Wherever you are, February is probably hitting you hard. The shivering is on, winds are blowing, and there isn't a dry sidewalk in sight. It is tea's job, however, to make us all forget our seasonal woes.
Certain teas simply make us feel good or please our taste buds. Others, though, are here to deliver us from the cold, actually helping our bodies fight the freeze, combat the germs floating around, and even battle the bulge. Warming teas, as we call them, are both warm in terms of flavor and in terms of their duty – to actually heat up our palettes and bodies. In the spirit of making it through winter's last push, here is a collection of 5 tea types that will make you want to sit by that cozy fireplace with a cup of hot tea forever:
1. Drink oolong tea to metabolize fats quicker, eventually leading to a more efficient metabolism and a warmer you. Aside from its earthy flavor, oolong lends a lightly caffeinated energy boost along with an abundance of crucial vitamins and other nutrients. One of the customer favorites, Jasmine Oolong, is a traditional oolong with a floral, sweet, jasmine flavor.
2. Some like it hot – and they usually turn to ginger tea. Sip on some Heavenly Tea Leaves Ginger Peach White to raise your body temperature and rev up your digestion. Ginger is also known to aid blood flow in the body and provides a laundry list of additional benefits, including lowering blood pressure, lending antiseptic properties, alleviating nausea, and even acting as a natural blood thinner thanks to its naturally occurring salicylates. Our Ginger Peach also contains a base of white tea, which is another warming tea (see #5).
3. Spice it up with an organic cinnamon-based tea like Ginger Jazz. According to the Huffington Post, cinnamon "helps dry dampness in the body and warms people [who] are always cold and suffering from poor circulation. Cinnamon is [also] antiseptic and an excellent digestive tonic." The warmth of cinnamon also lends pleasant associations to holidays and white winters, making this tea all the more enjoyable to drink.
4. Sweet, comforting, and refreshing, peppermint tea is a simple and straightforward solution to the dreaded February frost. Peppermint serves as a natural stimulant and works overtime to deliver a caffeine-free energy boost while delivering a soothing finish. Heavenly Tea Leaves' 100% organic variety is sure to give just the kick you're looking for.
5. White tea = feeling good. While super-light white tea isn't as popular as black tea, it certainly boasts as many health-promoting properties. It is thought that white tea acts as an antibacterial agent, helping deter our wintertime sniffles; the catechins found in both white and green teas are so powerful that they have even been linked to the combatting of the flu virus. To add some fruity and floral flavor to the simple flavor of white tea, you're best off trying out Pomegranate White.
Don't be afraid to mix and match! Try creating your own in-home blends. You can cut up some ginger, take fresh cinnamon, and add some peppermint to create a delightful herbal concoction to help cure your winter blues. And while this is only one suggestion, you can try playing around with different teas, herbs, and spices to give you tasty results. You know what they say, you never know if you don't try!
In February, we can either look ahead to spring or enjoy this moment for what it is – a calm, cozy, exciting time of year. While the sneezing and freezing roadblocks try to stand in our way, a cup of hot tea can always come to the rescue. To recap, some of the most effective warming teas or tea ingredients include oolong, ginger, cinnamon, peppermint, and white tea. Based on whether you prefer caffeine, depth of flavor, or spice, you can mix and match each of these into your daily beverage rotation. Bundle up by the fire, bring out your chunkiest sweaters, and warm yourself up with a nice cup of hot tea.
