It's All About Tea — tea ceremony

Addiction is one of the most destructive human ailments there is. It can sabotage relationships, jobs, and, most importantly, personal health and well-being. Addiction can be found in alcohol, drugs, gambling, harmful foods, or anything else that we practice excessively, which does not benefit us at large. 

Thankfully nowadays, we have plentiful research and natural remedies that we can apply to ourselves to combat our addictions. (Read more)

For many of us, the world is going through a turbulent time. It is easy to get overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, and uncertainties. Lately, I found myself in this situation. At times it can seem as though I am no longer in control of my own life.  

While many of us are going through quarantine and social distancing, some professions continue to go to work. Whatever the situation, it is not an easy time. 

Being based in big and bustling New York, it is hard not to feel the effects of the quarantine first-hand. When I become overwhelmed, it can even be hard to remember about the remedies I have at my side.

So I decided to turn the situation around — I picked up a packet of my favorite tea. (Read more)

While not being limited to animals, tea pets are small clay figures used during gong fu cha for various purposes. Most often, they are used by tea drinkers as decoration, but also for good luck, or to test water for the right temperature.

Tea pets have a long history, dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (13th century China). Tea pets are not only used for aesthetic purposes. Their meanings and positioning are actually closely intertwined with feng shui. (Read more)

There are many ways of making a delicious cup of quality loose leaf tea. Luckily for us, the methods required to brew the perfect cup have been meticulously studied over the past centuries. Listed are the 5 main methods of brewing loose leaf teas. (Read more)

Nowadays, boiling tea is often seen as a way to spoil perfectly good tea leaves. However, if done right, this method of brewing tea deserves much more credit than it gets.

Boiling tea leaves is the most ancient method of making tea.
Back in the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907), when tea culture was gradually at its rise, tea leaves were boiled for prolonged periods. Sometimes they were cooked together with different spices. Different kinds of herbs, roots, fruits, and even chili and scallions weren’t uncommon accompaniments to tea leaves. (Read more)