Tea Me!

During my recent travels, I endured a particularly frustrating incident with a rental car agency (definitely a 9.9 out of 10 on the infuriating scale), and let me tell you, a giant vat of tea would have come in handy.

You see, a UK study released this month found that men who drank black tea 4 times a day for 6 weeks had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than the guys given a tea substitute. They also felt more relaxed after (but not during) stressful tasks (hmm, I wonder of they made them go bathing suit shopping – just kidding, they were actually asked to give an impromptu presentation, which is almost as stressful).

Within 50 minutes of finishing their speeches, the tea toddlers’ stress hormones sank by half, compared to a 27% drop in the imitation tea bunch. That’s impressive, because aside from being a gigantic pain in the rear, too much stress can stifle your immune system, leading to illness.

And of course, tea already has a pretty great track record as a rich source of phytochemicals (those groovy body guards I keep referencing). And it’s nearly calorie free (just 2 measly calories per cup).

All this tea talk gave me a craving so I brewed some up tonight (how do you like my mug?). Ok, before I say adieu, a few fun facts:
-White, green, and black tea all come from the same plant (oxidation, or the lack thereof determines the color)
-Tea is the most popular beverage in the world excluding water
-India is the world’s largest tea producer
-Loose tea accounts for only two percent of tea sales in the U.S.

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