TEA Anyone?

I am a tea addict.  A genuine, authentic and un - biased (May be NOT) Tea Lover.  Come day, come night, come rain, come sunshine, you offer me Tea and I will NEVER say NO!

Like most tea addicts, I feel the need to communicate with like-minded enthusiasts and to exchange tips, photos, reviews, and enthusiasms whenever possible. Anything to do with Camellia sinensis is fair game, frankly.

Today I intend to share my Love of the World of TEA! I consider sharing of my love for CHAI is just as integral to the tea experience as drinking the delectable green nectar itself. After all what good is something if we don't share? Right?

Do you have a favorite tea? For me, it's a very difficult question. But, when I think about the tea I care for most, I usually pick the plain and simple Black tea. Pure simple unadulterated and the most natural form.  No milk and no sugar. Just water at 100^OC and the loose dried tea leaves. Aahh the aroma that it gives out, the energy that it eludes. Simply breathtaking.

I for one have always been a tea drinker, for as long as I can remember it has been tea, tea and nothing but tea. Of course occasionally I have swayed towards coffee, but just as it absolutely impossible to have two lovers at one point, (Well I assume IT IS! Since I have no prior expertise in this field, I am willing to leave this Open ended! :P ) similarly I have always very faithfully come back to my true love - TEA!

Recently a dear friend of mine, Sohail, gifted me a giant box of Alokozay tea! I was initially very skeptical, because other than an occasional Twinning's indulgence, I have almost always been a LIPTON person. Once I opened the Box, I was shocked out of my wits, as that was the first time I actually saw such a wide range of different flavored tea! You name it and you have got that flavor. Green, chamomile, jasmine, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, orange,  earl grey, Moroccan, herbal, black current, and so many more, I can even remember the rest of them! As I mentioned earlier I am one of members of the Old school thought process of picking One and sticking to It, But nonetheless I bravely faced my fears and made myself and my Appa a cup of Hot Moroccan Tea and... I was thrilled, and thought 'Wow, this is amazing! Tea can taste like this??'. Thank you, Sohail for widening my horizons and Yes I promise to be in Touch! :D :D It opened up a new world for me. But Hey, just because a tea is your favorite, it doesn't mean it has to be the highest quality. It's just what YOU like best!

Tea is widely regarded as one of the healthiest beverages one can drink, and rightly so! And more importantly anyone can make Tea! In fact, just yesterday my 13 year old adorable little brother made his first cup of TEA! Green tea at that!!! And since then he has taken it upon himself to be the official Tea Maker of the house! :D

In general, tea is one of the healthiest beverages in the world. Most tea is strictly derived from the Camellia sinensis plant with only a few different flavorings added to give it a unique twist. Camellia sinensis is an incredibly healthy plant that has been linked to health benefits like reduced cholesterol levels and weight loss. YES Weight loss. But I am not a believer of this theory! With the amount of tea that I drink, and if at all there was any connection between tea drinking and weight loss, I would definitely have been Size zero by now!

Any black, white, green, or oolong tea is derived from the camellia sinensis plant, which means that it is generally quite healthy. Tea is also healthiest when used in a ‘loose’ blend, as more surface area is exposed to the surrounding water, increasing the nutrients and antioxidants that are released.

The  famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk, THICH NHAT HANH says, "When you sit in a café or at home, with a lot of music in the background and a lot of things in your head, you're not really drinking your tea. You're drinking your projects, you're drinking your worries. You are not real, and the coffee is not real either. Your coffee can only reveal itself to you as a reality when you go back to yourself and produce your true presence, freeing yourself from the past, the future, and from your worries. When you are real, the tea also becomes real and the encounter between you and the tea is real. This is genuine tea drinking."

And this Genuine Tea drinking also has other advantages:

1. Tea can make people in high spirits, enhance thinking and memory!
2. Tea  can reduce fatigue, promote metabolism, and maintain the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal and other normal functions of the role!
3. Tea  of ​​great benefit for the prevention of dental cavities!
4. Tea  contains many trace elements beneficial to humans! But Of Course! :P
5. The role of  Tea  inhibit cancer, drinking tea can significantly inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
6. Tea  can inhibit cellular aging, people live longer. Anti-aging effect of tea is 18 times more vitamin E. (Seeee I told ya!)
7. Tea  with delay and prevent the formation of initial plaque, prevent arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and cerebral thrombosis!Tea can be excited to central nervous system, and enhance athletic ability!
8. Having  Tea  can aid in losing weight and beauty effect, this effect is especially seen in Oolong tea drinkers. 
9. Tea  seem to prevent age-related cataracts. (Cannot be verified though...)
10. Tea  contains tannic acid can kill many bacteria, it can prevent stomatitis, pharyngitis, and prone to summer enteritis, dysentery and so on.
11. Tea  can protect human hematopoietic function. Tea contains radiation materials, watching TV while drinking tea can reduce the TV radiation hazards, and to protect their eyesight. (Who would think!)
12. Sunstroke. Drink hot tea after 9 minutes, the skin temperature drops 1-2 degrees Celsius, makes people feel cool, and drink cold skin temperature decreased more significantly after.
13. Revitalize tired, achy or puffy eyes. Soak two tea bags in warm water and place them over your closed eyes for 20 minutes. The tannins in the tea act to reduce puffiness and soothe tired eyes. 

I always look forward to chatting happily about anything and everything related to  Tea or otherwise with anyone who will tilt an ear my way. But then that's just ME!

If you guys still don't believe me and my TEA fancy, hear it from Hugh Jackman!!!  He seems to be able to do it all: Play the super hero, dance, sing and melt your heart – all at the same time. And he’s also dancing his way in our hearts with the Lipton Iced Tea commercials. I haven’t had the Lipton tea in a glass bottle ever, so I can’t really comment on hoe it tastes and if it's actually brewed. But who am I to argue with Hugh?

So come let's have some TEA!