Author: Traci Levy

We need call out and push back against the cult of productivity. Too many spaces promote time scarcity and encourage us to behave as if we were robots. This cult is terrible for our minds, bodies, and creative energies. Two experiences recently underscored how relentlessly we can focus on productivity. This post identifies some pernicious aspects of the cult of productivity. It also shares ways to resist. Calling out inhumane elements of work culture (including those we have internalized) is important. Likewise, cultivating restorative personal practices like intentional tea sessions can help, too.

What are the practical considerations to start using loose leaf tea? It’s relatively easy to use once you know a few basics! This post provide advice on how get started with loose leaf tea.

It explores: what to use to steep loose leaf tea, how much tea to use per serving, and how long to steep.

Looking for a pure tea–no flavors added–that tastes of chocolate? I heartily recommend trying Korean Balhyo Cha or Balhyo Cha powder for Valentine’s Day. This tea’s leaves have a wonderful chocolaty note. Prepared a certain way, and without adding any sweetener, the powder has vibes of grown-up, gourmet hot cocoa. Both are delicious!

Are you curious about how popular tea bags are? Tea can be sold in many ways–in bags, loose leaf, powdered, in ready-to-drink form, etc. How much is prepared in tea bags, particularly compared to loose leaf? And, I wonder if you will share my shock at two statistics that I discovered! After sharing a snapshot of the data, the end of this post I’ll tell you about an online event for people who use tea bags but are interested in, maybe, exploring loose leaf tea.

Have you noticed that some tea companies and organizations have “tea mascots?” I am using the term “mascot” loosely. By that, I mean an animal figure used as part of outreach, branding, or to engage people. Three examples immediately spring to mind—Waddy the Frog at the Charleston Tea Garden, Tippi the Tea Mouse at the East Frisian Tea Museum, and Luff (a bison) at Being Tea.