Tea for your Health

"It doesn't matter who you are.
It matters what you do."
-Irena's Vow

I rediscovered a place in Soho, New York City known as 'Sanctuary T'. They sell tea of all kinds. It's even a place for cocktails. I laughed when I saw their menu. Here are a few of the cocktails that caught my eye:

'Rise and Shine'-pear, green tea, and vodka
'Cava de Cama'-chamomile, elderflower, and cava
'Coral Reef'-passion fruit, tangerine, green tea, and tequila

Iced-Tea concoctions included the 'Geisha Beauty' or a 'Cup of Joy'. I don't know what tea is included in those but I'm sure it will cool you off and revitalize. I enjoyed the "Eight Treasures" cup of tea I had the other day. It's one of their most popular.

I read a book by Laura C Martin not so long ago called 'Tea-The Drink That Changed The World'. It's a great book for every personal library. Tea, in all its complexities, offers a simultaneous feeling of calm and alertness, of health and pleasure, It is no wonder these leaves, discovered in China so long ago, have changed the world.

Here are some valuable tips I took away from the book (including what teas to drink for specific ailments):

The BEST grade teas are thought to grow in only 5 countries:
Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, India and Japan.

WHITE TEAS:
Silver Needles, yin zhen (Fujian, China): light, slightly vegetal, exotic and expensive.
White Peony (China): light, clear brew, slightly grassy.

Less well-known is Pu-erh Tea of Yunnan, China. It is the only tea that actually improves with age.
A good Pu-erh tea has a clean and flowery taste.

BASIL: Good for keeping one alert. To combat the effects of motion sickness.

BLACKBERRY: To treat diarrhea and as a blood purifier and tonic

BLUEBERRY: To prevent the formation of kidney or bladder stones and to treat diarrhea and problems with the kidneys as it help to increase the flow of urine.

BORAGE: Borage tea was drunk by the ancient Romans to treat depression and as a diuretic, demulcent and emollient. A mild cucumber flavor and is high in calcium and potassium.

CATNIP: Catnip tea is best known as a digestive aid. It is also a very mild sedative and is good for drinking before going to bed.

CHAMOMILE: For skin disorders, such as acne and eczema. It’s flowery sweet taste makes it a popular tea.

CHICORY: A mild tonic and laxative.

ELDERBERRY: To treat migraine headaches

GINGER: To treat indigestion, flatulence, and motion sickness.

GINSENG: In China it was thought not only to prolong LIFE but also to cure an enormous number of ailments—and to be effective as an aphrodisiac.

LEMON BALM: Used against bacteria and viruses.

LICORICE: Used in Europe to treat infections, canker sores, colic, hepatitis, and epilepsy. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a demulcent to treat digestive and urinary disorders, as well as coughs and sore throats. It is an anti-inflammatory and the tisane is often taken to relieve pain from arthritis.

LINDED: For improving circulation, relieving tension, and aiding digestion.

MINT: Mint tea, almost all experts agree helps in treating indigestion, flatulence, and colic. To treat muscle spasms and menstrual cramps and is used externally on insect bites and chapped skin.

PASSION FLOWER: This has a slightly narcotic effect, and has been used to treat insomnia, muscle spasms and tension.

RASPBERRY: In Chinese medicine, raspberries and raspberry leaf tisane are used to strengthen the kidneys.

ROSE: Rose hips are extremely high in Vitamin C and in Vitamins A, B and E.

BREAKFAST & EARL GREY: Both teas are good for an early start on the day.

AFTERNOON: Special occasion, you might serve a special WHITE tea such as Silver Needles or White Peony.

All tea contain cancer-fighting antioxidants, but high quality GREEN & WHITE teas have them in greater concentrations.

Tea is thought to increase the good HDL cholesterol and lower the bad LDL cholesterol.

The health benefits of green tea offer positive results.

The Wellness Letter, a UC Berkeley newsletter, said in a March 2000 article, “Think of it (GREEN TEA) as a back-up to a healthy diet and an adjunct to regular exercise and other good health habits—not as a miraculous potion that will keep you well all by itself.”

Face it, we need more TEA in our life.

Twenty-five years ago today:

May 6, 1984
Sunday

This morning I awoke and asked mom for any remaining gossip from the Baby Shower Event that I didn't know about. There wasn't much more news that I didn't already know.

I telephoned Gray this morning about a bicycle outing. He had other plans.

I accompanied mom to Grandma's house to deliver some food and pans. My cousin, Sandy was there to show off her new Camaro Z28. It was fairly impressive.

When I arrived home at 11:30am I took my bike out for a ride until 2:30pm. I returned home for some fruit punch (leftover from the Baby Shower). It was cool and refreshing after my bike ride.

Helen and Tony stopped by and they made an activity of changing the oil in Helen's car on this relaxing Sunday.

I napped until 4PM while mom went shopping. I telephoned Sue Miller about a bike outing but she was studying.

I went biking alone again. This time I met Ron, that blond fellow I always see in the South Shoreline neighborhood. Ron is an avid wind surfer. He was packing everything up when I bumped into him. I felt brave and decided to just go up and talk to him about the 'wind surfing' sport. He got all excited about talking about wind surfing.

Ron is a nice guy. I felt so courageous, parking my bike and just going up to him to chat. He's a 'pretty cool' chap.
"Yeah, I have a 'sort of' girlfriend and there are some real good lookers who come out here during the summer," Ron made a point of mentioning.
I laughed.
We didn't make any definitive commitment for anything (such as biking or wind surfing). We just closed with the mutual macho line.
"See ya around."

When I returned to my folks' house 'Pop' was in a raunchy mood. He eventually calmed down a bit.

I saw the neatest set up for furniture idea in the latest Speigel magazine.

I showered and watched 'The Last Days of Pompeii' (or at least a part of it) until I decided to go "beddie-bye".