Most of you probably do not know that I never intended to be a tea drinker. When I met the Sims family I thought it was kinda cute that they had their tea hobby, but when they made tea for me one day and got out thermometers and timers I thought they were nuts. I definitely was not interested in ever doing that. And besides, I was a devoted coffee lover. Well, as Providence would have it, I ended up working at the Tea Embassy in February 2007 to make some extra income while my business (www.tohellwithstraighthair.com) grew. My how things can change. Two months later, Jonathan and I were engaged, and two months after that, we were married, and I became a tea business owner. Mind you, at the time I had no intention of making the switch to tea. None. We even registered for a great coffee pot that I fully intended on using every day of my happy married life. To my knowledge, that coffee pot has never served its inaugural cup of Joe.

Here’s what happened. Just six weeks after we got married we found out we were going to have a baby – Preston, who is now 14 months old, and whose picture is plastered all over the website and store. Yes, we are indeed on the fast track, to put it mildly. During the early weeks of my pregnancy, the smell, sight, and even thought of coffee was enough to send me running. Coffee was no longer an option. I still needed something to get me out of bed in the morning, however. Wonderful Jonathan would make me breakfast each morning and would prepare my favorite black tea, Zhen Qu (Side note: I am not advocating for you to drink caffeinated tea if you are pregnant. Neither Jonathan, my midwife, nor I had a problem with it, but you must go by your own convictions.). I couldn’t believe how much better I felt after my cup of Zhen Qu. It gave me the boldness that my coffee offered, along with a rich, chocolately taste, without the jitters and up and down crash. My mind was alert, and my body was relaxed, thanks to the L-Theanine in the tea (learn more about that here). This was my routine throughout the entire pregnancy, and because of how much better I felt, I never gave any thought to returning to coffee. I am now a tea drinker. No, wait. A devoted tea drinker. So the coffee pot remains unused, waiting patiently on the counter for a coffee-drinking guest, I suppose.

So all you coffee drinkers out there who are considering making the switch but wondering if you can really do it, you can! Give tea a try for 30 days and see how you feel. Take notice of your skin, your metabolism, your concentration, your stress level, your immune system, your overall wellbeing, just to name a few. TAKE THE CHALLENGE. But first, find the right tea. Come by the store and let us help you find “your cup of tea”. We will use our “palette profiler” to help you determine your tastes and preferences, which will help us make the right recommendation. Really, it works! If you are a devoted coffee drinker and can’t come by the store, chances are you will like one of the following teas: Zhen Qu, Golden Buds, Golden Pearls, Hot Cinnamon Spice, Breakfast Treasure, and Pu-Erh.