Tea!

There are few things in the world as delightful as a cup of tea.

It is an inexpensive luxury that I take in every day. To sit in silence in the early morning with a hot cup of tea in hand, is a great blessing.

Ninety-five percent of the time, I use loose-leaf teas. This makes blending easy, besides being healthier. In the morning, I will blend black, green, or white tea with any of these healthful herbs: nettle leaf, dandelion leaf, tulsi, echinacea, red raspberry leaf, lemon balm, or pau d'arco. Currently, my black tea is Darjeeling, my green tea is sencha, and my white tea is Himalayan. Occasionally I will brew yerba mate instead of tea. If I'm pressed for time I will throw a bagged tea in my thermos, but I typically have time for the full loose-leaf brew.

In the afternoon, I usually just brew a second steeping of the morning's tea. That's the beauty of loose-leaf. In the evening, after dinner, I will typically clean out the infuser and start over with a non-caffeinated tisane. My favorite evening tisanes include a blend of chamomile, lavender and peppermint, a blend of lemon balm and peppermint, tulsi and lavender or peppermint, or rooibos, by itself. I tried a rooibos chai once, but didn't care for it.

If I am exceedingly tired and don't want to clean out the infuser and start anew, I will use a bagged tisane. Of those I currently have a chamomile herbal blend (can't remember all that's in it), rose tulsi, siete azahares, chamomile saffron, rooibos hibiscus, and honey-lavender "stress relief." I also have some medicinal bagged tisanes- Throat Coat, Breathe Easy, and Smooth Move. For who wants to deal with measuring, blending and infuser cleaning when one is ill? I trust Traditional Medicinals to have pure blends. Although I will make a strong hibiscus infusion from the flowers if I have or my husband has a bad cold or flu. It is high in vitamin C.

Tonight is chamomile-lavender-peppermint. I am particularly antsy for some reason, and also last night didn't sleep well, so this is my most calming, sleep-readying tisane. Siete azahares is good too, for it has valerian and passiflora. But the loose-leaf blend I make is stronger. I do have bulk valerian root; I could add it to this tisane, but I want to save it for making tinctures.

The ritual of taking tea, caffeinated or not, is something I don't think I could happily live without. I know that I am one of many who feel this way. Many books and articles have been written on the subject. I am just happy to sing the praises of tea. 

I do wish our coffee-soaked culture would take more notice of tea. It's better-tasting, healthier, and has a smoother caffeine effect. Coffee just stains your teeth, gives you bad breath, and becomes a vehicle for all kinds of empty calories in the form of sweeteners, creamers, whipped cream, artificial flavorings, and the like. Tea is just leaves and water.

Some add honey to their tea; I usually only do so if I am ill. I don't add milk to any tea but plain black or Earl Grey, and only add lemon to green tea if it is iced. Never, under any circumstances, will I add sugar to tea. Not even iced tea.

The region where I live does take good notice of tea; there is a number of tea houses to choose from, as well as plenty of good sources for loose-leaf tea in bulk. Some of my best memories center around tea. There's nothing like it in the world.