Shira Nathan

My tea-drinking starter kit.

Dear tea,

You warm my day and remind me to savor the good moments. You are self care in a cup, a moment to slow down and appreciate something. 

And for that, I’m writing you this love letter. 

I am running off of tea these days. It’s probably restructuring me at a chemical level; where I once was flesh and bones I am now cinnamon and chai. 

I’ve always been a tea fan. I drink it like the British – with milk and sugar. It’s probably disrespectful to our founding fathers or something, but it just tastes better that way! The milk smooths out the flavor, as well as cooling it off, because I’m terrified of burning my tongue and prefer to drink my tea at a temperature that Starbucks describes as “kid’s temp.” 

But now, with the opening of the Wellness Room (go check out the article about it), I have had access to tea basically around the clock (also like a British person). This has resulted in me consuming upwards of 7 cups of tea a day; as proven by my ongoing tally on my snapchat story. The popularity (and subsequent confiscation of) the tea in the wellness room is strong evidence that tea makes life better. “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” I guess. 

Tea is defined as a “drink made by pouring hot water onto dried and cut leaves and sometimes flowers.”. Officially, there are only 4 kinds of tea: Green tea, Black tea, Oolong tea, and White tea (referred to sometimes as “true tea”). These teas are all produced by using different parts of the Camellia Sinensis plant, which is a species of evergreen shrub that is native to East Asia (the birthplace of tea).  Herbal teas – basically teas made with any other ingredient- are not technically “tea,” but they aren’t any less wonderful (at least in my opinion). These teas are called Tisane. 

First and foremost, tea is delicious. There are so many different kinds (based on what I consider to be tea in my heart), each with their own unique flavor and benefits. My favorite type of tea is Chamomile. It tastes the way that being sleepy feels, like acoustic music and sunlight shining through leaves. But recently, I’ve been branching out. I’ve tried: Pumpkin Spice, Lemon Zinger, Turmeric Ginger, Blueberry Lavender, Cinnamon Twist, the list goes on. Orange teas stand above the rest. They make the water swirl with wrapping tendrils of color, the flavor spreading throughout and forming a swirling concoction that looks as warm as it tastes. Orange teas are cafes  and sweaters and acoustic guitar and old books; all the things one could want from a tea. Tea is the perfect thing for when you want something special enough to activate your dopamine, but don’t want to spend several dollars just to chug chemicals and toxins. 

I’ve also never been a coffee drinker. Not only do I not enjoy the taste of burnt beans in a cup (a surprisingly controversial opinion), I also don’t enjoy being caffeinated (an even more controversial opinion for a high schooler). Being caffeinated makes me feel anxious, shaky, irritable, and nauseous; in other words, all the opposite effects of tea. I don’t need a beverage to add stress to my life, thank you!. When I want the feeling of drinking coffee, I make an iced chai, and on the rare occasions I want caffeine, I drink matcha lattes. There’s also a wide variety of caffeinated teas, and decaf coffee, of course, but my point still stands. 

Tea also takes time to brew. In the midst of a busy day, usually involving lots of rushing about and general haste, it’s very powerful to take a second and allow yourself to slow down, to prioritize self care if even just for a few minutes. Whenever I take those few minutes, I feel like the warmth from the cup radiates throughout my body and affects my aura. It really connects you to your inner grandma; maybe grandmas are so comforting because of all the tea they drink. 

Just like it’s cousin soup, tea warms you both physically and emotionally. Studies have shown that “Teas, including black, green, oolong, white, purple and pu-erh, can all help fight symptoms of anxiety disorders and stress overall...Researchers have found data that suggests that l-theanine helps to stimulate alpha waves in the brain, possibly promoting a sense of calm and relaxation even during stressful situations.” Just holding the cup is enough to quiet my internal screaming. In fact, tea is actually healthier for you than water. According to the findings of the fifth international scientific symposium on tea and human health (a party I’d like to be invited to), “drinking just one cup of tea may boost one’s ability to solve difficult language/mathematical problems”, and tea can improve blood pressure, lower the risk of certain cancers, boost your immune system, and help you stay hydrated.  Maybe tea is also a relative of magic potions.

People have been brewing tea for thousands of years. According to TEDed, “Archeological evidence shows that tea was first cultivated [in China], as early as 6,000 years ago – or 1,500 years before the pharaohs built the great pyramids.” In human history, that ‘s usually referred to as “a great deal of time.” Tea has always been connected to health, both of the body and soul. A wide variety of cultures, ranging from Japanese to British to Moroccan, value/celebrate the consumption of tea. “Established first in the monasteries, tea drinking is instilled with a sense of reverence and spiritual potency. Rooted in the formality of monastic life and the sacred admiration of beauty, the now well-established and codified tea ceremonies of Korea and Japan begin to develop,” states an article by the company Rivers and Lakes Tea. In the United Kingdom, approximately 100 million cups of tea are consumed daily – about 1 and a half cups per person in the entire country. 

When I drink tea, I am always struck by the perseverance of human nature and the continuity of different habits over time. The British didn’t just decide to take up tea drinking yesterday- it’s rooted in a long history. 6,000 years from a Chinese garden in the Tang dynasty to my favorite mug adorned with a sheep is quite the journey. When humans find something they like, by God are they going to stick to it. And isn’t that what life is about? Finding something that you enjoy, and continuously enjoying it? Maybe I’m just trying to justify my massive levels of tea consumption, but I enjoy the thought of millions of people over the course of time pouring themselves a nice cup of tea. 

P.S While writing this, I drank 5 cups of tea.