tea Archives - Seren Holistic Lifestyles

What to drink?

August 8, 2013 By Kat

The other morning when I got to work after a serious early morning sweaty hot yoga class I could not decide how I was going to hydrate myself. I wasn’t thirsty which was a good sign I wasn’t totally dehydrated I just didn’t know what I fancied to drink. The answer? I had one of everything!

My selection was as follows: Voss sparkling water, filtered water with Himalayan sea salt, an Emma & Toms green juice (I didn’t have time to make my own) & a nice cup of hot tea. I kept a round robin going having a sip from each one all morning till I was satisfied. Then is was back onto the herbal tea or plain filtered water for the rest of the day.

Variety is the spice of hydration I think!

Yogi Tea Quote

August 6, 2013 By Kat

I think you all must know by now I LOVE TEA!! Especially in winter. When I was in the States for nearly ten weeks I discovered Yogi Teas. A huge range of flavours all linked into different emotions and benefits. What I loved the most were the quotes on the bag tags. I think I’ve gone through them all by now. Yes I do cut them off and save them. I’ve made a lovely collage out of the tags I have saved thus far 🙂

Here’s my one from last night’s Bedtime Tea.

Chapels on Whatley

June 6, 2013 By Kat

No recipe today, instead it’s back on the tea trail. A few weeks back I had a girly catch up afternoon at a lovely place in Maylands, Perth. Chapels on Whatley is an eclectic mixture of antique furniture, art, home wares and a teashop. My friend had already been before and raved about the unlimited tea drinking. Just up my street. Two hours of unlimited tea for $5.50. They are strict about the two-hour time limit. After reading some reviews it sounded quite scary that you may be in danger of being de-tabled as soon as your time is up. Understandable as everyone should get the chance to have some tea.

I should know better than to read reviews, especially one’s that bag out the service & I was right. I went with no expectations so I had no disappointments. We had a lovely time. The place was heaving with the tail end of the Saturday afternoon lunch rush. We arrived about 2pm. Great time as we did become exempt of the two-hour limit & were left quietly to enjoy our endless tea for nearly three hours.

Breakfast and a simple lunch menu are offered. Expect the stupid higher end prices Perth is now experiencing. Think $15 for a vegetarian bagel. We skipped lunch and went straight for dessert. (Under $10) There is a vast selection of sugary goodness, including homemade macaroons that were huge. We opted for the homemade profiteroles with ice cram and berries. Yum yum. Alas I scoffed mine before taking a photo.

This was all washed down with (I lost count) five or six pots of tea. Chapels imports over 60 varieties from throughout China. We tried white, green, black, infused herbal of different kinds, there were so many to choose from. The deal is you order one pot at a time you can have a pot each but not more than two pots at a time per table. We just shared a pot each time so we could get through more flavours. The tea wear is fabulous. We started with fine bone china before the glass came out for the infusions. Not a tea drinker, fret not. Chapels serve the very tasty Yahava (Pronounced ‘Java’) coffee from Margaret River or the usual range of soft drinks. Chapels is a licensed venue so not BYO.

What a divine way to spend the afternoon sipping tea and catching up on news. There is plenty of parking around or over the road in the train station. Perthlings check it out for sure!

Tea’s up!

Love Seren xx

A lovely Cup of Tea

March 28, 2013 By Kat

It’s officially autumn now in the Southern hemisphere & the early mornings are getting a tad chilly. Through out the whole year I drink tea, especially first thing in the morning even if it’s 40 degrees outside. Must be my British heritage shining brightly. This time of year I’m hanging for a cuppa to warm myself up from the inside out.

In the summer months I tend to only drink tea in the mornings. Now the days are getting colder I’m craving hot liquids even in the afternoon. This is when herbal teas take centre stage. There are so many varieties and blends out there you are bound to find one you like. My tastes change all the time. At the moment I’m all about ginger. I found a new USDA organic certified brand called Higher Living. Their Ginger Kick is delicious. It contains ginger (obviously!) and lemon peel. It’s 100% caffeine free & organic. Their Evening blend is rather nice of a night too with lemon balm, fennel, chamomile, lime, peppermint and lavender.

The Byron Bay Tea Company have a lot of lovely teas too. They are pricier and you can’t get them in the supermarkets. My day spa sells them or they are available over the Internet. My favourite is Energy a blend of green tea and berries. It’s really good for a pick me up as green tea contains natural caffeine.

Yogi tea make a Ginkgo Clarity blend that I use in the afternoons if I’m feeling a little brain fried. The ingredient list is huge! Everything from peppermint, liquorice, lemongrass, basil, ginger and lemon the list goes on. Nearly all the herbs are organic but the brand not organically certified. I love the quotes on the tea tags too.

I try where I can to buy organic tea. Just like non organic fruit and vegetables tea is sprayed with harmful agricultural chemicals. This is harmful to us as consumers, the environment and the farm workers growing the tea. Vegetables are usually washed before they reach our shelves. Tea is not as it is air-dried before packaging. The first time it meets water is in our cup where all those toxins are then washed into our drink. Need I say more? There are plenty of organic brands in the supermarket, look out for an organic seal either from the USDA or Australian Organic. These two carry the highest standards of organic certification.

Herbal caffeine free tea counts towards your daily hydration levels too. If you struggle to get your two to three litres of water in a day during winter give herbal tea a try. A good-sized mug can take about 250-300ml of liquid. If you can, use filtered water in the kettle. I know boiling gets rid of any nasties but it helps keep the kettles elements free from calcium build up. Tea tastes so much better with filtered water, no yucky chlorine taste.

Time for a nice cup of tea and a sit down me thinks.

Love Seren xx

Posts Tagged ‘tea’