Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Honest Truth: Why do we find tea so relaxing?

Post Thumbnail

It can soothe a soul, bring warring sides together, and help you relax after a long day at the office – there’s nothing like a cuppa. Ahead of National Tea Day next Sunday, Kim Havelaar, founder of artisan tea brand Roqberry, tells Alice Hinds the Honest Truth about her brews

How did you first become interested in blending unusual teas?

Being a foodie, I’m always exploring new and exciting flavours from all over the world. It became clear to me that while a massive flavour evolution has taken place in the UK across food, alcohol and coffee, tea was lagging behind. I found that strange as tea in particular lends itself so well to mix with a range of herbs, spices, fruit and flowers. So I decided to create high-quality tea with big flavour profiles, inspired by global cuisine.

What’s the most exotic flavour you’ve ever tried?

On the way to becoming a tea sommelier I’ve tried many amazing teas I had no idea existed. This formed part of the inspiration to make these teas available to a wider audience. A prime example of this is milk oolong. This tea originated in Taiwan, and the “terroir” (everything about the environment including climate, geography, altitude etc) it grows in makes it naturally so creamy, it almost tastes like it contains milk.

Can tea be paired to meals as we would with wine?

Absolutely yes. The variety and versatility of tea lends itself perfectly to pair with meals. Tea has been consumed with meals as the drink of choice for centuries all over Asia and in the Middle East. Tea can be enjoyed hot or cold with a meal, and even made sparkling. The rule of thumb would be to make sure the meal and the tea are balanced and don’t overpower one another.Use lighter blends like green tea with lighter dishes like chicken and fish, and stronger teas like a bold Assam black with stronger dishes like beef or chocolate.

I suggest looking for a complementary taste, for example the hint of citrus in Earl Grey with smoked salmon, or the spice in a Chai with a Caribbean goat curry.

Does tea really have as much caffeine as coffee, or is that just a myth?

All tea contains caffeine (it’s a natural insecticide in the plant) while most herbal and fruit infusions will be caffeine-free. Interestingly, a kilo of tea contains more caffeine than a kilo of coffee. However, because you use far fewer grams of tea in a cup than you do coffee, on average a cup of tea is likely to contain about half the caffeine as coffee. The hotter (and longer) the tea is brewed, the more caffeine is drawn out of the leaf.

Are there any noted health benefits to herbal tea?

To be specific we have to distinguish between tea (containing actual tea leaves) and infusions (mixtures of herbs, spice, fruit and flowers but not containing actual tea leaves). The latter is often referred to as herbal tea. Actual “tea” contains antioxidants from the leaves, with the highest levels found in green tea. Infusions are naturally caffeine-free and health benefits depend entirely on the ingredients used. For example, turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and peppermint is said to aid digestion.

Why do you think we find a cup of tea so relaxing?

There’s something about holding a cup of something hot, whether it is soup, hot chocolate or tea, that feels nourishing.

Tea has the added benefit of containing L-theanine, an amino acid that reduces mental and physical stress and keeps us calm. So, we don’t just think it’s relaxing, it actually is. Lastly, I think tea has become such an important part of British culture, that having a “cuppa” is synonymous with taking some time out for yourself.


Visit roqberry.com