Tea isn’t just a drink to pair with dessert or to start your mornings as an alternative to coffee. Centuries have taught us that the right tea at the right time improves various conditions and can aid wellness concerns. Proper diet, exercise, and mindfulness are well-complemented by a tea blend that’s specific to your needs.

Sekaya, a Filipino wellness brand, hosted an afternoon entitled Nature’s Blends How Do Botanic Infusions Keep Us Well at Green Bar in Makati, to talk about how to get the most out of your cup of tea.

Sekaya Botanic Infusion offers nine blends from Cozy Calm to Energy Mix utilizing high quality ingredients like peppermint, licorice root, and elderflower. The brand merges natural practices in sourcing and creating blends backed up by scientific research to promote holistic health.

Three speakers were invited to enlighten guests about the benefits of tea from different perspectives. Topics ranged from how to properly prepare tea to how it improves your health overall.

Aromatherapist Geri Gil of The Oilbularyo emphasized that scents from various herbs complementary to conventional medicine. She pointed out how scents like lemon, lavender, and bergamo are well-established when it comes to improving our daily life.

Since scents speak to a part of our nervous system, it influences us to focus and relax. In regulating the nervous system, we help our organs as each body part takes cue from our nerves and senses. A balance of hormones and stimulants influences how our body can handle its necessary functions. Any imbalance can impair our performance or exacerbate certain diseases.

The scent of tea has its benefits on top of when we drink it. Furthermore, the simple act of making tea can be a ritual that brings about a certain consciousness in a fast-paced schedule.

Gil says, “Plant extracts are not silver bullets, but they are so supportive of our health and wellness. Having them in your home could be the wellness revolution you are looking for. There is so much that plants offer in terms of restoring humans to optimum health and staying well.”

It’s best to have a few tea variants at home so you can easily reach for them during any type of situation. Start with your favorite, as they can be linked to happy memories that can give you calm. After, you can look into to specific ones that focus on gut health or digestion for after meals. This helps you nourish your body and get the most out of your food. As you go on, you can explore other tea infusions that can even help clear your skin.

After Gil, the next speaker was certified tea master and educator Rocel Leoncio with her talk, Tea Appreciation.

Primary to Leoncio’s advice when it comes to tea is knowing the difference between tea and tisane. Traditionally, tea is derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, while tisane refers to herbal infusions that are more familiar to us.

Herbal infusions are the reason why there are tea blends that address very specific concerns. These infusions make sure that every ingredient enhances the benefits of one another, apart from making a drink that’s pleasant to our tastebuds.

May it be tea or tisanes, storage is crucial. Keeping them on top of the refrigerator is a big no-no. Best to have them in a cool, dry place without heat or moisture so your tea blends can last for months. Tisane ingredients may be fragile on their own but when properly stored and prepared, they are potent.

Leonicio says, “Having a cup of tea and botanic infusion at least once a day can help boost your energy or even help you wind down. You can even choose botanic infusions for your exact wellness concern, as they are usually made of purposely selected botanicals that have the therapeutic properties to specifically address that.”

She also advises to follow the tea preparation instructions carefully. Boiling hot is different from hot water and more so compared to cold water and you’ll taste the difference. More robust blends that have black tea can handle a higher temperature with their rich flavor, while lighter blends like green tea may be too bitter if subjected to extremely hot water. Making tea may be simple, but the smallest tweaks can make a world of difference. Optimum preparation also ensures you release the benefits of every ingredient in the blend.

The third and last speaker of the day was Dr. Eca Lorenzo MD, FPCP whose medical practice summarizes how the body is made up of different factors that interplay with one another. Tea and herbal infusions contribute to facilitating a harmonious state, connecting mind with physical being.

She says, “I’d like to remind people that however wonderful natural health products are, they are not magic. You get the best from them if you're also mindful of what and how you eat; that you move your body; get good quality sleep; and manage stress well.”

Dr. Lorenzo points out, “Additionally, it’s crucial to choose naturalproducts of high quality. To ensure that they retain the actual benefits of the plants constituents, and they’re safe and free from contamination with microbes, molds, heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxic residues.”

Hot or cold, before, during, or after a meal, when done right, tea and herbal infusions may just be the one thing missing in your mission to a better and healthier you. All that’s left is to find the natural blend that’s best for your needs.

Shop Sekaya here.

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