Magical Tea

There is nothing like a cup of tea in the morning to comfort and cheer you. Today's tea is hojicha, a roasted green tea. I'm using the same teabags as last night; my husband and I drank this tea last night after dinner. No sense in wasting them, this particular brand (YamaMotoYama) works well for second steepings. There are three "tea times" in my day:

Morning, as soon as I get up, before I eat.

Afternoon, around 2 or 3pm, before I take a run.

Evening, after dinner.

Sometimes I'll have a second morning cup of tea or tea with lunch as well, but that's less set in stone. There's just something magical about tea. I'm referring to camellia sinensis, the actual tea plant, not herbal teas, or tisanes. I do drink tisanes occasionally, particularly when I am ill or can't sleep. But most of the time I drink proper tea: green, white or black. I currently have these green teas: gunpowder, rose gunpowder, jasmine, hojicha. I currently have only Himalayan white. And I have three black teas, Earl Grey, chai (unsure of the type of black tea used) and assam. I am running out of all three; I'll have to replenish my stocks soon. 

I make note of which teas I drink and my mood before and after I drink it, in a tea log. I mark down approximately how much L-theanine (an amino acid linked to reducing stress) is in each cup. For green teas, it's about 10 mg per 8 oz. cup. Black teas have a larger amount, about 30 mg. I am unsure of the amount in white tea. Oolong has about 18 mg per cup. I would have to drink an absurd amount of tea (12 cups or more) to get a truly therapeutic level of L-theanine, but I make note of it just the same.

I believe that tea, regardless of the polyphenols and antioxidants, has a special power to soothe and rejuvenate. I don't know if it's just the action of taking tea, or something in the brew or the taste, but it's truly special. I just wish I had someone to share it with. Drinking tea alone is magical, but the magic is doubled when you share it.