Tea

Tea is a pretty big deal in Eastern culture. Apparently it's the second-most consumed beverage in the world after water. It can be packaged in a tea bag or loose leaf, and each variety requires different preparation. Additives are also a factor, be it milk, sugar, honey, mint, or whatever suits the drinker.

Here's some basic categorisations of the types of teas (thanks to Wikipedia):
*White tea: Wilted and unoxidized
Yellow tea: Unwilted and unoxidized, but allowed to yellow
*Green tea: Unwilted and unoxidized
*Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized
*Black tea: Wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized
Post-fermented tea: Green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost
*most popular varieties

But beyond the beverage itself, tea is also an event, with entire ceremonies surrounding the consumption of tea in Eastern culture. Additionally, certain herbal varieties are used for medicinal purposes. But be it for drinking or for a ceremony, or even for healing, tea usually comes with a story. Anyone have any advice to offer for the tea novice?

No matter the brand or flavor, tea for me is a "being present" exercise. Hearing the water boil, the smell and the taste and all things I can miss if in a hurry. Tea reminds me to slow down and enjoy each moment.

Mikhal wrote: No matter the brand or flavor, tea for me is a "being present" exercise. Hearing the water boil, the smell and the taste and all things I can miss if in a hurry. Tea reminds me to slow down and enjoy each moment.

I make multiple cups of tea every day and I have certainly never thought of it like this. In fact, I usually go and do something else whilst I'm making it because I get impatient with waiting around! I am going to do my utmost to try using it as a meditation exercise in this way, and thank you for sharing this with us

Tea is amazing for meditation and healing. I have been told, and my own results would agree with this, that green tea is the best for getting my healing energy flowing. It helps me to be attuned to what to do in preparation for a healing as well as during it. I tend to drink it straight. I do drink chai for pleasure though. It has a very different taste and is more of a happy pleasureful activity for me. I typically add milk and either honey or agave to it. I too stay present when the water is boiling although it's for a different reason. I need to be around to hear it boil so I know when it's done. I've learned that not all teakettles whistle. Smile.

V, you mentioned patience. Here's what my ex-wife uses to heat up her tea:



Put a little tea light on the bottom and let it go. The tea does get nice and hot. It's interesting...it took me forever to find this style on the internet, yet i've seen one in just about every Goodwill store i've been in, lol.

Tea is a great meditation, which for a period I did earnestly and enjoyed. For a good meditative practise start with ice instead of water, and participate in the transformation across solid, liquid and gas phases of matter. I did that as a distinct phase from the adding of the tea, and as an entire process, the mindfulness of the drinking can be a powerful step as well.

I today read a page which talked about tea and its effects on a part of human physiology;

Green tea — a beverage so healthy that the only worries are about the water added to the tea bags — or is there more to consider? Green tea is full of antioxidants, leading to the health claims about promoting health and prolonging life. Yet, recall that testosterone production is dependent upon oxidizing reactions. Recently studies looking at the effect of green tea, specifically the polyphenol compounds (antioxidant), on testosterone levels have reveal a dark side to green tea — at least for the muscle-building athlete.

Green tea has been shown in the lab to inhibit certain effects of testosterones, apparently by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to the more potent androgen, DHT. Green tea, specifically EGCG, may also affect aromatase — the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen; in some studies aromatase is suppressed, in others it is increased. Animal studies and epidemiologic studies have shown that green tea consumption is associated with lower androgen and estrogen levels in Asians. Green tea appears to be protective against cancers that respond to sex hormones (prostate, breast).

Yet, what about testosterone? If estrogen and DHT are lower because testosterone is not being converted into those metabolites, then testosterone levels should be higher. However, tissue studies suggest otherwise. Rats treated with green tea had a much lower response to hCG, the hormone used to stimulate testosterone at the end of an anabolic steroid cycle. Interestingly, when the tissue cultures were provided with androstenedione, the steroid that immediately precedes testosterone in the natural production sequence, normal testosterone response to hCG was seen. This suggests that the inhibition of green tea occurs earlier in the steroid production sequence and may affect other steroid classes.

Source: The Best And Worst Foods For Altering Testosterone @ Muscular Development

Really? Every time i've gone somewhere, it's not "want some tea?" It's always, "want a beer?" Though with my parents and their friends, it's always coffee. Can't say I've heard of people offering other people tea. I used to drink it a good bit when I was married. But I think i'll get back to drinking it again. And by tea I mean the healthy stuff...not my sweat tea (my sweat tea would kill a diabetic as soon as it touched their mouths, lol).

I look at tea from a different point of view.

When you sit with a group of people, the normal response is..."anybody what coffee?"

But when you want to be more intimate (not in a sexual way) with a guest (one other person), tea is the drink of choice. I am not sure what it is, but it seems more personal, warm, and inviting.

Maybe it is the fact that tea is more about giving one's guest a choice of flavor, taking time to prepare while conversing, or maybe giving that person a more personal attention.

Not sure but, Tea is for sharing meaningful, close, thoughtful time with a close friend.

I used to hear that all the time. Go into Persian communities or Arab communities. Even India. You'll hear that all the time. That's one of the first things I was offered at Baha'i and muslim gatherings.

There are so many ways to drink tea it is really down to individual taste.

Personally I drink green tea as I enjoy the fresh taste and also for the health benefits.

I try to be mindful at all times but turning certain everyday habits into a ritual certainly helps with this.

Calm your mind by watching this traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6GvXtrvUbc&feature=related

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