Yogi Tea

Just finished up with a 2.5 hour rehearsal with cello & flute, all Beatles music for a gig we’ll play this thursday night. Earlier today I practiced a few hours for a gig accompanying the choir at one of the colleges I teach at. That concert is on Monday evening. I’m definitely all played out for today. Now to try to get in an hour of writing, & then sleep….sweet sleep….

This is one of my favorite non-caffeine teas, perfect for the evening. I love licorice, I love all the chai-like spices. It’s a naturally sweet treat.

I’m trying not to ingest any more caffeine tonight. I’ve been staying up til 2 & 3 am for several days, which is great for creativity, but not so good for getting things done in the real world.

I just realized my neighbors are all out in the street. Looks like we’re having a block party, & once again I didn’t read the email.
I sent the boys out with a bowl of homegrown cherry tomatoes to add to the food pile. I’m headed out there with my cup of tea. I don’t eat off buffets usually, too many things I’ll probably regret. But I’ll have this tea!

I worked out in the garden for a few hours, photos on my FB https://www.facebook.com/terri.langerak
Then I came in & drank another cup of Zhu Right, 1T steeped 5 min.
God, I love that tea!
Now I’m relaxing with a cup of this licorice tea, which is such a tasty spicy brew. I needed this.

Last tea of the day, which I enjoyed in the bubble bath.
I have always loved Licorice root, Ginger root, & all their friends.

I’ve been having horrible allergies all day. After chanting the merits of Nettles as an aid for allergies & getting several people to drink them, I’ve been slacking on my own Nettles consumption, & my allergies hit me with a vengeance today. Luckily nettles work fairly quickly, if you actually drink them, & I started drinking them again this afternoon. The tree & grass pollens are ridiculously high, and I played an outside wedding today, so I feel irritated from head to toe, eyes watering, can’t quit yawning. But I feel a lot better than I did earlier today. I’ll need to be consistent with my Nettles for awhile.

This evening I enjoyed a cup of this Egyptian Licorice tea, which I’ve been drinking for years. It’s naturally sweet & pleasantly spicy. I’ve written more extensive reviews of it, I think. It’s tasty!

Just spent the afternoon watching back to back episodes of the Walking Dead, a show I had not gotten into up until friday night when Tony wanted to check it out on Netflix. We’ve been watching it on & off all weekend, sitting around in our PJs, drinking tea. Tony fixed amazing steaks for dinner, we had asparagus, & now were settling down with cups of licorice root tea to watch The Game of Thrones. Between last season & the one that starts tonight, I read the entire series of books, so there’s a little confusion in my mind as to where the story is, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.
I really enjoy this tea. It’s spicey & good.

I’ve always loved licorice root. It is definitely one of my most favorite herbs. 30 years ago I used licorice root sticks to quit smoking, & I’ve turned others onto them for the same reason. Basically, I’d buy the sticks, which are about the size of a long thin cigarette, & chew on the end of one, holding it like I would hold a cigarette. The flavor is naturally sweet & pleasant, at least to me. What’s amazing about licorice is you taste it after you swallow it, & the flavor lingers for quite awhile. I have drank licorice as a tea for a very long time, both plain & in combinations. I originally became interested in it in my 20’s when I read that it is a natural antidepressant, helps balance your blood sugar & helps for chronic fatigue syndrome, problems I suffered from for a long time. (Not anymore, I’m cured from that, fibro-whatever, arthritis, & everything else).

So I used to get a licorice tea from an herb shop in Kansas City, “House of Hezekiah”. I’ve also enjoyed this blend from Yogi teas for years. It’s sweetly spicey & gently warming. I haven’t drank a lot of licorice lately, & I think I need to add some back into my life. I’ve even been thinking of adding it to my garden this year, along with Elderberry, burdock, & a few others.

for a powder tisane this is a nice mix. The best part about it is the name.

Its about time for me to update this log eh?

Before I get into it I shall post a disclaimer:

I am not a doctor, I don’t even have a CPR card. Any testimony or information posted here is of my personal experience and/or the information that I have personally researched. ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY KIND OF TREATMENT OR REGIMEN, YES EVEN IF IT IS AN HERBAL SUPPLUMENT. Whether your doctor agrees with your lifestyle choices or not they are your most reliable source for health risks and interactions associated with increased intake of ANYTHING in your diet. There is a plethora of drug interactions with SJW or any medication that can range from mildly irritating to life threatening. Take initiative and be the informed patient rather than the bewildered victim.

Alright, let’s start!

So I have been taking tthis consistent for a month now and so far, so good! The tea recommends that you steep 1 to 2 teabags in an 8oz cup 4 times a day, but I lack the patience, funds and time to do so. As a consequence, I make a teapot (32oz) aand use 2 teabags, as I am under the impression that teapots inprove steeping by about 100%. I then pour it into a bottle and measure out exactly 8 oz to drink in the morning (between 7 and 10) afternoon (between 3 and 5) and at night (between 9 and 12).

Rather than making me drowsy as warned, I find this blend notably relaxing more than anything. Thus far I have experienced no physical sideaffects and find myself able to focus more and get up and do what I have to. Behavior changes when I skip a dose are fairly quick and evident however. I am reminded of when I used birth control and how while my body was adjusting I would have outbursts of crazy lady for no reason during the first week of every pill cycle. So it is very beneficial for me to just keep several doses available in advance.

The biggest notable difference to me is that I have regained the ability to just get up and do things. It’s easier to get out of bed and I don’t wake up miserable without any particular reason. When I actiively think of the taste it’s annoying. I like licorice root, but tasting it 3 times a day for god know how long is not my idea of a good time. If I get too sick of it, I may switch over to a pill. It’s not bad cold, but I find my experience drinking the tea is better if it is warm and overall the taste is rather unobtrusive.

My boyfriend notes that I seem significantly less unhappy as well as commenting that I “don’t seem so quick to give up on everything all the time.”

Would I recommend this stuff to anyone for depression? No. What I would recommend is speaking to your doctor about taking it after you’ve done your own research and find out if SJW is the right antidepressant for you.

So far so good! I’m really pleased I deccided to go this route rather than a standard SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) with all their horrible irrepairable side affects and my lack of health insurance.

P.S: I’m not rating this mix because I don’t think a number rating is the important tidbit to gather from this drink, nor would I know how to.

I want to be a nurse, so I guess it’s about time that I start saying this:

ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY HERBAL SUPPLEMENT. TAKE CARE TO READ THE SIDE EFFECTS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS (there’s alot of them) including decreasing the effectiveness of estrogen-based birth control, most pharmaceutical anti-depressant, painkillers and anything else that increases your production of serotonin.

That said, I’ll get into the review!

This is day 1 cup 1 of this tea for me. I do believe the Vicodin is out of my system, but to my dismay my last medication I have to use requires chemical birthcontrol if I plan on being intimate, which is a major drug interaction with SJW. After talking at lengths with my boyfriend, we’ve decided that it is more important to give this medication a try for my mental health than play bump bump…and so another 3 months of abstinence has been added to the 7 months of abstinence we’ve already had. This is going to be the best 1 year of dating mark ever.

Upon investigation, I am not entirely sure of the numbers in this blend. There is only 27mg of SJW extract actually in this tea and then 843 mg of the leaf and flower of which I am unsure what the ratio of whole plant to extract would be, but the normal prescription dose in other countries(the US does not take holistic care seriously)is 300mg/day, waaaay more than this tea asks you to drink.

I prepared this in a 32oz teapot with only 2 teabags and it came out BLACK. The directions stated to use 1 teabag for 8oz of hot water. I suspect that this blend is either going to be ass kicking strong or nowhere near as potent as I need it.

The flavor is of licorice and mint, I am reminded of straight licorice root and those licorice gumdrops, Crows. When I would want an awesome candy that no one else wants to eat, I always went for Crows. Not feeling drowsy yet, but I am still not gonna drive for the rest of the day, maybe the week, until I figure out what exactly this stuff does to me. I’ll log again at the end of the week and I’ll rate again in 30 days.