Do you have a morning ritual? How about any quality time before you start your day with your family? Most people may wake up… make a pot of coffee…turn on the news and begin their morning by racing to get ready to start the day. Now don’t get me wrong… I have two children that still can have my wife and I get a bit crazy in the morning as we inspire them to get ready for school or summer camp. We are also not the old school typical American family that sits down every weekday at 5 or 6pm to have dinner together. I don’t know about you… my 5pm is consumed with appointments or classes I teach at work… or with my kid’s activities such as lacrosse, Tae Kwon Do or football practice. At this point in time… the weekday family dinner time that I experienced growing up as a kid isn’t practical for my family. With that said… having that quality time as a family is essential and we make time every morning. How? Tea Time!
Over 18 years ago my Grand Master introduced me to Korean green tea. Now this isn’t any green tea… it’s a hand-picked wild green tea from only one place on planet earth….Mt. Jilee and is 100% natural. Because it’s not cultivated… the root of this wild green tea draws richer nutrients and minerals from almost 60 feet deep. The region’s colder climate (even in summer) and drastic temperature difference between day and night produces tea leaves stronger in “chi” or “energy.” What differentiates this wild green tea from other green teas is its completely natural production process from growing in the wild.
Green Tea
Over the past number of years, green tea has come to the forefront to living healthy and vital. Green tea has become a vital part of my personal healthy lifestyle and I utilize green tea to promote ineer vitality, calmness and tranquility. Not to bore you with information…I believe it is important to educate you a little about green tea compared to other teas. The reason is… most people don’t really know the difference. I have coaching clients tell me that they drink “green tea”… and then I see them with a Lipton Green Tea bag adding sugar to their cup. (YUK)
In any event…. all teas are derived from the same plant, the Camellia Sinensis, a shrub that yields two varieties of the tea plant: sinensis and assamica, slight differences in processing methods result in the tea varieties. Herbal teas, like peppermint or chamomile come from different plants, not the tea plant… contain no real tea properties. Teas are grown primarily in China, India, Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) and Japan. Teas are highly dependent on the place they are grown because tea plants grow by absorbing the nutrients and energy from the soil of the terrain. Tea connoisseurs often refer to the energy as “chi” and spirit of the place, which produce good tea.
Today, there are more than 3000 varieties of tea, each having its own distinct character and named for the district or region in which it is grown. Over 95% of those 3000 varieties fall under one of the following three major categories of tea: Green Tea (unoxidized, unfermented), Oolong Tea (partially oxidized, fermented) and Black Tea (fully oxidized). Besides the processing method, an important characteristic that determines the quality of tea is whether the tea is wild (grows naturally without cultivation), cultivated or organically cultivated.
Oolong Tea Green Tea Black Tea
Cultivated teas are fertilized with chemicals and exposed to pesticides, while organically cultivated tea plants are free from pesticides and herbicides. Although every aspect of the organic cultivation is inspected for authenticity and certified by an independent agency, organically cultivated teas are still inferior to wild teas. Wild Green Tea is 100% natural green tea, which is ostensibly free from pesticides and herbicides and left virtually untouched, until it is ready to be picked by hand.
Why Green Tea?
Polyphenols: Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds that are effective antioxidants for disease prevention and treatment of many health-related illnesses. The level of polyphenols in Green Tea is higher than Oolong Tea and Black Tea.
Unoxidized: Because Green Tea is unoxidized, these unaltered polyphenols are its primary active ingredients and as a result, its health benefits have been documented by numerous scientific researches.
Health Benefits: Green Tea has proven to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure (lowering the risk of heart attacks), aid digestion, fight fatigue, preserve younger-looking skin and prevent dental cavity and gingivitis. Recent animal studies have shown that green tea extracts protect against cancers of lung, breast, prostate, liver, skin, esophagus and colon.
Meditative Benefit: Green tea should not be consumed in a rush as if you are grabbing a cup of coffee to go to work. Green tea should be treated as a special place and time that is spent with people you care to spend time with. Green tea is to be consumed in a place that is quiet, free of distraction and enjoy the time with the people you are with. Drinking green tea is our family time or ritual that we commit to every morning. Being a father of two young children and deciding to block out this special “Tea Time” every morning where it is just our family, the tea and the time we spend together is priceless. It helps us start our day in a very peaceful and positive way.
NOTE
Caffeine Content Between Coffee & Tea
The biggest myth about the caffeine content between coffee and tea is that tea contains more caffeine than coffee. While this is true when measuring coffee and tea in its dry form, this is false when comparing brewed coffee and tea. Moreover, the caffeine in tea is water soluble so your body digests it easily and passes through your system much faster than coffee. On the other hand, caffeine in coffee is not water soluble so it stays in your system longer keeping you awake better than tea.
The Tea Ceremony
- Teacups (chat chans) Three to five cups.
- Teapot (chuchonja) Used to make green tea, but not served from.
- Lipped small bowl (sookwu) Used to cool down hot water and for serving tea.
- Large bowl (twaesugi) To discard water used for warming pot and cups.
- Wooden coasters (chat chan batchim)
- Bamboo scoop (cha si)
- Small tea towel (chat sukon) Placed behind large bowl and used to wipe any spilled or excess water around area.
- Tea mat (dapo) Placed under tea set.
Preparations for a traditional Korean Tea Ceremony
Keep surrounding area neat and clean at all times.
- Prepare a calm and peaceful mind and spirit.
- Silence is essential. (unless you have little kids like me)
- Slowly burn a lightly scented incense to create a peaceful atmosphere. (optional)
- Play soft meditation music in the background (optional)
Directions To Using A Five Person Tea Set
A. Place the tea container, coasters and bamboo scoop on a wooden mat and leave on the floor beside you (items that do not touch water).
B. Pour 3/4 of a pot of hot water into teapot to warm the pot.
C. Pour same hot water from teapot into each teacup that you are serving to warm the cups.
D. Pour separate hot water into lipped bowl — cool down water.
E. Take lid off teapot and place faced down on the small towel next to you.
F. Put approximately one teaspoon or 2g to 3g of tea per person into teapot.
G. Pour cooled water from lipped bowl into teapot and gently twirl the teapot three times and immediately discard initial tea water into second bowl.
H. Refill lipped bowl with hot water and cool it down to proper temperature — refer to table. Pour cooled water from lipped bowl into teapot with tea leaves and gently twirl about three times.
I. Immediately discard water from each teacup. Pour tea from teapot into lipped bowl and begin serving tea from lipped bowl, not the teapot.
J. Pour tea alternately between cups — i.e., each cup should be filled within three pours. (This will ensure the same smooth taste.)
K. Once the teacups are full, pick up coasters one at a time with your right hand and place it under each teacup by raising the cup with your left hand.
L. Once the coasters are placed, the host should gently glide each cup to the respective guest and drink the cup that is closest to him/her on the right.
M. Before drinking the tea, everyone, including the host should put their hands together in a prayer and bow simultaneously while facing the host.
N. Bow of thanks before tea time has three meanings:
- Thankful for having some time with the people you are sharing the tea with.
- Thankful to the host for the tea time.
- Thankful to mother nature for providing the tea.
O. Take in the fragrance of the tea and slowly drink in an upright position. (Should finish the tea within three to four swallows.)
P. Repeat steps H through O four more times. However, steeping time will vary: steeping time for second cup should be 30 seconds, third cup should be one minute, fourth and fifth cups should be one and a half minutes each.
Notice that throughout the ceremony, there is a lot of time waiting for the water to cool. This is a time that everyone is in a relaxed state and being mindful for what is going on. Not thinking of the day or what has to be done, just appreciating the tea, nature for providing us with the tea and the people you are with. It is amazing on how individuals in a calm environment could communicate when the setting is peaceful. This is because you are on the same level of vibration and you are at a synergistic state.
Use the traditional tea ceremony to create life long memories with the people that you care about. My children have been experiencing this Tea Ceremony since as they have been born. We make tea, talk, read to them and review what went well from the day before. We spend at least 45 minutes every morning as a family drinking this tea that is extremely healthy for us. This is a healthy habit and ritual that I want my children to pass down to their children… creating an “uncommon” trend for our family.
For further information on where you could purchase the tea or buy your own tea set… you can contact me directly PMelella@empoweredmastery.com
P.S.
Empowered Mastery will be hosting a special Retreat coming up at the end of September 2016. All attendees will learn and experience morning Tea Ceremonies during the program.