Tisane over Chai

“Tea is anything that comes from the camellia sinensis plant, so if it’s herbal it’s called a tisane,” tea master and founder of Tea Masters Australia, Sharyn Johnston, told The Huffington Post Australia.

Samosa and Chai in this beautiful rainy weather is a lethal combination taking you straight to heaven, but we cannot do this all the time because- health. So why is milk tea- “CHAI” unhealthy anyway?

1. Flavonoids in tea, called catechins, are beneficial for the heart. A group of proteins in milk, called caseins, interact with the tea to reduce the concentration of catechins.
2. The caffeine interferes with the iron absorption in the body.
3. Disrupt your metabolic system due to imbalance of acidic and alkaline substances in the stomach.
4. It is diuretic in nature which means that it removes the water from our body.Excessive dehydration will eventually cause muscle cramps.
5. Tea can cause erosion of enamel because of the presence of sugar.
6. Milk tea is calorically dense it doesn’t help the weight watchers.

Tea/tisane was initially used for medicinal purpose and not used to feel awake and alert all the time. Choose to have tea without milk/sugar. These are the teas that I’ve tried and loved. Its easy and you can have the ingredients in your kitchen garden and backyard.

1. My No. 1 tea is Tulsi-ginger-honey! Considering the beautiful Bangalore weather and the allergies that come along, I swear by this. For 2 cups- Just boil 3 cups of drinking water, and add 15-20 green ‘tulsi’ (Indian Basil) leaves, 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Let it simmer and reduce to 2 cups. Strain, add honey and sip.

2. Lemon grass tea: My mom introduced me to this. Just boil 2 cups of water and add Lemongrass (washed and chopped). Make sure you don’t mess with this grass its got blades invisible to the eye, I had an incident which I can tell you about another day. Its excellent for digestion, bloating and it is packed with antioxidants. Strain and sip. Okay I’ll just tell you, I rubbed the lemon grass behind my ear because it smelled so good I thought it will leave some of the perfume on me. Don’t do that. Cuts.

3. Spearmint-Pudina-Tea: So I bought this spearmint green tea from Tea Monk a while back and I wanted to enhance the minty-ness of it, but not have it tasting like “pudinhara”. So boil 10-15 (freshly plucked only) Pudinaleaves in 2 cups of water. Let it cool to just warm to drink and then strain and use the Spearmint green tea bags from Tea Monk. This is to die for. You need to grow pudinain your kitchen, it’s the best thing you could do for yourself. If you’re going decaf, then avoid using the green tea and just go for pudina
4. Basil Tea. This is the Thai basil, which grows easily in the Bangalore weather in my backyard. Just pluck 4-5 leaves wash, break it roughly with your hands. Boil 2 cups of water, take it off the stove and once it’s a little hotter than lukewarm add the leaves and cover for 10 min. You could leave it longer as per preference, I like it mild as these leaves are really strong. Strain and enjoy.

Floral teas:

5. Aralia/ Firangipani/ Temple tree flower tea: Boil 2 cups water, take it off the stove to cool to luke warm. Add washed flowers 5-6. And cover with lid. Strain in cups and don’t forget to smell between each sip, its like liquid perfume. I’ve sometimes added some basil leaves to make it taste fancier. Temple tree flowers attract the ants so shake it off and wash well before use.
6. Rose-Fenel-Mint tea: This is a cracker! Recent and I took it out for a picnic! Boil 2 cups water, take it off the stove. You don’t have to cool this one. Add some fennel seeds, 10-12 plucked fresh pudina, and petals of 1 rose. Cover this for longer as the rose really needs to get in there. Strain and may be leave a few petals in the cup. Make sure the rose petals are not wilted and if its freshly plucked nothing like it. This is from FOREST ESSENTIALS tips! <3

My next article is going to have more teas coming, till then try these and you could use the tips below!

Tips:

A) Use only lukewarm water for store bought tea leaves and tea bags as they can make more than 2 cups in one use, as with boiling water it becomes too strong and the essence is lost. B) Don’t use lemon in hot/warm/lukewarm water it has a capacity to erode your enamel and your dentist will hate you for it. C) You can always add cinnamon or honey in any herbal tea as per your taste and heath, as cinnamon regulates insulin and honey could have other side effects, add as per your bodily requirement. D) Don’t over-do just one type of tea. I keep changing it as per my mood and weather. E) Don’t use stems in any recipe as they give a bitter taste to the tisane.

(Green tea fanatics for you please read)

The fermentation process used to make “black” tea leaves, the most commonly drunk type of tea in the UK, has also been found to boost levels of these fat-fighting compounds compared to green tea, which is unfermented. The research suggests that despite more attention being paid to the health benefits of green tea, black tea may have greater health-boosting properties which are masked by the tendency to drink it with milk.

 

Research:

Tea is good for the heart – but adding milk to it wipes out the benefits …

Side Effects of Tea: Beware of these bad effects on your health

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