Thursday, January 31, 2013

Digestion no Question with Tea in Possession.

I just ate a banana, and now I'm itching for a cup of tea.

I know that it seems as if most of my tea posts are in the vein of Dr. Seuss, but it is very important to understand that tea really does much to change the way I live my daily life. Tea is a balanced part of why I can eat my daily bread, so to speak (Don't get it twisted in the days of the gluten-free trend). It is a very deeply instilled practice to drink the tea and use it to find myself in some of the deepest, most profound meditations. Tea is recommended solace against the backdrop of woes in the world. I just had a jasmine cup and now, a cucumber lime white tea. It sounded so different and delicious that I could not leave it in the store. It was an unnatural act at that moment and I could not deny myself the pleasure of that experience. So I indulged. I'm not a big bag afficionado, but sometimes they have some of the most interesting blends. All my mind settles on is the fact that I just bought a box worth twenty teaspoons of the bottom of the barrel tea fannings, just like the 2 percent "other" that hotdogs possess. But I digress.

I didn't steep the bag long, and for some reason, it was perfectly on the money. The lime essence rang true against the very soft hint and mostly mental cue of the cucumber. The white tea leaves graciously played father to the flavors and married the two with no objections. The fragrance of the cup threatened a much different, more orange-inspired flavor to come forth, but the easy steep and brilliantly blended flavor made the original intention a complete success.

Ultimately, having a cup of something hot can help with digestion, but with tea to steep with it, provides greater benefit even by its association.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Tea as medication, leads me to meditation.

Yes. My body is weary and hurting, I am taking on the energies of others, I have rehearsed all day and worked all week, I've dealt with emotional meltdowns because in order to heal you must feel. Sooooo...into a cup of coffee we go.

Wait.

I only use coffee when there is a dire need for a head change with a caffeinated jumpstart, and apparently this is what we are dealing with. So I grabbed a Starbucks by clear past 3. I'm not too well hydrated, I haven't exercised beyond the dancing we did today, and I promised I'd go to a show tonight, so my time is limited. Once again, coffee takes the lead. But I know what happens if I keep the coffee in my body by itself...

So I'm making a cup of tea.

Yes.

Tea after coffee is never sweeter. Tea after everything is truly the right thing to do. I use tea to medicate the coffee, making it safer to drink, believe it or not. You see, coffee spins me out. I know. I should be able to just drink the tea and not the coffee...but then there are these DAYS, you know? It's very simple. Those are the days when you just have to do what you have to do. So it's coffee. But the tea...the tea has high power. The tea is far more useful, kind of like a bandage instead of a bullet to the head. That's a rough analogy. It's more like a kiss on the forehead instead of a slap on the face. There. That sounds better.

Okay. Having said that, my tea drinking in full bloom keeps me from crazy immunity issues. The more tea I drink, the more I feel my mind, body and soul sending me deep messages. These deep messages definitely speak to a more intuitive process somewhere within, like traveling into the pit of my wellbeing. Tea goes in and finds me. I'd like it to fish out some discipline for me, and that award-winning book that's waiting to be written. It will be. I am already victorious if I'm even courting the idea. How about all those books I still need to read??? Tea will find that time I'm looking for, to sit with a cup of it, and wax on and off over a book that needs to read...and written.

You see? Above you will find a meditation. The tea, it led me there.

The Tea Shot

It might be a bit bold and bitter to take a heaping tablespoon of tea and steep in about 4 oz. of water for 5 to 10 minutes, but it succeeds in making a killer cup of tea latte every morning. In fact I'm sure many tea pundits would probably shriek at me, for flavors, tannins, character, and the like. But what if that tea was seriously only intended for the purpose of providing a bit of caffeinated early morn bliss, if there ever could be some? Tea latte has been my savior many a morning.

Having said that, I practiced with making a tea concentrate with a larger volume of tea and water for a lesser steep time, then stored the concentrate, using a quarter cup per latte. I don't like them watered down, if what they are is latte. It still maintains the flavor of the tea you're making. I'm thinking it worked.

I'm also trying flavor oils directly in the tea, or flavored syrups. It simply makes me a happier person, and that makes the entire world a safer place to be. ;)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Using coconuts to cream my tea.

My tea is often more of a utiliTEA than a dramaTEAc event. Okay, kidding aside, I've been trying to find the perfect addition to the one fancy breakfast drink I choose to have daily: my tea latte. I make a tea concentrate with one heaping tablespoon of tea and steep for about ten minutes. I know that directions from other books and sites might give a variation on that theme, but my numbers work well for me. Up until this last month, I had been using soymilk. However, I decided that the soy was beginning to work the same in my mind as all the other products I had been consuming in boxes, packages and cans, and I thought I needed to make a change somewhere, so I'd begin with soy and most glutens. Well either way, the soy had to go. What was I left with? Coconut milk contains lauric acid, which is very healthy for fat metabolism. Considering that in addition to its creamy and satisfying taste, made me feel like this was a good idea.

The only thing is, after some time the coconut cream gets a little old. I grow tired of the taste and stop using it. I'm wondering if I use coconut smoothie to sweeten my tea, if that could work. My smoothie is made with a banana, coconut milk or cream, and a little bit of agave. Maybe if I continue to experiment I'll find ways to keep the coconut in my tea for longer stretches in time. I'll get back to you on that one.