Good Morning Steepers,
As you may know I am a University Student and that means I drink a lot of tea throughout my day. I’m going to review my go to teas for studying, keeping calm, relaxing and unwinding, staying awake for that all nighter or waking up the morning after a long haul on the essay escarpment and for detoxing after blowing off a little too much steam whilst dancing the night away. Tea for me is a major destressor. It starts right from the beginning of the process, from picking the tea off my shelf, opening up the bag or tin and smelling the wonderful aroma, to boiling the kettle, pouring the water over the tea leaves and watching them expand and release the flavour and colours into the water. The feeling of a warm mug in my hands is soothing too.
See Wake Up! It’s Monday Morning: Back to School Edition for my go to caffeine boosting teas.
Afternoon Study Teas
My fave afternoon study teas include a smooth and pure oolong or green tea. A big pot of Quangzhou Milk Oolong, or a traditional Chinese Green have the caffeine to keep me going, plus antioxidants and they help your metabolism to keep working which may be helpful to ward off the freshman fifteen. (Obviously a healthy diet and physical activity are extremely important and the main things to keep you healthy.) I like the fresh grassy taste of a sencha or jasmine to keep me feeling alive and refreshed but the smoothness of a milk oolong or gyokuro is a nice addition to my study regime. If you can get your hands on some pineapple oolong (discontinued) then you’re golden.
My picks:
Relaxing Teas for Stress
For daytime or all night studying I like to go for a smooth flavoured green or white tea like the floral and fruity apricot taste of Buddha’s Blend or the light berry and jasmine in Moment of Zen. Oasis on the Green, which was limited edition from Steeped Tea, is another tea I really like because it has a slightly tropical, fruity taste but is still light and refreshing. For stress and relaxation, especially before exams I reach for these teas to help me sleep. Mother’s Little Helper which is like the tension tamer tea we see in grocery stores that has a blend of calming herbs like chamomile, valarian and peppermint. I like to drink this one the night before a big exam or during a stressful time of year to relax and calm me. If you are affected by the weird/crazy dreams that valarian can cause in some people you might want to go for a more simple relaxation blend perfectly named Don’t Worry, Be Happy from Steeped Tea. This blend contains soothing Chamomile, Licorice and Peppermint. Chamomile tea with a little milk and honey is always a soothing fail safe tea for relaxation, especially with a hint of lavender or vanilla. My final choice for keeping stress under wraps is a chamomile-free tea (for those with allergies) with lavender, mint and strawberry.
My Picks
Teas for Detoxing
Whether you enjoyed the Long Island Iced Tea a little too much for your friend’s 20th birthday, you binged on junk food while you stress ate during midterms, or you’ve just fallen a little off the wagon these teas with help you get back on track and feel a little less sluggish. The Skinny, is an oolong based tea with some pu’erh in it long known as the diet tea it is meant to boost metabolism, with some eleuthero (siberian ginseng) and ginger this tea will definitely help you feel a little better by boosting your energy levels and soothing a GI tract that hasn’t been working optimally. I definitely reach for this blend after having too much greasy food. The next one I reach for is David’s Detox. It contains both green tea and rooibos tea that are full of antioxidants and juniper berries and lemongrass too. I am not the biggest fan of this tea but I drink it from time to time as need be. Its definitely better with extra lemon juice. Pretty Tea also makes a Detox tea with holy basil or tulsi as it is know, and this one is a little more palatable for me. I also like to reach for Kombucha fermented tea, especially a plain/green brewed version or something with ginger. My go to hangover kombucha is the Rise Mint and Chlorophyll. If you can’t find kombucha in stores(check health food stores) you can brew your own. Find a local scoby mother or buy a scoby online (SCOBY = Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, looks like a wet pancake and is what cultures and ferments kombucha) Kombucha is also great if you’ve had tummy troubles because of the natural probiotic cultures that live within if you buy a raw unpasteurized version. if you don’t like the taste of kombucha try David’s Tea Happy Kombucha, or Yogi Berry which both contain kombucha powder or Yogi Tea’s Green Tea Kombucha.
Thanks for reading and best of luck on your studying or whatever the autumn may bring for you. Let me know in the comments what your go to teas are for school or productivity in general I’d love to hear!
Back to school posts:
Taking Tea With You: Travel Mugs for Back to School
Wake Up! It’s Monday Morning! Back to School Edition
Happy steeping!
xoxo Kayla
Tea With Kayla 