
Healthy tea habits for the New Year
It’s a time of reflection and action.
Many of us take the opportunity with the New Year beginning to start new, healthy habits. Habits can be easy to create when they include something delicious and good for you. Or you can create a simple morning tea ritual to start your day off right.
A great green tea is as enjoyable as it is healthy with quite a variety to choose from – whole leaf to powdered matcha. Green tea is an antioxidant powerhouse full of benefits and deliciousness. The act of preparing and drinking tea can be contemplative and rewarding. Jasmine Pearls are beautiful to watch unfurl and sweet and slightly earthy to sip. Whisking matcha slows you down and gives you a moment to pause or reflect. These are beneficial teas and great to add to your habits for the New Year.
Smooth, delicate, ethereal white teas are known for their high antioxidant levels as well. White tea is very simply processed. It’s plucked and dried, either in the sun or with hot air. What makes white teas special is the plants used to produce them. Traditional white teas are grown from a limited number of tea varietals in China.
Rooibos, a plant from South Africa, brews up a fantastic healthy drink. With a fruity and woodsy, mellow taste, it is enjoyed as a naturally caffeine-free herbal infusion. Rooibos contains flavonoids and is used for its anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties. Rooibos also is loaded with polyphenols and may benefit the digestive system.
Known as the “Drink of the Gods” and native to the subtropical forests of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia, yerba mate is becoming more and more popular in North America. Traditionally, it’s poured into a gourd, or guampa, and sipped through a metal straw called a bombilla. The level of caffeine is high in Yerba Mate, but because of its chemical makeup, it is easier tolerated by those sensitive to coffee and colas. It is known to fight free radicals and eliminate toxins and is a recommended way to increase your energy naturally.