How I Found My Comfort In The Simple Ritual Of Drinking Green Tea

As women balancing a physical, mental and emotional load, taking the time to rejuvenate ourselves is an act of kindness to the self.

Growing up, I rarely saw my mother resting. Her days began at 6 am and she was on her toes throughout. She would cook a hurried breakfast, yell at me and my sister to get ready in time for the bus, drape her sari and dab a matching shade of lip colour before setting off to the school where she taught primary students.

After getting back in the late afternoon, there would be more cooking, laundry work and clearing. Somewhere between 4 and 5 pm, she’d make herself a cup of tea in a beaten down aluminium pan. With a Tamil serial and a plate of sweet rusk to accompany her tea, my mother savoured her period of rest.

As a middle-aged woman today, who does her fair share of juggling, I contemplate how important that ritual of brewing tea just for herself was to my mother. It wasn’t just a simple habit but a way to press pause on the avalanche of chores, aches and expectations. And it’s something that is sorely needed.

Now I have come full circle and find myself finding solace in a hot cuppa. It has rescued me from dreadfully long hours in the Finance job I once had, rejuvenated me on the most exhausting days of mothering a young toddler, delighted me at cafes as I pored over books, inspired me as I trudged through writers’ block.

Unlike my mother, I am not a fan of milk tea. I love finding new flavours and reading about what they’re made of and how the combinations might help me.

There is an incredible variety of tea that exists to cater not just to our tastes but also to different aspects of our wellbeing. There are teas that help with menstrual cramps, immunity building, improving digestion, controlling weight gain and even regulating sugar (much needed for the sugar-craving gremlin in me!) Drinking a healthy tea is the easiest way to do a daily detox as it is loaded with antioxidants (the good stuff that protect your cells from free radicals who sound cool but are really the bad guys!).

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Green tea is so much more than just weight loss

While I experiment with my flavours, my favourite from the family is the champion green tea. I find it tragic that people simplify its wonders to a single benefit of weight loss when it does so much more for our systems. A couple of years ago, I learnt that what I thought was stress was in fact a deeper-rooted problem with anxiety. My nerves were a wreck and I struggled with managing mood swings. I switched to green tea and it brought about a world of a difference in my energy levels and metabolism. I can’t say that the anxiety bit has disappeared but I’m a lot better at bouncing back. (Also, my skin looks awesome!)

Today I experiment with all sorts of green tea infusions with fruits, herbs and spices. Mostly I have them plain because I’ve become a bit of a tea-snob, insistent on taking in most of the flavours. If I’m feeling particularly wild, I dunk some jaggery or honey in there.

Given that there are a lot of players in the tea industry, it is good to take the time to choose your tea wisely. Do a little label reading to find out about what’s in the teabags or loose leaf, and the efforts invested by the company in sourcing the leaves and formulating flavours. You should know that teas can also contain caffeine at different levels. Companies like CARE Tea that have their own labs which use Ayurvedic principles to build their tea collection are a good bet to consider. This tea is designed and formulated using carefully selected pure green tea without adding any artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.

CARE teas are created to help their drinkers feel revitalized – mentally and spiritually. Their line includes some offbeat flavours like ashwagandha detox, green tea with moringa and lemongrass, hibiscus and red melon tea, iced tea and even the exotic Japanese inspired matcha green tea. What makes their blends stand out is that there’s no bitter aftertaste.

Sometimes I wish I were the Mad Hatter, living in perpetual teatime. It is more than stimulating refreshment to me. It is the glue that holds me together at different parts of the day, bringing a balance between mind and body. I know that no matter how badly the day is going or how much work I have left to do, for the next half hour, the rest of the world ceases to exist!

Supported by Care Tea from Ban Labs. You can learn more here at Care Herbal Green Tea about their natural range of teas such as Care Detox Spice Tea with Ashwagandha, Care Hibiscus & Red Melon Green Tea and Care 2in1 Japanese Matcha Green Tea.

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