Yogi Tea – a delightful discovery
Empress | December 25, 2009Since I found Yogi Tea from a local ecological food store a few months ago, I started to be really interested in this tea brand. Although I have only tried out two blends among their over 60 selections, the experience was already so delightful that I can’t help digging out more information about it.
Brand story
So the story goes back to precisely 50 years ago: in 1969, Yogi Bhajan started to share the holistic way of living and the knowledge of Ayurveda to his students in America while serving a specially spiced tea at the same time. The tea was named “Yogi Tea” by students, who later enthusiastically brew their own “Yogi Tea” and eventually resulted in the establishment of Yogi Tea Company in 1984. The recipe of the original Yogi tea contained five traditional Ayurvedic spices: cardamom seed, cinnamon bark, clove bud, ginger root and black pepper. Today most of the Yogi Tea blends are still created by including these 5 spices at their core.
Ayurveda – holistic healthy living
Yogi Tea blends are created based on the Ayurveda philosophy and practice of life developed from India over 5000 years ago. Ayurveda means “Science of Life”. According to Ayurveda, the universe is divided into five elements: 1) solid, like the earth we live on, 2) liquids, 3) gases or air, 4) forces that transform these phases from one to another, or fire, 5) ether or space. There are three forces (doshas: Kapha, Pitta and Vata) in our body which affect the atoms of our cells and the whole balance of our body and mind. Ayurveda principles guide people to live in a holistic way, achieving balance of life and to be healthy.
Even I am not a Ayurveda practitioner, it is easy for me to accept its principle and ideas. in fact, I found it not so different from Chinese medicine philosophy. Both medicine practice see human body as a holistic system and the health is affected by i.e. our diet, mood, seasons and environmental changes. All the practice aim at achieving a status of balance, and to live a healthy life both in body and in mind. In Chinese healthy system there are also 5 elements in universe, though not completely identical to those in Ayurveda, I believe the differences being mainly on ways of interpretation, while their idea of seeing human being part of the universe are very similar to each other.
Blend selections
Yogi Tea blends are divided into categories of Green Tea, Herbal Tea, Woman’s Tea, Original Spice Tea and Chai Teas. With Ayurveda principle underneath it is also natural to create blends according to desired effect on body and mind, such as Bedtime tea, Calming tea, Cold Season tea, Stomach Ease etc. I have myself tried out one Woman’s tea and one spice tea (Choco), well, what can I say, they are just great! Those tea tastes nice and spices within bring people a intriguing and vibrant feelings.
Sources of spice
According to the company’s information, all the Yogi Tea spices and herbs are grown under a controlled organic environment whenever possible. Currently 63 spices are sourced organically around farms in South America, Intia, Indonesia, Europe and some other countries and regions. Teas are also certified organic by Skal, Netherlands and Soil Association, UK.
More information on Yogi Tea and Ayurveda:
