Benefits of Tea

Tea…

Today as I was walking the mall with my sister I was informed that teavana was going to be shot down. I have to say I am shocked, disappointed and actually very sad about this. I remember several years ago (probably like 7+ years ago) when I first found teavana. I was at an Indian restaurant in San Marcos, Ca and I was drinking tea with my dinner.

The tea was DEVINE!

The tea was DEVINE! I later found out if was jasmine tea and they were the real tea leaves.

The very next day I set out to find real tea leaf teas. I found some at a local international market. The jasmine tea they had was good but not great like I had at the restaurant. A few months went by and I found teavana. I think I was in heaven.

My collection of tea from teavana started with the jasmine oolong. This by the way is still my all time favorite. My first visit I left with jasmine oolong and I think the regular mint tea. Nothing to fancy. I of course returned several more times and my collection of teas continued to expand. I had two of this special tea makers that drain in to the cup, one for work and one for home. I happened to go in to teavana the week after Christmas and that is when they do there 50% off annual sale. Let’s just say I stocked up. With in two years my collection included a few herbal teas, a few green teas, of course my jasmine oolong and a few white and chai teas.

In case you didn’t know 5 years ago, Starbucks purchased teavana. I was sad when I heard this happened. I was afraid the teavanas would not be the same. Unfortunately I was right. The first thing I noticed was the jasmine oolong was off the shelf. What!!! How could this be, it’s one of the most popular teas. Several months, almost a year later I found out the jasmine was taken off the shelf to help develops new teas. Starbucks decided to use jasmine oolong as the base in a lot of there newer teas. They took the jasmine oolong off the shelf to create and test the new fancier teas they were making. Anyways jasmine oolong returned to the shelf almost a year later along with 5-10 new flavors.

I normally do not go in to the store that often, but when I moved to AZ three and a half years ago I needed to stock up on some tea. This is when I found out that Starbucks was coming out with new teas every estimated 3-6 months. This meant some teas were being taken off the shelf and replaced with new ones every 3-6 months. I learned fast, stock up if you like a certain kind.

Another change included only 7 types of teas could be made if you wanted to take a cup home with you. Prior to startbucks they would make any flavor cup of tea for you. Starbucks made several changes in the teavana stores and they made a change in the Starbucks locations as well which included selling 6-8 teavana teas in the startbucks. This I love and I sure hope they keep it up. I absolutely love being able to go in to startbucks and get a jade citrus mint cup of tea. I think I drank a grande one of these 3-4 times a week while I was pregnant. Starbucks also came out with a type of tea called Joy in 2015. You could only get it in Starbucks in 2015 and it was another Devine tea. Fortunately in 2016 they brought it back and you could buy the leaves directly at a teavana store. Yes I’m stocked up on this.

Anyways I know I’m going on about teavana. Well they are closing and the locations are expected to all be closed by spring of 2018. I don’t know if startbucks is going to keep the teas in the coffee shops (oh please do) or maybe leave them on line but I recommend stocking up. I am sad to have heard this. Tea, no matter the season is something you can have hot or cold.

If you do prefer ice tea over hot, there is a neat tea infuser that I use, strongly recommend.

There are many benefits of Tea, a few are…

1. Tea contains antioxidants

Antioxidants work to prevent the body’s version of rust and therefore help to keep us young and protect us from damage caused by pollution.

2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee

Herbal blends have no caffeine, while traditional teas have less than 50 percent of what typically is found in coffee. That means you can consume it without those pesky effects on your nervous system.

3. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke

There is a lot of information out there on this. A study published earlier this year that combined data from a host of earlier reports found a nearly 20 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack and a 35 percent reduced risk of stroke among those who drank one to three cups of green tea a day. Those who drank four or more cups of green tea daily had a 32 percent reduction in the risk of having a heart attack and lower levels of LDL cholesterol.

4. Tea may help with weight loss

Research on this isn’t as strong, but studies that have shown an effect depending on consumption amount of tea and often in the pill form. Teavana came out with a tea called Weight To Go, which included strawberry. I think this was one of the first herbal teas that I got hooked on. I could drink it all day long and not get to hungry.

5. Tea may help protect your bones

Data from recent studies is starting to show that green tea may prevent bone loss.

6. Tea may keep your smile bright

Japanese researchers have found that tea can decrease tooth loss

It changes the pH in your mouth when you drink it and that may be what prevents cavities.

7. Tea may boost the immune system

Studies have shown tea can help immune cells. Wahoo, to the hope of not getting sick as frequently.

8. Herbal tea may soothe the digestive system

Herbal teas, in particular chamomile, can be good for people with irritable bowel syndrome because it is an antispasmodic. I personally use herbal teas to help my digestive issues. I use green tea to help calm my stomach if I accidentally eat gluten. Got to love celiac disease.

9. Tea — unadulterated, that is — is calorie free

I don’t know about you but I sometimes get tired of drinking wanter. Tea iss a great no-calorie alternative to water. It provides so many options for flavor and versatility. You can have it hot or cold. And you don’t have to put anything in it, though you might want to add a cinnamon stick or some ginger. That means you’re able to hydrate with something other than water alone.

I very much enjoy my cup of tea. I again, sure hope teavana sticks around but if not, I have begun my search for a place to get real leaf teas. Keep you posted on what I find.