Teas for Sleep

Having trouble sleeping? According to some, teas and tisanes can help. You can read about tisanes for sleep in a previous blog post or read about more tisanes (sleep-inducing and otherwise) in my tisane listing series (scroll down to "tisane"). You can also read about tea for sleep as well as seven other sleeplessness remedies on Health.com. Which bedtime teas help you catch some zzz's?

Last Day in Vegas

Visited Qua (the spa at Ceasar's Palace) for the steamroom, sauna, and tea lounge. Saw some Vegas sights. Arrived at the airport for a red-eye flight. I won't be posting tomorrow (I'll be sleeping), but I'll share some more Expo info when I'm settled back into NYC.

Tisanes for Sleep

Having trouble sleeping? Learn more on caffeine and tea on my site, and then look over this list of tisanes for something to lull you to sleep.

CARDAMOM

Pros--reduces the effects of caffeine
Cons--doesn't help if you haven't had any caffeine

CHAMOMILE

Pros--sweet and floral, readily available
Cons--a common allergen

KAVA KAVA

Pros--often found in sleep blends, a natural antidepressant
Cons--may cause intoxication when drunk in excess, may cause organ damage when taken in excess in supplement form

LAVENDER

Pros--aids in the reduction of stress and insomnia, tastes good
Cons--some people are allergic to lavender

LEMON BALM

Pros--soothing, pleasant in taste
Cons--not usually used specifically for sleep, but perhaps a useful aid nontheless

MINT

Pros--spearmint and peppermint both taste good and are caffeine-free
Cons--some find the taste to be invigorating

PEACH

Pros--tastes good, caffeine-free
Cons--not used specifically for sleep, but a nice alternative to beverages with caffeine

RASPBERRY LEAF

Pros--many find it to be relaxing
Cons--not used specifically for sleep

ROSE PETALS

Pros--soothing
Cons--You guessed it--not used specifically for sleep

ROOIBOS

Pros--high in antioxidants, particularly antiaging antioxidants
Cons--may cause nightmares in some rare cases

SCULLCAP

Pros--one variety acts as a sedative
Cons--there are over 300 varieties

ST. JOHN'S WORT

Pros--reduces stress and alleviates insomnia
Cons--may interact with some medications

TILLEUL

Pros--soothing, similar in taste to chamomile, (unlike chamomile) not an allergen
Cons--harder to find than chamomile (unless you're in France, where it is very common)

VALERIAN ROOT

Pros--said to be very effective in treating insomnia
Cons--not so popular on the flavor front

For more information on these and other tisanes, read my Tisane Listing articles or consult an herbalist. Sweet dreams!

Samples: Nuwati Herbals' Cloud Walking "Tea"

Last night, I tried my first sample from the Expo. It was Nuwati Herbals' Cloud Walking Tea (which is actually a tisane). It's for sleep and tension. (As I said before, I guess it's for aiding in sleep and easing tension.)

When I went to prepare Cloud Walking "Tea" shortly before my bedtime, I have to say that I was a little worried. The smell of the unbrewed blend of Catnip, Chamomile Flowers, Hops, Kava Kava, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Passion Flower, Rosemary, Skullcap, St. John's Wort, and Valerian Root was not the most pleasant aroma I've ever encountered. Also, the catnip smell reminded me of a former roommate's cat. (As a yarnoholic, this is not something I find to be a relaxing scent-association.) However, once it was done brewing, it smelled great. The lemon balm and rosemary really came out. It also smelled vaguely minty to me for some reason, though I'm not sure why. The taste was OK, but the taste isn't really the point. What you really want to know is whether it worked or not. Yes, it worked. I don't know if it's because I thought it probably would, or if it just really works. The FDA isn't so sure either. Still, I felt mellow after drinking it and I went to sleep easily (a rarity unless I'm exhausted--perhaps THAT's why I'm such a workaholic).

I still have two more samples from Nuwati Herbals to try. First, I'm going to give some of the other companies a shot. Check back soon for more of my adventures with tea in small packages!



PS--I am feeling the music from Nuwati's website. "Awakening" in the morning was a good call. I should start my day by tapping into my Cherokee heritage more often.

Sick

I slept 11.5 hours last night. I awoke feeling somewhat better than last night, and with less of a fever. I went to the doctor, who was wonderful. (It is SUCH a relief to find a good doctor in NYC.) He says that I had a virus several weeks ago and that I never fully healed (because of travel and whatnot), so I ended up with sinusitis. Fun. Well, now I know what's wrong and can start to fix it. First, I'm off to pick up antibiotics. Then, I think it's time for some ginger tisane and a nap.

(I swear my life didn't revolve around sleep before I moved up here. It's just that I don't get enough of it, and then I get sick, and then I need a lot of it to get better. Perhaps I should just be a little less of a workaholic. Hah! Not likely.)

Tea, Sick Again

Today, I had tea in a lovely little tearoom in NYC with Sebastian Beckwith of In Pursuit of Tea. Unfortunately, I am sick again. Not sure if it's allergies or what, but I am very fuzzy (mentally) and congested and just generally not feeling well at all. In fact, I had to come home early today and sleep for a long period of time, only to awake and find that, yes, my entire body DOES still feel like it was hit by a truck today. Also, I now have a fever. Fortunately, I was able to get an appontment with a doctor who is not only NOT a quack, but actually quite good. The problem is that my insurance doesn't cover him. At this point, I feel it's worth it to pay (much) more for a doctor I know won't try to give me entirely unnecessary exams, sell me flax seed oil for migraines, or any other ludicrous thing under the guide of "medical science." I seriously need to get a new insurance plan.

Anyway, I got to have tea with Sebastian. Though my allergy/illness haze, I remember that he's a cool guy and we had a good converstation. Oh, and I drank a nice Dimbula Ceylon. The details left about when the fever arrived, so I can't really say much more than that. I'm going back to sleep now.

Back in NYC

Back in NYC. Exhausted. Need . . . sleep . . . now . . .

SF: Day One

I arrived in SF after a smooth trip that was filled with reading (rather than sleeping). I'm most of the way through "Dry," and enjoying it thoroughly. After claiming my luggage and making some calls, I boarded BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to head into the city.

I met my old friend Justin in the Mission District, which I suppose is somewhat vaguely equivalent to the Lower East Side. We went to a coffee (I know, I know, I said the "C-word") shop, where I had some lovely Wuji Oolong (steeped with the Teastick) and tasty vegan zucchini bread. We caught up for a while, then walked back to his apartment, where I took a much-needed nap and he played some kind of online football draft game that is completely alien to me.

After my nap and his game, we headed over to the Apple store to meet my friend Tajee and her boss. I've known Tajee since college, when she was studying abroad from Tokyo. We are close friends, but we rarely see each other, so when she asked me to visit her in SF to help out with a lecture she was giving for Apple, I jumped at the chance.

The four of us met up and took a cab to Japantown to buy sake for her Apple event's after party. While Tajee and her boss perused the sake at a few grocery stores, I was running around looking at all the tea. After they found what they wanted, we headed back to Tajee's place (a beautiful, spacious apartment near the heart of the city) so she and her boss could work and Justin and I could chat.

Later, after her boss left, we went out to dinner at a restaurant called NoPa (named for the neighborhood, North of the Panhandle). We shared some pomme frites and I had a delicious baked great white bean dish and succulent sauteed Swiss chard with pine nuts. Yum!

Afterward, we took a walk through the neighborhood (I love the architecture, the hills, and the greenery!), then chilled out at Tajee's place. Tajee prepared her Apple presentation while Justin and I talked about philosophy.

Despite the short nap, I'm still pretty tired. (Ah, jetlag.) I'm off to bed now. Check back tomorrow for more on my trip!

Ah, Travel

Somehow I decided it was a GOOD idea to fly from ATL to NYC last night, the split for SF this morning. (Right . . .) Apparently, the airport gods disagreed with me on this. My flight was delayed 3.5 hours last night, which meant I got to run around like a crazy person doing laundry and packing and reserving a taxi when I got home. I slept for maybe 2 hours (not nearly enough to recover from the insanity that was the World Tea Expo, or from the flight, or from the remnents of my illness from last week). Then, at 5:30 AM, it was off to the airport (JFK this time) to fly to SF. I am SO glad my flight is not delayed (yet). The weather looks nice, so I think it will be OK. I hope I can sleep on the plane. (JetBlue has large seats, but no pillows or blankets. I wish I had thought of that in my packing frenzy.)

While visiting the various kiosks and shops in the airport during my wait for the plane, I was impressed with the range of bagged and bottled teas they offer. I was also glad to see that the bookstore had a copy of Augusten Burroughs' Dry, which I picked up. (A month or so, I decided that my college days are finally over, and I pretty much stopped drinking alcohol all together. (Tea is so much better, anyway!) It should be an interesting and amusing read.)

I'm going to take a quick nap before they start boarding. Suddenly, I find myself wishing when I packed my carry-on bag I decided that I really DO need easy access to a large quantity of down feathers at all times. I have the feeling that my video camera, cell phone, palm pilot, and wallet won't make the most comfortable pillow ever.

World Tea Expo: Day Three

Today began with a focused tasting of Sri Lankan teas. Even though Sri Lanka is a small country, it has an enormous range of elevation and climate, so it has a good range of flavors in its teas. The format of the tasting wasn't the best (there wasn't much focus on the taste of the teas in the lecture, the tastings themselves were very rushed, and we didn't get to see the dry or wet leaves), but it was good to learn more about Sri Lanka and taste some teas I hadn't tried before. Overall, it was an OK class.

My second class of the day (and final class of the conference) was a focused tasting of teas from Zhejiang, China. Of the tastings, this one had the best range of flavors and types. Also, they served a wonderfully complex Keemun, which I loved. The speaker was quite nervous, but very knowledgeable and well-organized. The teas and information were great, but I hope the speaker gains confidence from her feedback and returns more self-assured next year. I'd recommend the class if it's offered again.

Before I left for the airport, I got visit the exhibit hall to say goodbye to my new (and old) friends at Ito En, Red and Green, ITI, Adagio, Keiko, Urbana Cityspa and Teabar, the Tea Board of India, and more. Over the last few days, I have met some amazing people, tried some incredible teas and tea products, seen many beautiful things, and had a wonderful time. I'm already looking forward to next year's convention, even though it's in Vegas (NOT my favorite city in the world). If you read this and you plan on going, drop me a line--I'd love to meet you!

I'm off to NYC this evening. Tomorrow, I leave for San Francisco . . . but that's a whole different story!

World Tea Expo: Mary Mac's Tearoom

Atlanta has a number of up-and-coming restaurants vying for the status and attention afforded to NYC's culinary attractions. While some of them are quite good and much easier on the wallet than NYC restaurants, one of my favorites is an old Atlanta institution called Mary Mac's Tearoom. It's been around since 1945, when it was opened by (you guessed it) a woman named Mary Mac. In that regard, the name is fitting. However, you may be surprised to learn that Mary Mac's Tearoom is NOT a tearoom. In fact, the only serve four types of tea: sweet (a.k.a. "Southern Table Wine"), "unsweet" (iced, no sugar), hot (black, with or without sugar and milk), and herbal (I dare not guess which kind). "Mary Mac's Restaurant and Bar" would be a much better name NOW, but when it opened in 1945, very few things (not just businesses, but houses, pieces of land, etc.) were owned by women. To soften the blow of opening a woman-owned business, Mary Mac decided to call it a "Tearoom," because tea was deemed ladylike in the South at the time.

Despite the misleading name, I love Mary Mac's and I visit whenever I visit Atlanta. They provide me with the necessary dose of friend morsels and sweet tea for a southern expatriate visiting the South. This evening, I decided to allow myself every indulgence, and to forego the traditional meal structure in favor of sweet tea, bread, an appetizer, and dessert. This is a decision I do not regret in the least. I started with the sweet tea, which was in perfect southern style--flavorful, powerfully sweet, icy cold, and served with a large wedge of lemon. Next I sampled from a basket of breads: tiny yeast rolls (soft, flaky, and mildly sweet on the inside, firm, buttery, and salty on the outside), a mini-muffin of cornbread (mildly sweet and mealy), and a small sticky bun (cinnamon-honey deliciousness spiraled in soft, doughy goodness . . . with pecans). Then I had the fried green tomatoes, which are a southern staple. They were crunchy and savory on the outside and delicate and perfectly done on the inside. I wasn't a fan of the mayo-based horseradish sauce (despite my southern heritage, I despise mayo), so I opted for their homemade pepper vinegar instead. Delicious! I finished with the peach cobbler and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Between that and the sweet tea, I'll probably be on a sugar high for the next two hours. It was great, though, in that overly-sweet southern-cookin' way--exactly what I needed from my southern food fix.

If you're in Atlanta and you want to know how things are done down South, this is definitely the place to go. It's at 224 Ponce de Lyon (right across from the hostel) and it's open from 11-9 daily.

Between the classes and the exhibits, it's been a long day. I'm going out on the town for a bit, but as soon as my sugar high is over, I'm going to sleep!

World Tea Expo: Products and People

The exhibit hall is full of two main things: products and people. Most of the people are great. Some of the products are great. Here's a shortlist of the booths I skipped and the booths I'll be back to see again tomorrow (or, in other words, my person best and worst of show).

I skipped anything involving country-home-style products, faeries/wings/glitter, children, instant teas (especially the tea that comes in a spoon with a filter over the end--you stir it in hot water to brew it . . . I can't even begin to tell you how disturbing I find this product to be), cold-water-brewed iced teas, and MOST of the bottled teas. Other people may love these things, but they are decidedly NOT for me.

The booths that I loved and will be back to see again tomorrow include (though I'm sure I'm missing some) Art of Tea, Bodum, ITI, Ito En, Keiko, Red and Green Company, Rishi, and Tao of Tea. I know I missing most of the teaware people and I'm pretty sure I'm leaving some other worthwhile companies out, but I'll go back and list the for you later. In the meantime, these are the ones that I felt the most excited about. I'll tell you more about each company over the next few weeks--they have a lot of things going for them! If you get the chance, check out their sites!

I desperately need a nap, so it's off to the hostel to take one! After my nap, I'm going to a southern-style tearoom to get my fried food and sweet tea fix for the trip. (It is impossible for Southern expatriates to visit the South without eating at least one fried food and drinking at least one glass of "Southern table wine.") I can hardly wait!

World Tea Expo: Keynote Address and 11:11

The first day is over and I am wiped out. I want to sleep for about a day and a half. However, I'll be getting up at 6 AM again for another early class. Not that I can complain too much--I'm having an amazing time here!

The keynote address was very informative and entertaining. It was all about market trends. I found it interesting that a large segment of the presentation was about age demographics and, though various age groups were asked to stand, the youngest generation asked to stand was still older than me. I guess I'm one of the babies of the group. Other major areas of the speech covered perceptions of what is healthy, what types of tea people prefer to buy, how often they buy tea and other products, and how the internet and other technologies play roles in people's purchasing habits and styles.

After the keynote address was over, I was welcomed into a really cool place called 11:11 Teahouse with one of the other "babies" of the conference, Christine Rillo of Adagio Tea. I was thrilled to meet the owner, Penney Sue Balmes, a strong and intelligent entrepreneur just a bit older than myself. She serves and sells a wide array of tisanes, which was of particular interest to me because I am working on a series of articles about tisanes right now. The place is very laid-back and the tisanes and food are phenomenal. I hope to return the next time I head down South!

In Atlanta

I just arrived at my hostel in Atlanta. My flight was delayed by 7 hours. (LaGuardia: great mayor, terrible airport.) I'm exhausted and I need to be up at 6 AM to go to my first class (a focused tasting of Nepalese teas), so I'm off to sleep now!

Used Tealeaves

I was so excited about my meeting that I forgot to tell you about the newest Vee Tea article on what to do with used tealeaves. Here's an excerpt from a section on health and beauty uses:

"Tea Baths--Tealeaves can make a wonderfully refreshing bath. They contain an enormous amount of nutrients, but only a small percent of these nutrients are removed by the first infusion. A portion of the remaining nutrients can be absorbed into your skin. Just add a few used teabags (or a few teaspoons of used tea leaves in a thin cotton bag) to the water as you draw your bath. Regular, scented, or flavored teas can be used.

Energy--For an extra caffeine boost in the morning, try absorbing caffeine through your skin. There are a few ways to go about this. You can steep fresh leaves in your bath (see tea baths). You can use a tea-scented soap. Or, you can rub used damp tealeaves onto your skin during bathing.

Eye Treatment--Using teabags (or loose-leaf tea in thin cotton bags) as an eye treatment (like you would use slices of cucumber) provides antioxidants to delicate skin and helps it to recover from environmental and biological factors like pollution and stress.


Tea Pillows--Chagra can be used to make relaxing, naturally scented pillows. Chinese folk remedies employ pillows stuffed with chagra for insomnia, headaches, and high blood pressure. Dry your leaves thoroughly, stuff them into a pillow, and sun the pillow often (about once a week), as the leaves will accumulate moisture quickly. You can use a scented or flavored tea if you'd like, but avoid energizing scents like citrus."

Check out the rest here!

Sick

Ugh. I'm afraid I'm getting sick with a cold. That's what I get for substituting work for sleep. Time to make my famous Vee's Witches' Brew:

Vee’s Witches’ Brew

1 cup water
1 teaspoon green tea leaves
1-2 tablespoons honey
1 lemon (the juice and some of the grated rind)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Optional (if you care more about feeling better than drinking something that tastes good):
1 tablespoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste
Black pepper, cayenne, paprika, and/or hot sauce (as much as you can stand)
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 shot whiskey (I prefer Jameson, personally)

Brew the tea as you normally do. (Optional: Brew garlic with the tea leaves and strain it out. It was done for hundreds of years in ancient China, so it’s not THAT weird.) Return the drink to your heat source and stir in everything else (except the whiskey-- that goes in at the last second) until it's hot. Pour into an oversized mug, breathe the vapors, and sip slowly. Feel better soon!

Caffeine and Tea

I’ve spent the last two days writing about (and drinking) caffeine and tea. I need to get some sleep!