Cheer in my cup

Let’s face it, sometimes we need to add a cup of cheer to our busy winter holiday season as the days seem shorter and lists are never ending. This is the time that many gather with family and friends for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwaanza, Hanukkah, and New Years. But for some of us, this is a time when we experience seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D), meaning one feels more anxiety and/or depression during this time. Whether we find ourselves handling the various challenges of life, juggling holiday anxiety, or knowing that we need to just approach conversations, people, and to bring in the New Year in a cool, calm, collective way. At Jayida Ché Herbal Tea Spot, we know that tea with different types of tea leaves, herbs, fruit, plants, spices, and roots, with all of its various benefits -- is a great option for calming down and adding cheer to your cup.

There are various reasons we  want and need to add a bit of cheer in our cup.  For some, it would mean to relax, boost energy, to adjust our temper, to have a rejuvenating nap or a good night’s rest, to transition from being in the hustle and bustle of work to now being at home with our loved ones, or just to calm our nerves and get some chill time: all of these mood changes can be accomplished with the right tea blend.

Let us help guide you to adding cheer in your cup this season with these tips and suggestions:

• The different tea leaves (white, green, and black) will vary amount of caffeine while herbals or tisanes have no caffeine. Herbal blends are tea blends that have no real tea leaves in them, they are blends of various herbs, fruits, plants etc. In our calming teas we have added ingredients that induce calm, promote sleepiness, relieves stress, induce sleep, and/or causes your senses to relax.
• Sipping on warm or hot drinks tends to have relieve stress and have a calming effect on our senses and nerves. The heat from the tea warms our bodies and starts to calm in two ways:

1. Hot drinks can cause our body temperature to change. The change in temperature, particularly when we cool back down, makes our bodies work, and that work is what makes us tired. Also, when we rest, our body temperature drops. So, by drinking the hot tea and causing our body temperature to rise, after drinking the tea the body temp drops triggering the effect of what happens when we are getting ready for bed/sleep.
2. Drinking hot tea naturally has a calming effect. Enjoying a cup requires us to sit, slow down, and take it all in. These are all natural ways to help decrease stress and anxiety.

• Counseling or support groups can be beneficial for those suffering from any type of holiday anxiety, stress, or depression.
• Finding inexpensive ways to enjoy time with yourself and/or enjoying other’s company is a great way to help beat the winter blues. Sipping in at the tea spot with a pot or tea or experiencing our tea tasting are inexpensive and an experience for you and a friend.
• Add cup of cheer to your to-do list with any of these teas to calm, relax, boost energy, and aid in a good night’s sleep. Cheering up depends on the effect you want to have.

1. Coco Mint: Cocoa and Mint are both calming. The menthol present in mint is known to be an antispasmodic and is a muscle relaxant in nature, helping you relax amidst ongoing mental stress.  This tea is a great tea for transitioning from work mode to chilling with the family or by myself mode. This tea is a seasonal cup of cheer that will be sure to get in the “holiday” spirit from the way it smell to the way it taste. (peppermint, chocolate, orange peel).
2. Balance for Women: Can you say, “stop the mood swings!” Although blended to support the female body, this tea helps you to adjust to triggers in a positive way. This is a feel-good tea. Yerba Mate’ naturally increases the dopamine which is what makes you feel-good.
3. Skin Love: Surprise! Yes, Skin Love tea blend is excellent for the skin, hair, and nails and good for cheering up. The ingredients in this tea helps to calm you down and cheer you up. This tea also helps with social anxiety, brightens up your disposition, puts a smile on your face from the way it looks and all the benefits it has for your body.

1. Sleep Tight: Not sleeping well? It’s a proven fact that getting good sleep helps to relieve stress and cheer you up. This tea is blended to promote good sleep.
2. Hakuna Matata: Forget your worries and cheer up! Blended to relieve stress, frazzled nerves, promote good sleep, and get dazed so you can think about things other than your problems. (lavender, chamomile, ginseng, Saint John’s Wart, lemon balm) (Note: If you are taking an anti-depressant, check with your Dr. for drug interactions with St. John’s Wart, and Ginseng).
3. Snooze Button: a tea to induce sleep.  Works perfectly on non-high energy adults and children to calm you down. As for the calmer individuals, this will put you right to sleep. (chamomile, sage, dried papaya)

1. Citrus Green: this is an outlier tea that, based on the green tea leaves, may increase your alertness. I have found this tea to be a great tea to have in the evening and to be calming. Although, not as calming as some of the herbals on the list but the blend has a lot of other ingredients like the mint, lemongrass and essential oils that do calm and tend to counter the effects of the green tea. (green tea leaves, lemongrass, mint, hibiscus, rosehip, oil and peel: orange, lemon, and grapefruit). Not to mention – this tea is yummy!
2. Chai Latte: Beat the winter blues with this tea that makes you do a little dip of happiness after you take your first sip. This tea blend is packed with caffeine due to the Darjeeling, which is a black tea. Also, in this tea is a whirlwind of medicinal herbs and spices known to decrease stress, anxiety, blood pressure while increasing your overall vibe.