Tea with a Purpose

There are many times that a friend will come up to me with a problem, physical or mental, and one of my first responses will be, "I have a tea for that." I am a firm believer in herbal medicine, but it definitely needs to be used correctly. It is much more effective as a preventative measure, helping to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing over time. If you want to keep your cardiovascular system in better shape, drink black tea. If you have a heart attack, go to a doctor. There's no replacement for proper medical care when actions need to be taken quickly.

As herbs affect each person differently, there is no foolproof way to maintain anything without trying it out first, but plants generally have similar effects for each person. Mint is a good muscle relaxant, and is often associated with calm or sleep in the brain. Liquorice root can be used to help sooth an upset stomach or digestive system (though I personally hate the taste of it). Raspberry leaves help maintain healthy skin, and have also been shown to help new mothers' skin recover after giving birth.

The list of what herbal teas can do for you goes on and on. There are so many plants in the world, we don't fully understand what they all do and are constantly discovering new uses for them. Beyond physical effects, we create associations in our brain between smells or tastes and emotion.  Scent is actually one of the strongest senses when it comes to creating memories. Jasmine tea (specifically Jasmine Silvery Pearl, a Chinese green tea) is my go to for relaxing after a hard day. No matter how much shit has gone down, after the second infusion, I feel myself just breath and let go of the stress. When I need to wake up, Chocolate Mint Keemun tea never fails. It also has the added benefit of not getting bitter if I get busy and forget about it. Each tea develops its own specific sets of circumstances you drink them under, over time. I even have specific teapots and cups for certain teas (Matcha looks so cool in a clear glass mug).

Find your teas' purpose. You never know when the right cup of something at the right time can turn a day for the better.

Toodles!

Plantie and the Fallen

Plantie sits, surrounded by the remains of his fallen brethren. Do not fear Plantie, their remains shall be given the honour they deserve.

The Wonders of Tea

After a brief (and fairly pointless) argument with my significant other last night, I removed myself from the situation and made a cup of tea. While staring at the tea as it steeped, I came to a realization. This blog shouldn't be written the way I have so far. People don't an anonymous crap if I type with proper grammar, or use eloquent sentences. I can write this in my own style of writing, with my own preference for sentence structure, whatever I choose. If I decided to code my computer so that it wrote in the Draconic script from Skyrim, it wouldn't matter. This is my little corner of the internet; I'll write however I damn well want to.

On a slightly different note, chamomile tea is a wonderful thing to have at one in the morning, after an argument and when you need to quiet your mind. Chamomile tea, although having a distinct smell that many people dislike, is very soothing. It's a smooth tea, slightly yellow in colour. It also tastes best when freshly made, allowing it to sit for any length of time to cool is not a good idea.

Speaking of tea, it was an odd feeling when I realize that I know more about tea than some of the people who work at the stores I buy my tea from. Chamomile is an herbal tea, specifically it's a flower. Herbal teas like this, as well as black teas, are steeped with boiling water (98 degrees Fahrenheit). White and green tea cannot be brewed with water this temperature, as the leaves will singe and create a bitter flavour. The reason I explain all of this is because a tea I recently purchased contained chamomile and both black and white tea leaves, among other things. The combination of leaf types led me to assume that I should use the water temperature for white tea, so as to not ruin the flavour. When I asked the worker who recommended the tea, he replied along the lines of "Use boiling water. The white tea won't burn, but the chamomile might. Since there isn't much chamomile in this tea, it should be fine with boiling water." Short of recommending flavours of teas I have yet to try, I don't think I'll put much weight into employees opinions of teas.

Tea is a wonderful thing, with a blend for just about anything. I shall make myself a pot of it now.

-Life's a flam