I love tea. There’s nothing like a nice cup of warm tea to relax after a stressful day, or a tall glass of iced tea to enjoy while spending time with my partner on our porch. Tea is delicious, healthy, and just so comforting. My partner hates tea with a passion, thanks to his mother making the worst pots of tea on the planet (don’t tell her I said that), but that was his problem with most foods he hated—bad childhood experiences ruined some foods and drinks for him, but I slowly win him round. Just the other day he told me how happy he was that I introduced him to inari and eel sushi, his two favourites now. But anyway, we were talking about tea, and while I was showing him some of my favourites, I thought I’d talk about my favourite basic teas here, too!
Mint Tea
Whether you decide to try peppermint tea, or drop some mint in a mug of some other kind of tea, mint tea is amazing. I grew up drinking mugs of black tea (usually some sort of English Breakfast tea, or a Yellow Label for convenience) with mint leaves and sugar mixed in. The smell of that stuff brings back so many memories, I love it. Peppermint tea is also quite good, but you don’t tend to get the deepness of black tea with it. I like drinking mint teas when I have stomach issues, or period cramps, because science has shown that peppermint oil helps soothe IBS, nausea, indigestion, and cramps, though there’s been nothing conclusive when it comes to tea.
Hibiscus Tea
This tea is very popular in the Middle East, and it’s got a lovely tart flavour and the tea is a gorgeous shade of red. I didn’t drink this stuff a lot growing up, because hot and tart tea isn’t something I liked as a child, but now I love it. Though I will say, having it iced with some honey mixed in is lovely. Hibiscus tea is great for so many health problems, too: it has antiviral properties, improves high blood pressure, and reduces stress. The only thing you have to watch out for with this tea is that you shouldn’t take it with certain diuretic medications, or if you’ve just taken an aspirin within the last 5 hours.
Rose Hip Tea
This is a tea that I only drink on special occasions, because it feels so luxurious and decadent. It tastes exactly like how you’d think a tea made from the fruit of roses would taste, and it’s beautiful. I like making lattes with this tea, but it’s good by itself hot or iced. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a fan of iced teas, and I Like rose hip tea iced with only the slightest hint of sugar. This stuff is great for reducing arthritis inflammation, and new science has shown that it might help with weight loss efforts.
