What’s The Tea on Tea?

Let’s talk about all things tea!  Not the gossip kind, though that tea can be tasty too, but the kind you find in your local stores and that has been a staple of many cultures for hundreds of years. Most people call hot beverages, other than coffee, tea.  But that isn’t a completely accurate categorization. 

First and foremost, what is tea?  Tea (plant) is an evergreen shrub or small tree (Camellia sinensis) that is native to South and Eastern Asia¹.  This is tea in the traditional sense, green, yellow, white, oolong, black and pu-reh teas.

• Herbal teas (tisanes) are drinks not made from Camellia sinensis.  They are infusions (extractions of the chemical compounds and flavors from plant material) of fruit, leaves, other plant parts like stems, bark and roots, and steeps of rooibos and mates².

  • Rooibos, Aspalathus linearis, is in the legume (pea/bean family) and means “red bush”. It is non-caffeinated.

  • Yerba Mate, Ilex paraguariensis, is from a bush native to central and southern regions of South America (Paraguay, Argentina, southern Brazil and Uruguay). The leaves of the pant are steeped in hot water called mate in the Guarani language. Both the plant and the beverage contain caffeine.

Tea is divided into categories based on how it is processed¹. From least to most processed:

• Green: Unwilted and unoxidized

  • Flavor Profile: Aromatic, astringent, bright, light to full-bodied, grassy, vegetal

• Yellow: Unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow.

  • Flavor Profile: Mellower than green tea

    • Aromatic, medium-bodied, bright, clean and fresh

• White: wilted and unoxidized

  • Flavor Profile: Smooth and mellow due to oxidation

    • Full-bodied, clean, soft, sweet

• Oolong: wilted, bruised and partially oxidized

  • Flavor Profile: great range of taste profile because oxidation can vary from 20 to 80 percent

    • Aromatic, full-bodied, smooth, sweet soft, earthy, lingering finish

• Black: wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized

  • Flavor Profile: the flavors that you can bring out of black tea will vary with your steeping method and water used

    • Light to full-bodied, astringent, coppery, lingering finish, smoky, spicy, malty, nutty, crisp

• Pu-erh (Post-fermented): green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost; ONLY made in China

  • Flavor Profile: Full-bodied, aromatic, woody, heavy, musty

So what does all this mean? What is oxidation? How does it affect the taste of the tea?  Well, here’s a quick download: after being picked, tea leaves begin to wilt and oxidize (the chlorophyll begins to break down and tannins are released.  This darkening is stopped at predetermined stages using heat, which deactivates the process.  When making black tea, the halting of the oxidation process by heating is done simultaneously with the drying process.  Without careful moisture and temperature control the growth of undesirable molds and bacteria can make the tea unfit for human consumption¹.

After basic processing, the teas can be altered through additional processing steps.  For example blending with other tea varieties, flavoring (like with ginger, cloves, mint, bergamot - like with Earl Grey tea, etc.), scenting (like with jasmine) and decaffeination of teas.

So how do you know which tea is right for you?  It’s a game of trial and error really!  But that’s the fun of it!  If you are going for a caffeine kick then green and black teas and mates, with mates having the highest caffeine content of the three (apex 70-85 mg/8oz).  See the caffeine content infographic courtesy of Adiago Teas³ below.  

If you want something earthy then herbal/rooibos and green tea might be right up your ally!  

Anyway you look at it, tea drinking is meant to be a total sensory experience and a journey!  Find what works best for you at any particular time and enjoy!

1. Heiss, Mary Lou, and Robert J. Heiss. The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook: a Guide to Enjoying the World's Best Teas. Ten Speed Press, 2010.

2. Zak, Victoria. 20,000 Secrets of Tea: the Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature's Healing Herbs. Bantam, 2000. 

3.  “Caffeine And Tea - Your Guide To Caffeine Content In Tea (vs Coffee).” Adagio Teas, www.adagio.com/info/caffeine_and_tea.html.

VO Health - Taking Care of Those Precious Pipes

As an herbalist and voice actor, my health, and specifically my vocal health, is so very, very important to me. My journey in herbalism began with my Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 17, I’m 38 now.  I was looking for ways to incorporate herbal/natural remedies in conjunction with Western medicine to help alleviate my symptoms and slow the progression.  As a voice actor, I had a traumatic and nearly fatal asthma attack and vocal cord paralysis in the summer of 2016 that required me to be put on a ventilator and having a tracheotomy.   I ended up with complications that resulted in a tracheal resection, a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and subcutaneous emphysema.  I say all that to say that I couldn’t talk for nearly two months, I had to learn to care for a trach, etc.  

Once I had been discharged and the trach was removed, I had to focus on falling back in love with my voice (my vocal range had changed) and how to best care for my voice and vocal health.  Here are my tips for keeping your vocal health front and present: 

1. Sleep- Caring for your pipes starts with whole body care. Getting enough sleep affects so many body functions; from cognition, immune system response, digestion, mental health, etc. Getting a consistent sleep routine is vital. 

2. Foreplay - Now everyone knows you can’t just jump in the booth without any prep work and expect your voice to give you its best. In order to coax the best performance out of your voice you have to give it loving attention.  Warm that thing up - vo warmups, lip trills, tongue twisters, scales, proper inflection, etc. 

•  Voice straws* - https://singingstraw.com/

  • They are back in stock!  Vocal straws train the posturing of the vocal folds and changes the posture of the vocal tube, i.e. it lengthens the Epi Laryngeal Space.

• Cheryl Porter* - https://cherylportermethod.com/

  • AHMAZING vocal coach who has an entire program to help you find your range along with practice materials and videos, etc. 

• Rodney Saulsberry* - has a great book “Tongue Twisters and Vocal Warm Ups” sold on Amazon.

3. Regular Maintenance- This includes voice rest, listening to your body (when it’s fatigued, stressed, etc. -see #1), maintaining a healthy diet (avoiding caffeine, chocolate, sugar, dairy and smoking -both cigarettes and weed at least 2 hours prior to a session).  

• Frankly putting anything into your lungs other than oxygen before a session isn’t the best of ideas. If you are a fan of, procurer or indulger of THC, please don’t smoke before your sessions. It will affect/change the texture of your voice. If you use THC for relaxation purposes I encourage you to eat it (edibles rather than smoking it). CBD can provide some of the same relaxation and anti-anxiety properties without the psychogenic properties that THC has.

• Proper hydration (not just before a session/auditions) is key as well.  By the time you realize that you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.  Keeping your air passages moisturized by using a bedside humidifier with distilled water at night.  I wouldn’t necessarily advocate their use in the booth due to noise interference. 

• Keep a scarf 🧣 on when out in windy/cold weather. This helps to keep warmth in and cold out. Cold temps cause constriction on muscles and tissues and decreased blood flow to those affected areas. 

4. Leave it alone when it doesn’t want to be bothered 

• There is nothing worse than someone wanting something from you and you are in no mood to oblige. But you acquiesce to shut them up. Is it your best performance? Nope. Is the other party satisfied or generally let down  b/c of a lackluster encounter? Exactly. If your voice is fatigued or stressed and you push it b/c it’s a high paying, high visibility audition you will not give your best. Not only might you not book the job, you may leave a bad impression with casting directors, agents, etc. 

• Stress, anxiety, illness, irritation- all these show up in your reads. It’s the equivalent of the elephant in the room sitting on the couch loudly eating your best snacks, drinking your fav scotch and who stole the remote and is watching Seinfeld reruns.

5. Protect your mental mind -give yourself grace and be patient with yourself. Frustration comes across in your reads. 

• Be present in the moment and take a step back if you need to regroup during a session. Trust, the director and client will respect that you have a process and need to gather yourself in order to give them your best. 

• Practice mindfulness 🧘🏽‍♀️- make your recording space a healthy and welcoming place, regardless of where you record. I have lavender/rosemary sachets hanging in my closet-booth, led light strips to set the tone and mood, and I meditate and do deep breathing before every session. Whether it is with my coach(es), a workout, audition recording, recording session or training webinar.

• Lavender is known for its relaxing properties and rosemary counteracts anxiety and increases attention. I grow and dry my own lavender, add dried lavender flower and rosemary from my favorite herbal suppliers (The Bulk Herb Store, Mountain Rose Herbs & Monterey Spice Company) and a few drops of lavender and rosemary essential oils to a drawstring bag and hang it in an inconspicuous place.

  
  I hope that these tips help you and cause you to dig a little deeper into your own herbalism journey and vocal health!

  Be Well!

  Tanesha

  * I am not an affiliate or spokesperson for this company/person.  I just love what they are doing and think they are a great resource for you!