It has been a few years since I stopped drinking my second cup of coffee at around 3 in the afternoon. Instead, in the summer months, I drink herbal iced tea, and in the winter, I have hot tea.
I like the process of making tea – although I am no where near a tea master—and taking time out of my afternoon to simply boil water, stand around in my kitchen, pick out a nice big mug and choose the tea I am in the mood for at that moment. For me, it is a mini-meditation. I also enjoy the act of buying tea. I feel it is very spiritual to go into a teashop, take time to walk around and smell the different varieties that come from all over the world. Whenever I can, I go to McNulty’s Tea & Coffee Co. on Christopher Street. Right now, I am into this delicious Magic Spice Blend of herbal tea that has rosehips, dried orange peels, almonds, cinnamon and dried apple pieces. I love it. I am also a big fan of Peppermint tea.
A sweet tea can also be a good dessert substitute. It certainly helps me at the end of the day to curb my desire for a big piece of…let’s say, caramel tart. I found a nice tea made by Celestial Seasonings called Honey Vanilla Chamomile. I add a touch of fresh vanilla bean to my cup along with a teaspoon of honey and it dessert in a mug.
A nice tea-recycling tip I got from an old issue of Body & Soul (now called Whole Living) magazine is that you can keep used green tea bags in a jar in the refrigerator and use them in the morning as a cleansing pad. The bag supposedly helps exfoliate skin gently and the tea has anti-inflammatory properties, which is perfect for morning puffiness.
I can't wait to try mixing some new and old flavored teas for sun tea this summer. I will definitely keep you posted on what I come up with.
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