Start Here — 111 Moods of Herbal Tea, Day 0
Dear Gentle Reader,
I simply have to do it. Every tea aficionado, such as yourself, deserves to hold in their hands a FREE guide to the wonders of tea. Not the kind that you see in bookshop windows, with the yawn-inducing feeling of a medical textbook. We all secretly long for a guide that feels as warming to the heart as a cup of tea does when raised to the lips. At last, you’ll watch this guide come to life with the 111 Moods of Herbal Tea Writing Challenge.
For the next 111 days, I will post an article about a single herbal tea. Some days you will learn to steep loose leaves, others roots, and others flowers or fruits. Don’t worry, I know that If I only told you the recipes and medicinal benefits, you might turn to any other book out there.
Because tea is about much more than drinking flavored water, I’m inviting you to join me on an adventure each day to:
- Discover a natural, no-funky-ingredients variety of herbal tea. (Check the tea boxes in your kitchen. Hint: Natural flavors are nowhere near natural).
- Fill your repertoire of home remedies with the best tea for most ailments. I’ll keep them as purchase accessible as possible.
- Visit tea shops around the US to “harvest” exotic tea boxes from Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, and many other lands.
- Sit down for a tea party at as many tea houses and tea bars as I can swish my petticoat through the door.
- Wait by the mailbox for the teas ordered online. Only from organic farmers, sometimes from across the sea, or from your online store suggestions in the comments.
- Surprise your friends and family with unforgettable experiences, as you share brews of the most beautiful tea blossoms.
And I saved the best for last…
The beauty of tea steams off from more than a pretty cup, from having the “perfect” brewing time, or from rubbing between your fingers a first flush (the first pluck of a tea plant’s harvest season). Yes, that’s all very nice, just not the essence of the experience.
Tea warms your body and soul because of the moment that goes by. It’s the timeless tradition, the history, the culture of the ritual. The manner in which the water flows from a heating pot, at just the right temperature, gently pouring down with the tilt of a wrist. Pouring onto a teaspoon of leaves that rise to the brim of the cup. Is there anything as comforting as the anticipation of that first sip?
When you read the 111 Moods of Herbal Tea Writing Challenge, you’ll get the full experience as if you were there. You’ll explore new teas with me, trying for yourself the ones that appeal to your taste buds. You’ll certainly raise your eyebrows once in a while at the tea selections of some cultures. But that’s the great part! You’ll get a peek at the traditions behind each tea, the people who grow them, the hidden gems along each road trip…
I’d love to count you as my companion along the way. At the end of the 111 days, you will have at your disposal a FREE guide to satisfy your every mood. If you need a warm cup in your hand for the day ahead, an aromatic relaxation at the end of a long day, a simple recipe for great times with friends, a cure for a wide array of physical discomforts…you’ll have them all.
Yours for the journey.
To every tea aficionado who loves adventure — welcome to the challenge!
Cheers to lifted pinkies,
Valeria Paz
