I OoLONG for Tea

Have you ever seen those Teavana stores that are often next door to the Starbucks stores in the malls? They have a wall filled with dozens and dozens of teas. A lot of people are unaware that the variety of tea expands beyond “sweet” and “unsweet”. Tea has many types, just like “dog” isn’t the only “species” of canine. A lot of teas can be divided into certain groups, like black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea, and herbal tea.

Black tea is the most caffienated of teas and, alongside green tea, is the most popular type. “Fast Lane” is a black tea that has been altered to be more caffienated than coffee (and let me tell you, Fast Lane’s as much a roller coaster as a cup of coffee.) Besides having caffiene, black tea has been known to lower the chances of stroke and lower cholesterol levels.

Green tea is a very popular type of tea that has low caffiene. Green tea is famous for its ability to reduce the risk of heart disease and of many types of cancer, all at once, while also improving certain aspects of mental health. It also has almost instantaneous effects on stress.

Oolong tea, like green tea, has very low caffiene levels and very subtle tastes, so it is perfect for drinking while reading a book on a rainy day. Oolong tea is also known to cut triglycerols, which are types of fat, resulting in faster but healthy weight loss.

White tea is the extreme green tea. Not in taste, but in its ability to prevent many, many types of physical diseases, including cancers, heart disease, and mental health. It has a tender flavor that is easy to love.

Herbal tea infusions range from peppermint to thyme and its range of care is just as vast. It is caffeine-free, and something that most herbal teas have in common are their abilities to combat colds, infections, sleep disorders, nausea, and indigestion.

About a couple years ago, I quit drinking soda and found myself replacing every cup of soda with a cup of tea. Soon enough, soda started tasting weird to me and I began to feel fresh. I have learned that replacing soda with tea is not an uncommon phenomenon, but is actually suggested as a healthy alternative to regular and diet sodas. I have never felt the temptation to drink soda again, because the variety and lovely flavors of loose-leaf tea is enough to keep me coming back.

(Sources:

“7 Healthy Teas You Should Be Drinking (Instead Of Soda).” Inspiyr.com. N.p., 21 June 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

“Different Types of Tea & Their Remarkable Benefits.” Elephant Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

Feature, Julie EdgarWebMD. “Types of Teas and Their Health Benefits.”WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

“6 Types of Tea for 6 Different Moods.” 6 Different Types of Tea for 6 Different Moods. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

“What Are Some Tasty, Healthy Alternatives to Soda?” Lifehacker. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

“Green Tea A Healthy Alternative To Soda.” Green Tea A Healthy Alternative To Soda. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.)

Turning the Beat Around

I was born in a house of music. My mom wasn’t musical, but my dad’s knowledge and skill in music could make up for a dozen unmusical people. He majored in playing woodwind instruments, but could play various stringed instruments (bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, etc), could sing, lay down a rhythm on drums, and he knew enough music theory that i was a surprise that his brain hadn’t exploded from the knowledge packed in it.

I grew up in a house that had at least one instrument in almost every room – including the closets and bedrooms. It was almost predestined that I would be musical, but surprisingly, I had no interest at all. My dad liked to sit me down in front of the piano when I was really young and rave on about music theory. I would just smile and nod and wait until I could escape. The most I had ever done with a piano was thrust my fist on the keys to hear the awful sound that came out.

Then I hit the age of fourteen, and I discovered a song on my sister’s iPod after having borrowed it without permission. The name of the artist, being just two words that had no relation to each other, struck my interest. I played the one song under the artist’s name, and my ears were filled with glorious music that flipped a switch in my brain, lighting a fire in every corner of my mind. I instantly bought the artist’s whole discography. With each song I gained more and more inspiration.

I approached my mom, asking to get piano lessons until I figured out what I wanted to play. She was happy to oblige, as a friend of hers was a piano teacher. My dad was the most excited of all of us. He took this as a chance to reteach me every single thing he ever tried to tell me about music theory, and I soaked it all up this time.

After a summer of playing piano, and while I was still deciding what I wanted to play, my dad brought his bass guitar to me and had me put it on. I was so excited that I impulsively chose that bass guitar was the instrument for me. And it was. I have thrived on the rhythm and strong foundations in music that bass can produce.

However, my inspiration was not satisfied by just playing music. I felt a creative need to make my own music and write songs! I started on a tiny app on my iPod, creating little melodies that have been lost to time, until I finally downloaded a free version of Ableton Live, which is a professional music program for writing, editing, and producing music. Every little thing my dad had taught me about music theory were like gears in my brain that set my creative processes moving.

I wrote songs, and prolifically. Over the course of the past two and a half years (including a nine-month period in the middle when I gave up), I have written forty songs and forty-five instrumental pieces. It is a medium where I can express any emotion and it will come out beautiful to me. Anger, sadness, stress, and happiness all produce something I like, and I think it takes a complex and glorious form of art to turn stress into beauty.

My songwriting has been one thing of which I have been consistently proud. Writing music, playing bass, and singing have all been hobbies that have carried me through my teen years, and I can’t imagine my life without those things in it. I went through my first fourteen years of life about as unmusical as one can get, but now I thrive on the creativity.