TeaTime

Hello everyone.
I hope all has had a great day. Tonight, my roommate Petron asked me if I had any Tea that wasn't Fancy. Well all the tea that I have is pretty "fancy". Fancy tea translates loosely into Loose Leaf Tea.
I am a Tea Fanatic. It started when I was in college doing shows and I would have tea before every show to relax my throat and to soothe it when I started to lose my voice. In fact, I am usually drinking tea when I post. I started to really get into the whole tea scene a lot more than most people like coffee. Don't get me wrong, I have my 2-3 cups of joe in the morning and I can tell the difference between a good cup and a bad cup, but I am definitely more of a tea kind of guy.

I usually go to a place called Teavana, it's like a starbucks but not as snobby and filled with foamheaded yuppies. Everyone I have ever talked to has been really relaxed and just in love with tea. Not only can you buy tea there, they will brew you a cup to have right now. I have 7 Different kinds of tea that I keep stocked up in my house at all times. The only downside to this is that loose leaf tea is Effing Expensive!
For example, one of the many teas that I keep on hand is called Snow Geisha. Its one of the high end flavors that Teavana has and when I bought a pound of it, it costs 90 dollars. Snow Geisha itself, not on sale is 15 dollars for 2oz and 120 bucks plus tax a lb. Yeah, I was treating myself a little bit when I bought that.

This is Snow Geisha

But its not all that expensive! There are a lot of good teas out there that have exactly what you need and are fairly inexpensive compared to some of the more "high end" stuff. My all time favorite tea to have right before bed is called Night Night.


Night Night is a great bedtime drink because it will just slow you down and help you relax. Its great and it is only 6 bucks for 2oz! Those 2oz will last you a good long time too. These are just two of my favorite teas that I have in my collection.

Why do I have loose leaf tea instead of teabags?
Well here is the thing, I have nothing against teabags at all! One of my Favorite teas comes in a teabag, It is a great way to have a fast cup of tea when you want it, plus its more portable than loose leaf. The downside is that teabags often have more than just tea in them, they contain a lot of dust and stuff from storage, and the leaves dont actually get a lot of room to steap in teabags. They also don't stay as fresh. Yes! Tea can go bad! Kept in a cool dry place teabags will last between 6-8 months. While loose leaf teas are more natural with no dust, steap better and will last from 1-2 years if properly contained.

Not only are there different teas, there are different types of teas themselves.

• White, White tea often contains buds and young tea leaves, which have been found to contain lower levels of caffeine than older leaves, suggesting that the caffene content of some white teas may be slightly lower than that of green teas.
• Green, is full of EGCG which is a powerful Anti-oxidant.
• BlackDrinking black tea helps prevent deadly clogging of arteries and reverses poor arterial functioning that can trigger heart attacks and strokes, among many other things
• Oolong is more known as a weight loss tea
  
• Herbal,
  
  Achieve a more calm, relaxed state of mind
  Support heart health
  Aid with stomach and digestive problems
  Provide cleansing properties for the body
  Promote energy and wellness
• Rooibos can strongly be recommended for people suffering from Irritability, headaches, disturebed sleeping patterns, insomnia, nervous tension, mild depressioin or hypertension, as it ontains no caffeine and has a soothing effect on the central nervous system. mild depression or hypertension, as it contains no caffeine and has a soothing effect on the central nervous system.
• Mate, This tea serves as a great appetite suppressant rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and wonderful diet tea. Reports suggest Mate will keep you going longer than just caffeine, without the crash associated with drinking coffee or soft drinks.

See? Tea is incredible isnt it? Each tea can do something different for your body, your mind and your well being. You can find a tea for just about anything that ails you and I can promise you most of it will work. There is nothing better than to do when your sick than to get some Herbal tea to help, and sit back and watch cartoons.

Do you have any favorite teas? Any suggestions?