Why Tea is Love
In alignment with heart month, we want to share how tea represents so much more than a wonderfully warm beverage; how it can connect us to the landscape and each other. As a plant traditionally used as a medicine for the heart, we think a cup of tea, is the perfect accompaniment as we make our way through February…
For centuries, tea has been as ceremonial and ritual as it is personal, creating an undeniable connection between tea and love.
It represents how we are connected; interpersonally and to our environment. Being the world's most consumed beverage after water, tea has a unique power to heal, transform and soothe while also yielding a myriad of health and wellness benefits. The tea plant is the only known plant to contain the amino acid, L-Theanine, which naturally works in harmony with caffeine to create a gently sustained state of relaxed alertness while easing stress and anxiety and improving cognitive function.
How is tea a cross-cultural symbol of the heart?
Originating in China, tea holds a sacred place, with traditions passed down through generations. In ancient medical textbooks of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the tea plant was revered as heart medicine - just as Rose, Cacao or Hawthorn are plants known for having an affinity for the heart. Different types of tea would be prescribed for different ailments related to the heart - physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Extensive scientific research today confirms that tea does indeed contain properties that support the circulatory + cardiovascular systems. This includes regulating cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, reducing risk of heart disease, soothing symptoms of stress as well as improving mental focus.
No matter where you go in the world, tea provides a way to express hospitality and encourages us to be in the moment. Across time and space, serving tea is seen as a way to welcome, offer respect, bring good humour, express forgiveness and approach others with humility and grace. Tea has always been a plant of connection, and as the world has become more globally connected, the lines we draw to tea and through tea have grown as well.
Celebrate tea's power to cultivate joy and love by sharing a cup with intention this February.
