Green Tea and Meditation

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

divinerguy	18 Jun 2003
Want a nice way to center yourself before a reading? Try a cup of green tea, and a little silence. Just sip your tea, and gradually, the cares of the day will drift away. By the time you get around to your reading, your mind will be both clear and relaxed.

sagitarian	18 Jun 2003
That's awesome! Thanks for the insight. I love drinking Sweet Dreams made by Bigelow. Helps relax me, and unwind. I never tried it before doing a reading though, never thought of that. Thanks Divinerguy!

Umbrae	19 Jun 2003
The Chinese drink “White Tea,” especially around Harbin. My wife’s mother drank it all the time…I could never figure it out. Then I tried it. Before meditations, readings…works miracles. I do the green tea after… Oh – White Tea? Boil water, pour it in a cup…and enjoy.

LittleWing	19 Jun 2003
i have heart many great things about white tea ..... loads more antioxidants etc ... even than green tea!!! is it expensive??

bec	19 Jun 2003
Never heard of white tea ...... is it just called white tea? I wonder where to get it.... my supplier of health stuff including green tea don't have white tea - does it have a name ?

oceanpoetry	19 Jun 2003
Umbrae, I love white tea! I didn't know that is what you called it. White tea (plain hot water) is good to drink anytime your not feeling well, too, because it is soothing. I will have to try it before a reading. It is probably good idea to meditate and calm the mind before a reading, and drinking tea would be nice way to do this.

LittleWing	19 Jun 2003
i love tea .... all sorts .... i drink alot of chamomile and herb tea. have you tried sage tea? i have a sage plant in my garden and it tastes lovely as a tea.

bec	19 Jun 2003
Let me get this straight. White tea is nothing but boiled water ???

LittleWing	19 Jun 2003
no!!! - white tea is tea! (not sure - perhpas the plant at a very new shoot??)

Royal Cat	19 Jun 2003
White tea is created from a leaf still in the bud stage, before it has had time to open. They steam the bud/leaf and usually sun dry it. Since the leaf has never opened it has not developed chlorophyll (which would make it green) so the leaf remains a silvery white and produces a fairly clear tea. White tea comes mainly from China and is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. Hope that answers your questions. :) Cat

Royal Cat	19 Jun 2003
Oh, and I agree, tea is a wonderful way to relax before meditation or bed time. :) Very soothing... and good for you too!

bec	19 Jun 2003
Yes it does thank you, still don't know it though, I will have to find it, I want to try it out :P

Royal Cat	19 Jun 2003
If it's not in your health food store, you may be able to find it at a tea and coffee shop. As with green tea, don't steep it too long or the taste will be bitter. White tea should have a very 'light' taste.

LittleWing	19 Jun 2003
Thanks for the info Royal Cat - i have heard good stuff about this - so i want to try it!!

Ruby Red Slippers	19 Jun 2003
The Republic of Tea makes a white tea, if you have this brand where you shop. On the back of the can it states that white tea is one of the rarest of all teas. It is hand plucked only 2 days of the year in China right before the leaf opens. It also says that modern research has shown that white tea retains the highest level of disease preventative antioxidants known as polyphenals. The Republic adds orange blossoms and it is a great tea…:) Ruby Red Slippers

Umbrae	19 Jun 2003
As I learned "White Tea", first from my mother-in-law who was born and raised in Harbin China, it's plain old hot hot water. It is also mentioned in Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux. sounds odd...but on a real cold winter night, or during a blazing hot day... White Tea...

bec	19 Jun 2003
Royal Cat;If it's not in your health food store, you may be able to find it at a tea and coffee shop. well, I AM the health food store in town :P so I better search else where. Still Umbra says it is just hot hot water .. I am confused - are there more than one type of white tea?

zorya	19 Jun 2003
yes bec, people are talking about two different 'white teas'. umbrae's plain hot water. i would assume you have to use a white cup else you might end up with red or blue tea :D ...and the very expensive white tea, made from the buds of the plant. like ruby red slippers said, this tea has the highest amount of antioxidents of all the teas.

Cerulean	19 Jun 2003
...what a fun sipping thread. I'm a little bit of a cynic with teas. I dislike heavily decaffinated tea (although some green teas can be processed black teas?) other perfumed herbs added, or sweetness. But I'm able to drink jasmine and bergamot (Earl Grey) at restaurants, sometimes it is the only thing available. It's closer to my cynical 'real tea' sipping tastes, which is genmai cha or popcorn tea (a folksy term). I usually disclose my terrible tea tastes by asking for a 'tea like Lipton's' and hastily remove the bag or steeping leaves. The joke is that I wave the flavoring portion over the steam and end up with slightly colored water. No sugar or anything, thank you. It's just me, but I dislike mixing heavily acidic, very steeped teas with other strong flavorings. Plain hot water can be very helpful most of the time.

Melvis	19 Jun 2003
My friend turned me on to tea a few years ago. I haven't branched out much beyond some basics, but I just might try that White Tea now because... Here's the Repubic of Tea website! If you click on "Explore by Category" on the left side you can scroll down to a whole "White Tea" category! Hmmm...I may need to go Tea shopping now! :D Peace, Melvis :TSTRE

divinerguy	19 Jun 2003
Mari, I've Sencha and Bancha at the market. Would you recommend either one of these?

DarkElectric	19 Jun 2003
For the purchase of white tea other than Umbrae's, I suggest an Oriental grocery store. These fine establishments carry a wide variety of incredible tea, including bancha, white, green, and all kinds of black. Jasmine, lapsang souchong, and more Oolong than you can shake a teapot at. Prices are low, the tea is usually in lovely ornamental tin boxes, which keeps it fresh. Anywhere in any city in the world, where there is a population of Asian citizens, you'll find these wonderful little Oriental markets.

RedWood	19 Jun 2003
I drink decaffeinated Green Tea..well i have it..yet to actually drink it HEHE..I do like green tea..I got decaffienated because i do not drink any caffiene..so why start? lol

bec	20 Jun 2003
****I drink decaffeinated Green Tea**** UH?? in what green tea are there caffein?? The pocess of making something decaf, is a process of heating and loads of cemicals for drawing the caff out of product. Result you get is VERY unhealthy for you - yes you avoid the decaf, but what you get in return is yet to discover. Some of the chemicals used in this proces have been poofed to be cause of cancer.... Like Diet products - what they put in instead of regular sugar - peeyew - you got nutrasweet (shows to alter state of human cells), you got spartam (also shows to alter state of human cells) and these 2 "sugars" are made of molekules our digestion are un-fit to handle, in the process in stomache the diet sugars are turned into methylated spirit. Anyway this is far more than any of you asked for, and also getting of topic here, so I will just shut me mouth :P By the way: Melvis great link there - the prizes are crazy though!!

LittleWing	20 Jun 2003
whenever i read this thread ......... i go and put the kettle on!!!

Woof	20 Jun 2003
I drink lots of tea, Kemun, English breakfast, Irish breakfast, Ti Quan Yin, Oolong, Lung Chin Dragonwell....... Best vendor for price, service, quality, variety is Special Teas: http://www.specialteas.com Click on the highlighted words "Tea Room" in the lower right corner. They have 6 varieties of white tea, 47 varieties of green teas, 13 varieties of oolong, many many varieties of black teas, flavored teas, fruit teas, herbal and fruit tissanes, rooibos, matte, lapacho and anything you might need, want or fancy regarding tea preparation. I am not an owner nor in any way affiliated with this company, just a devoted customer. Woof

Royal Cat	21 Jun 2003
The rule of thumb is: the more processed the leaf, the hotter the water. So, actually, technically, green tea (which is not nearly as processed as black tea) should be steeped in cooler water then black tea - about 30 degrees F below boiling. And green tea should not be steeped very long at all, only about 1-1.5 minutes. However, unlike black tea, the green tea leaf can be infused again several times (2-3 times) until the flavor is gone. Think of green tea the way you think of a vegetable... boiling it will remove a lot of the best nutrients and change the flavor. Some of the health benefits of green tea include: antioxidants, may help lower cholesterol, may assist in preventing cancer, helps control high blood pressure... and the act of drinking tea can be very relaxing. :) Cat

Cerulean	21 Jun 2003
http://www.bodyofmine.com/tea/Green_tea/green_tea.htm By the way... A group of students found a quieter tea room to meet in every two weeks...and I remember one of the gentlemen was married to a woman from Taiwan. He had a comment about tea and leisurely time-outs. He was over there and participating in a kind of family event involving tea--but it was actually all men at the time, I don't know why. Anyway, the entire evening centered on the making of almost thimble-fuls of this powdery green tea. He's originally a science-math type, so his observation, with a grin:"A great deal of effort and lots of talk and sometimes an almost ritualistic aspect---the whole point was it took lots of time to just do this, so we weren't going anywhere fast." He can speak and read Chinese enough to enjoy his time and conversation...I was delighted to hear of this old world meeting. His observation that tea doesn't always have a entirely feminine association comes from an American upbringing where he was more likely to have coffee available. In the tea room, I saw both women and men, mostly those attracted to it's quiet atmosphere. Mari H.

The Green Tea and Meditation thread was originally posted on 18 Jun 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.