A cup a day

Growing up in a family of coffee drinkers, my exposure to tea had consisted of a few cups of jasmine tea over yum cha in Sydney’s China Town and the occasional peppermint tea at my grandparent’s place. I had heard of green tea and some of the better known black teas, but they somehow never crossed my path.

Then, last year in November I was diagnosed with glandular fever. There aren’t any medications that can be prescribed for this – the only cure is rest and plenty of water.

My Penjing (Chinese bonsai) teacher came up with a suggestion – that I drink tea to help me recover. I decided it was worth a try as I’d heard people mention the health benefits of drinking tea and it sounded like a far more pleasant cure than some of the medicines I’ve taken in my life.

The teas he suggested to me included:

Ginseng Oolong
This tea is meant to promote health and treat ailments such as depression, fatigue and stress, as well as increasing your resistance to disease.

Green tea
It’s not to everyone’s taste, but this tea assists the immune system, improves blood circulation and helps migraines and headaches.

Chrysanthemum tea
This delicate tea can be used to treat colds, flu, fever and headaches.

So at least once a day I would be in the kitchen, brewing myself a cup of one of these teas. Nearly six months later, I’m still drinking them, even though I’m mostly over the glandular fever, they help me deal with the lingering symptoms. And I actually discovered that I do indeed have a taste for tea.

Once I was able to get out and about again, I started investigating some of the other types of teas that are available. I was quite surprised by the range of tea available and my favourites now include:

Jasmine tea
This consists of green tea mixed with jasmine leaves. It’s a very good option if you find green tea too bitter.

White tea
This tea isn’t as processed as green tea, so it actually has a higher level of antioxidants and a lower level of caffeine. They also aren’t as bitter as green, so this is a good way to start drinking tea.

Chai tea
I really enjoy this as a ‘chai latte’, a favourite of mine when my friends and I ‘go out for a coffee’. There is quite a wide range of chai teas available, such as chai vanilla and chai oriental. My next challenge is to figure out how to brew these to make my own chai lattes at home.

Morning flower green
A blend of green tea with rose buds, cornflowers and sunflower blossoms

Australian Daintree
This is my favourite of all of the black teas. I first tasted it on Cape Tribulation when I was on a tour of the Daintree rainforest.

There are numerous studies out there about the health benefits that come from drinking tea but you don’t need to read them all to figure out that curling up with a good cuppa is relaxing. So hop out of your coffee comfort zone and get brewin’.

With thanks to Sifu Phillipe Tot at the Lingnan Penjing Academy, and David Lyon at The Tea Centre.

By Laura Boness

Image: Laura Boness