5 AMAZING BEAUTY TIPS AND OTHER HACKS USING TEA

“Tea is the magic key to the vault where my brain is kept.”― Frances Hardinge

“There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.”― Lin Yutang

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy tea and that’s kind of the same thing.”

You may be reading a newspaper, catching up with your dear ones, enjoying rain or dealing with a stressful day at work place, tea helps us relax, relish, enjoy and rejuvenate. You can surely relate to one of the quotes stated above. Though many of us relish this drink but most of us are unaware about its origin, the flavours, types and the difference between regular and organic tea. This article is to enlighten you about your favourite drink, few beauty tips and some useful hacks.

Which is the most widely consumed drink in the world?

Tea is the most widely consumed drink after water in the world.

India is the second largest producer of tea in the world, after China. Tea is the most preferred beverage across socio-economic classes. According to statista the global consumption of tea in FY 2019–20 was 6365 million kilograms whereas, consumption volume of tea in India FY 2019–20 was 1090 million kilograms which is 17% of the global consumption (statista).

WHAT IS TEA?

Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub (bush) native to East Asia. Majority of Indians prepare tea by adding milk.

WHERE DID TEA ORIGINATE?

Tea originated in Southwest China, where it was used as a medicinal drink.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT FLAVOURS OF TEA?

The different flavours in tea and the caffeine content in it have a stimulating effect in humans. The flavours are-

1) Cooling

2) Slightly bitter

3) Astringent

4) Sweet nutty

5) Floral

6) Grassy notes

I am a tea lover. To me a day without tea feels incomplete. I mostly have 4–5 cup of tea in a day. Whenever I feel low, stressed out or tired, a cup of tea is what restores my mood, refreshes my mind and rejuvenates me. My personal favourite is “spiced or masala tea” with milk.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEA?

Categorization of tea is done on the basis of how it is processed and produced. The different types of tea are-

1) White Tea-wilted and unoxidized;

2) Yellow- unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow;

3) Green- unwilted and unoxidized;

4) Oolong-wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized;

5) Black-wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized;

6) Post-fermented (dark)-green tea that is fermented/composted;

7) Herbal Teas- is an infusion or blend of various leaves, fruits, bark, seeds, roots, or flowers belonging to almost any edible, non-tea plant.

10 BENEFITS OF HERBAL TEA

Based on the ingredients used herbal tea has ample of benefits in store. Below are few of them-

1) Regulate blood sugar and lipids. Reduces high cholesterol, risk of heart disease and blood pressure.

2) Helps to relieve anxiety and stress. Promotes relaxation and sleep.

3) Treats motion sickness and nausea.

4) Boosts immune system, reduces inflammation, and fights bacterial and fungal infections.

5) Relieves headache, cold & flu and reduces fever and enhances immunity.

6) Treats asthma and other respiratory conditions.

7) Relaxes the digestive muscles, reduces bloating, indigestion, ulcers and bladder infection. Helps in losing weight.

8) Protects and provides your skin, hair and body with incredible nourishment. Improves eye sight

9) Prevents tooth cavities and bad breath, bleeding after a tooth extraction.

10) Enhances kidney functioning, treats edema and makes bones healthier.

REGULAR AND ORGANIC TEA- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Organic tea fields, whether they are growing organic green tea, organic white tea, organic oolong tea or organic black tea do not use chemicals, fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides.

Organic tea farms, which are often small tea farms, work in harmony with local conditions, supporting biodiversity and adapting to the natural cycles of the land. They are reliant on the natural breakdown of organic matter, using techniques such as composting which replaces nutrients taken from the soil by previous tea crops naturally produced by this process throughout the tea growing season. This process feeds the soil, which then feeds the crop.

Regular, normal, or conventional tea farming, on the other hand, use fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides to stop crops from being destroyed by unwanted pests. Conventional tea plantations maximize production in the short term but damage these usually large organic tea farms in the long term.

Now that you are aware about tea and its types let us understand the making of tea bags.

HOW ARE TEA BAGS MADE?

Nowadays, people prefer tea bags over loose tea because it’s easier to prepare tea that way. Being able to dip the tea bag into the hot water, then easily toss it out when it’s done, is simpler than adding the extra step of using a tea infuser and then having to clean it out later.

The paper found in tea bag is similar to paper found in milk and coffee filters and is a blend of wood and vegetable fibres. The latter is bleach pulp abaca hemp, a plantation banana plant grown for its fibre, mostly in the Philippines and Colombia. Some bags have a heat-sealable thermoplastic such as PVC or polypropylene as a component fibre on the inner tea bag surface, and other bags are made from nylon. Polypropylene is commonly used to seal paper tea bags.

EFFECTS OF USING TEA BAGS

As per a study conducted in 2019 a single plastic teabag at brewing temperature (95 °C) releases approximately 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics particles into a single cup of the beverage. These micro-plastics also harm the environment specially soil and water as they are virtually non-biodegradable for thousands of years.

USED TEA BAGS- WHAT CAN YOU DO?

In our last blog “HOW NEWBIE’S CAN START THE JOURNEY TOWARDS MINIMIZING WASTE?”, we had mentioned that we should recycle, reuse and reduce the products in order to minimize our waste. Let us apply what we have learned and explore few options to reuse the brewed tea bags.

BEAUTY TIPS USING TEA

1) Treat under-eye dark circles — Store the used tea bags in refrigerator and use it to reduce the appearance of dark circles. The caffeine in the tea will help in narrowing the blood vessels around the eyes and constrict the blood flow. Use them regularly to see the magic. Alternatively, you may also use Green Tea Under Eye Cream.

2) Use as a toner- The astringent in the tea makes it a great toner making the face clean and less greasy. Take a tea bag, wipe it on your face and clean your face with a towel.

3) Acts as a scrubber- The antioxidants in the tea leaves gives a perfect glow to your skin when used as a scrubber. Dry a used tea bag, cut it open, use the tea leaves to scrub your face and wash it off. Your skin will feel soft and smooth.

4) Amazing hair rinse- Rinse your hair with the concoction of black tea. Cool the black tea concoction and spray it into your hair. Not only it cleanses your scalp but also reduces hair loss and makes your hair look lustrous.

5) Foot Soak- Add used tea bags to warm water and soak your feet to neutralize foot odours, soften calluses, and nourish your skin.

Alongside you may also use Natural Green Tea Products.

HACKS USING TEA

1) Manure for your plants- Open the brewed tea bags and sprinkle the used tea leaves around the base of your plants to fertilize the soil and get rid of garden pests.

2) Compost- Add the brewed tea bags to your compost pile for a boost of nutrients. Remember to remove the metal staple or tags.

3) Remove odours-Drop a few dry used tea bags into the bottom of your trash bins to neutralize bad odours before they can escape into your kitchen.

4) Avoid pests- Used tea bags saturated with peppermint essential oil can help in keeping the pests like spider, ants and rodents away from your house. Keep the used tea bags in cupboards, pantries or any areas where pests may enter.

5) Easy dish-wash- Soak your dishes in warm water with a couple of used tea bags to break up grease without the application of harsh chemicals. The tea will also help to loosen any food stuck on the vessels and save you from the endless scrubbing.

6) Glass cleaner-Re-brew used tea bags and spray the solution onto windows, mirrors, and other glass surfaces to loosen up dirt, grime, fingerprints, and other gunk. Be sure to wipe away with a clean, lint-free cloth to minimize streaks and dust particles.

CONCLUSION

I hope this blog has helped you to understand how to distinguish and pick your favourite tea.

While you enjoy your favourite beverage try to avoid harming our ‘Mother Earth’.

Natural plant fibre is made from tea bags, but to prevent them from falling apart when you pour boiling water on them and to give them a little rigidity, microplastic are added. Consumers who are conscious about the ecosystem should avoid single use tea bags that contain microplastics. By unconsciously ingesting plastic this way not only harms you but also harms the environmental by seeping into the soil and water where they get into our food chains by being reabsorbed by plant roots.

Will you be more conscious about your purchases and choose loose tea sold without packaging or other high quality teas that come in paper teabags and try to reduce the burden on the environment?

Let us enjoy our favourite beverage without adding single use waste into the environment.