It may seem sadistic to suggest, as you place your shiny new books upon your shelf and print out your new schedule, that you will probably be stressed, overworked and maybe even runny-nosed two weeks from now.
But wait! You might not have to be stressed or runny-nosed — though there’s little help for too much work. Some experts suggest that all you really need to do to mellow out and stay healthy is to ditch that double-shot red eye that you cling to and get into tea.
Research suggests that tea can aid a number of ailments and improve the immune system. But more importantly, the ritual of making tea is a practice that many find calming and peaceful.
Tea in the traditional sense all comes from the Camellia plant. What kind of tea you are drinking — white, yellow, green, oolong or black — depends on how it is processed. “Tea” that does not come from this plant technically is not “tea,”; it is actually herbal infusions. These infusions are just as healthy, if not more so, than actual tea.
“Teas are a nice way to get started with using a herbal product for medicinal purposes,” said Susan Dunlap, certified health counselor and nutrition information specialist at Rebecca’s Natural Foods. “If you’re not familiar with individual teas, a blend is a nice way to start.”
John Salidis, who has worked at the Tea Bazaar since its opening in 2002, agreed that blends are very beneficial to the tea drinker.
“In our world, we feel the need to isolate things and say, for example, ‘This is St. John’s Wort,’ but it’s usually the synergy of different things working together that really helps.”
The ingredients you should look for in blends depend on what you are seeking. If your immune system needs a boost, which is likely given the current temperature, it is Echinacea you should look for, Dunlap said. In terms of general health or longevity, ginseng teas are a good thing to be sipping.
Dunlap said ginger, peppermint, fennel and chamomile all aid in digestion, and many companies make prepared blends in which these ingredients work together.
For a cold, Dunlap said, “you can use thyme to soothe the bronchioles and help with breathing. Horehound is often made into throat lozenges and more often found in tea form in Europe. Fennel also helps the respiratory area.” She also noted that slippery elm, which is a bark-based herbal infusion, gets very mucilaginous in water and can coat a sore throat.
For allergy-induced sniffles and woes, Dunlap said nettles are a useful anti-inflammatory agent.
“It’s also a very nutritious tea,” Dunlap said. “It kind of tastes like spinach juice — it has a lot of minerals in it.”
Salidis also commented that nettles, along with red clover, can help you to breathe in a new, deeper way.
If it is sleep you seek, chamomile, valerian root — actually stronger though less known than chamomile — and lemon balm, which also aids the nervous system while helping with sleep, are all viable options, Dunlap said.
There’s also tea for the all-nighter you might soon be facing.
“Mate is nice tea with a different flavor,” Dunlap said. “It contains mateine, which is like caffeine but doesn’t stimulate the [central nervous system] as much. It doesn’t make you as jittery.” Salidis also noted that someone could live off of mate for weeks, if necessary, because of the nutrients it can provide.
Another type of herbal tea that probably is not for your grandma is kava.
“Kava really chills you out and makes your mouth a little numb,” Salidis said. He also said it is kicking up quite a controversy in Hawaii, where lawmakers are insisting that it become a controlled substance. There have been cases where drivers who drank eight cups or more of kava have been charged with driving under the influence.
As with all caffeinated substances, caffeinated tea should be used in moderation, not excess. Caffeine intoxication can occur when someone ingests more than 300 mg of caffeine, producing effects classified as “caffeine jitters”: twitching, rapid heart beat, insomnia, increased urination. An average cup of black tea contains 50 mg of caffeine; a cup of green tea contains 30 mg (compare to 34 mg in a can of Coca-cola or 80-135 mg in brewed coffee). Overdoing your caffeine intake to an extreme extent on a regular basis can even cause two disorders recognized by the American Psychological Association: caffeine-induced sleep disorder and caffeine-induced anxiety disorder. Keeping daily caffeinated tea consumption down to a few cups should prevent any trace of these problems.
In addition to having a lower caffeine content than some teas, green tea also known for its health-boosting qualities.
“Since it’s the least oxidized tea, it has the most antioxidants,” Salidis said. Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also has shown that green tea promotes fat oxidation and might prevent obesity.
Brewing tea correctly, though, might just be as important as the tea you choose to drink. Dunlap and Salidis agreed that brewing tea correctly is essential to the drinking process. If done wrong, it can ruin the experience.
“If you’re using a tea that comes from a root or bark, that is harder material so it wants to steep for a longer period of time, maybe 15 minutes,” Dunlap said. “If you are using a greener tea from the leaf of the plant, you’re steeping them for about five minutes. If you’re using a blossom, those are gentler, so steep for three to five minutes.”
The temperature of the water should also change depending on the kind and volume of tea, Salidis said.
“Lighter teas — whites and greens — need cooler water,” Salidis said. “Brewing between 150 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit should be safe. Black teas should be brewed just under boiling.”
Brewing tea too hot can cause it to burn. Brewing too long, meanwhile, can cause tannins — a very bitter and astringent substance, Dunlap said — to be released.
Taking the time to care about the brewing process not only makes better tea, it might be better for you as well. Salidis said it is more than just the actual nutrients and antioxidants of tea that produce healthy effects.
“A lot of it is about the process,” he said. “It’s a meditative art, like making a flower arrangement. You wouldn’t want to make a flower arrangement angry.” He added that unlike coffee, tea is not just about getting your “fix”.
Ali Cheff, also of the Tea Bazaar, agreed.
“The most healing part of the experience is the resting part,” Cheff said. “In our culture, we are always on the go. Tea has a very strong tradition to get people to take time and stop.”
Salidis spoke of the Japanese art of making matcha as an example. Matcha, a very fine, powdered green tea with powerful energizing qualities, is made in a Japanese ceremony of more than 100 steps, he said.
As he served a customer an iced matcha shake, he said, “the ancient Japanese would probably roll over in their graves if they saw iced matcha.”
Salidis also said some “tea snobs” would argue that iced tea should not be made — the act of smelling and breathing in tea is just as important as the taste.
“There’s a certain purity about tea,” Salidis said. “You wouldn’t use your teacup as an ashtray.”
Regardless of what kind of tea you may prefer, one thing is certain: In our busy schedules, we could all set aside some time to sit down with a cup of tea and breathe in some relaxation.
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