It’s time for Tea

If there is one beverage that can cater to our many moods, it has got to be a cup of freshly brewed tea. A few sips of chai can instantly wake you up, while another will let you sail through your mid-morning to-do lists, there’s one to pair with lunches and another to be your 5 pm friend. Radhika Batra of Radhika’s Fine Teas,shares a tea guide from sunrise to sunset and beyond.

Morning Wake-up Call: When you are just surfacing from a restful night, you need something that will gently wake up your senses without inducing the response to an annoying alarm bell. A tea that will coax you to say good morning has to be robust in nature. Sip on a well brewed Assam tea and pick an organic whole leaf.

Activate Mid-Morning: Mid-mornings need a boost as you prepare yourself to breeze through your to-do list. While caffeine might be your choice of poison, you can easily replace it by opting for a green tea. Try Mid-morning Boost Tea Gingsheng Oolong. Its smokey roasty flavour revs up your metabolism without giving you any side-effects that one generally gets from caffeine.

Post-Lunch Digestive: To combat the afternoon lull brought forth by a food coma, you can reach for a ginger tea that also helps in digestion. It also adds that zing to drive away any sort of afternoon laziness. Tea option for post lunches should be something calming and you can try something that is infused with flowers such as roses.

Your 5 pm Friend: Evening calls for some quiet me-time to take away the day’s stresses and something special is on the menu. Opt for an artisan tea which means different tea leaves are hand-sewn by artisans in parts of China. For instance, a tea bud that unfurls into a beautiful flower while being brewed is perfect to spend some quiet time with.

For a Good Night’s Sleep: To ‘go gently into the night’, you might have a skin care or reading routine. Why don’t you include some tea drinking to set the mood for a good night. Look out for chamomile or lavender infusions, minus the caffeine of course.