For me, tea is a blessing, a privilege, a daily indulgence for my body, and a hobby.
I am aware that there are a lot of people in the world who probably don’t feel the same way about tea as I do. I know a lot of people who don’t understand my obsession with tea and that’s OK because I don’t 
understand other people’s obsessions either. However, I do know a lot of people who can’t stand tea, but still drink it. Why, you ask? Let’s take a look at my sweet older sister, Kristie.
Kristie does not enjoy tea. If she drinks tea at all, it has to be cold. At the same time, she is very much into health and nutrition and is completely aware of all the amazing health benefits of tea. So she drinks it. Well, that’s what she calls it. What I call it is “downing four cups of overly brewed tea in 10 minutes just to provide her body with its benefits.” Let me tell you exactly how she does it. To begin, she boils water in the tea kettle. Then she places four glasses (yes, glasses – she doesn’t even use mugs!) on her table with four individual green tea bags, pours boiling water in the cups (I’m surprised they don’t crack) and then let’s them sit for at least 30 minutes. I don’t know about other tea drinkers, but I never let my tea steep for more than 3-5 minutes to avoid any bitterness, especially with green tea. My sister then proceeds to put all four glasses of tea into the freezer until they get to her desired temperature. Once the tea has cooled, she sits down at her table, and anxiously drinks all four glasses of tea as fast as she can in one sitting. I wouldn’t be surprised if she plugged her nose too!
Tea, for my sister, is obviously not a daily indulgence; it is more like a daily chore. Sadly, there are many people like Kristie in the world who only want the benefits of tea, especially green tea. I hope the day soon comes when my sister discovers the scrumptious and satisfying tastes of the many different types of tea and doesn’t just drink tea for its benefits, but also for its flavor. After all, every sip is nurturing our bodies and our souls.
So drink up tea lovers! And for non-tea lovers – keep drinking or start drinking, because soon you, too, will be obsessed with tea and all it has to offer!
It hurts to read this and to think of people actually think that is tea. I’ve been posting this on Twitter and our Facebook. http://tinyurl.com/26odpv9 The study found virtually no antioxidants in bottled teas regardless of claims, and the researcher said this about bagged tea:
Woops, hit submit by mistake..so, to continue–the researcher said this about bagged tea:
“…teabags contain up to 175 milligrams of polyphenols, but they tend to degrade and disappear when steeped in water..” Those of us who are in the specialty tea business should be aware that
your sister is not alone by a long shot and that we should always be ready to explain why there is such a difference in loose leaf tea from bottled or bagged…this widely distributed article and study backs it up..among others.
Oh, Kristie–did you have her read this yet?
Yes she has. I wish I could have taken a picture of her “tea ritual” to show everyone. It’s quite amusing :)