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If you are like many people, myself included, it's hard to remember to drink enough fluids when you're not hot. Most of us remember that if we're exerting our bodies physically, we need to replenish them with water, tea, or other beverages; but when temperatures drop and we find ourselves shivering our way into work, hydration is not quite so intuitive. The fact is, however, that the white mist you breathe out is actually water vapor: you lose just as much water in the winter as you do during the summer!
Dehydration is no laughing matter, either. It can cause you to become more susceptible to falling ill and can even cause you to gain weight: the symptoms of dehydration can mimic those of hunger, causing you to overindulge when you're not really hungry at all; you're thirsty (source).
A good rule of thumb is that you should drink half your weight, in pounds, in ounces of water. If you weigh 150lbs, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water, or other beverages like tea, per day, year-round. If you exercise, you should be drinking even more water than that!
Of course, it can be difficult to drink that much plain water each day, so why not give yourself an incentive to drink more fluids by drinking more tea? Brew a cup in the morning; bring a thermos with you to work; and drink a cup with dinner and after dinner. I like to indulge in roobios blends, because I don't have to worry that caffeine is causing me to lose -- and need to replace -- even more water.
The elderly are particularly susceptible to dehydration: According to a study conducted by the NIH in 1991, 6.7% of Medicare hospitalizations were at least partially due to dehydration (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8059883). Make sure your elderly loved ones have access to a wide variety of teas and other beverages to appeal to their taste buds and ensure they remain adequately hydrated! With the holidays drawing near, it may be a great time to stock your grandparents, parents, and aunts or uncles up with teaware, tea brewing accessories, and new tea blends.
I'm guilty of often over-estimating and over-brewing how much tea I really want to drink when I steep it in a pot. Sometimes I'll brew a whole pot and think that I will want to drink it all, only to drink a cup and not want anymore. I hate wasting things, and so I've tried to be more careful about how much I might realistically drink and what to do with left over tea.
There is, of course, always iced tea. I've noticed that the same kind of tea tastes totally different cold then hot, and doesn't always call for the same additional ingredients, if any at all. For example, I always put milk in my chai, but left over chai iced tea that I leave to sit in the fridge tastes much better naked and alone.
That's not the only thing I do with leftover liquid. Every so often I put some in my tropical plants. Not only the liquid, but also the tea leaves themselves. Plants that like acid or alkaline, such as azaleas, hydrangeas, dogwood, raspberries, blueberries, and most tropical plants, thrive when their soil is enhanced with the acid from teas, especially black teas. Acid-loving plants don't need this often, maybe a few times a year, but it can aid in the fullness of their leaves, the vibrancy of their color, and the overall strength and productivity of the plant. If you have a garden, the spring is a good time to mix tea leaves in with the soil, or you can add liquid tea or leaves to water and water your garden with this mixture.
Otherwise, tea leaves are always a great addition to a compost pile. This helps to aid in the breakdown of organic matter in the compost, and gives the soil nitrogen. Nothing needs to be wasted!
For a long time, I thought of myself as a promiscous sort of tea drinker. I'd drink whatever was put in front of me, as long as it was in a nice teacup. Since that's not considered a dangerous type of promiscuity, I never questioned it much.
I suppose the root of that behavior stems from afternoon tea at college. Tea is a tradition at Vassar that's as old as the school itself. Young ladies would arrive to afternoon tea at the parlor in pearls and white gloves to sip tea and engage in modest, sophisticated conversation. Rumor has it that if they didn't have both pearls and gloves, they'd be sent back to their dorm rooms to fetch them. I beleive, at the time, afternoon tea was mandatory, though I could be mistaken. (Ask Jane Fonda. She'd know.)
By the time I arrived at Vassar in the mid-1980's, tea was a less decorous, more lively affair, and definitely optional. Gone were the gloves and pearls. Ripped jeans and Birkenstocks were de-rigeur. But still, we arrived promptly in the Rose Parlor, sipped tea from delicate teacups and listened as fellow classmates practiced on the grand piano in the corner. No choices were offered as to the type of cookies or the type of tea. The choices were milk, lemon or sugar. Tea was an event.
My first afternoon tea, in an attempt to fully enjoy the experience, I took both lemon and milk in the same cup. Immediately conscious of my mistake as the curdles instantly rose to the top, I quickly choked down the nasty mess before my embarrassing gaffe could be discovered.
It wasn't until years later, when I moved to California and learned to enjoy tea time as a solitary experience, that my relationship with tea drastically changed. With a busy life and packed schedule, the prospect of daily me-time became less and less of a possibility. Enter my daily afternoon tea break.
I bought a tea box at Bombay Company and was faced with a smorgasboard of flavors, scents, regions, infusions that were all new to me. To my surprise, there wasn't just "caf" and "decaf" in this box. I tried two a day to get through the offerings without risking overcaffeination or tea overload. I discovered that I wasn't as promiscuous as I had thought. I actually had opinions.
Turns out that "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot" is fine for Captain Picard of the Starship Enterprise (more on him in a later post) but not my cup of tea, thank you very much. But I also learned to enjoy the differences between Ceylon, Oolong, Rooibos, and Green Teas. And I discovered, after a long search, that at the end of the day, I could mix promiscuity with discretion:
Whether I'm wearing pearls or Birkenstocks, anything mixed with vanilla can claim the honor of being "my cup of tea".
We wanted to offer gift wrapping for awhile, and now it's available just in time for the holidays!
Tea has always made a great gift! Our custom tea blends look as wonderful as they taste which pairs perfectly with our colorful packaging. Gourmet tea is a must around the house during the cold weather holidays to brighten up the party and warm up the guests. California Tea House now offers the option of having your order wrapped beautifully in wicker baskets with colorful stuffing and an elegant, velvet bow to make your tea gifts even more enticing.
For a limited time we are offering free gift wrapping on all orders of $75 or more. Simply add gift wrapping to your cart and enter the coupon code during the first page of checkout.
Free gift wrapping code: GIFTED75
Try some of our famous holiday teas:
Chocolate Chai herbal blend
Gingerbread Chai Rooibos
Lemon Meringue Pie
Tiramisu
The aroma of this tea, when I first opened the pouch, was heavenly! I love vanilla and you can tell it's in there with the lemon grass and lemon preserves.
While waiting for the kettle to boil I admired the lovely color, set off by the lemon grass pieces.
Once steeped, the flavors came to life with the rich red color... I love vanilla and the vanilla beans came through, as did the lemon preserves, to produce a lovely lemon creme flavor.
Rooibos tea has many health benefits.. It's full of antioxidants and is naturally caffeine free. It tastes great iced too! This tea is so good and when Stevia is added, it satisfies my cravings for something sweet. It would make a wonderful dessert tea!
So, the next time I get a hankering for lemon creme cookie sandwiches... I'll just brew a pot of Lemon Meringue Pie Tea instead!
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