I usually do while I'm drinking tea and reading my book. Sitting on a crowded (and often smelly) train is not exactly setting the stage for relaxation, but good tea plus a good book usually does the trick. But when I arrived to work, I felt anxious, and unsatisfied. It didn't occur to me until later that it was the coffee! I brewed some coffee the next day, and tried again. Still anxious and unhappy. Today I switched back to my usual tea, and voila! Such a better morning. Even though I was up at 3am with an antsy toddler, I still felt more relaxed than if I had a cup of coffee.

So today as I steep my second cup of Yunnan, I am thinking about how tea enhances my mornings, keeps me more aware, at peace. Tea friends, what is in your morning cup?

6 comments:

  1. I just put your link up on my blog. Love your posts. have a wonderful tea day.

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  2. Thanks so much Yvonne! Love your blog as well, great artwork!!

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  3. I really like Rishi's China Breakfast; I think in general, black teas from Yunnan province make great strong breakfast teas.

    Today though, my first cup of tea was a Singbulli Darjeeling from Harney and Sons, one of the two black teas I've ever given a perfect score to.

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  4. wow, I love Darjeeling, so I will need to check that one out.

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  5. I used to be an avid coffee drinker. I was the person who could easily polish off 40+ oz. of coffee before noon. It really did wreak havoc on my body; it gave me heart palpitations! Later I switched to tea, and while it kept me alert and awake, it didn't have all the negative side effects coffee gave me. I also discovered I needed less tea to keep me awake. So, for nearly three years, I drank tea every day and rarely had a cup of coffee.

    That's kind of changed recently. Unfortunately. I started a new job, and I'm in such a rush in the morning that I haven't figured out how to incorporate tea into my routine. I think I need to invest in one of those tumblers you mentioned. I have a lot of loose leaf tea, but I don't really have all the tools to brew myself a cup of tea at work without creating a huge mess. So, anyway...I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately. Nothing close to 40 oz., but it's still way more than I'd like.

    I notice that it's been making me feel really anxious too. And that's certainly not how I need to feel considering my job is kind of high stress!

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  6. Hi Jackie, a tumbler is a great idea. you can try the one i have from DAVIDsTEA which is http://www.davidstea.com/accessories/travel-mugs-2/noble-glass-travel-mug or I also hear that Libre makes a good one: http://retailshop.libretea.com/ There are certainly others out there so you should do some research and see what works well for you!

    do you have access to a microwave at work? if so you can heat up water that way. or you could get a simple electric kettle to get hot water quickly. or is there a coffee machine with a hot water spout? I hope you can get tea to be part of your regimen again! Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help out!

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