Hi and welcome to the Tea Lovers' Hub

This hub will consider everything to do with tea, and in particular teas that provide health benefits.

In the past, I admit, I was a real coffee lover but the more I realized the health benefits of teas and how good they truly are for you and how bad coffee is for you, I changed my opinions.

This hub will therefore look at why tea is so good for you, different types of herbal and health teas, how to make them, what they're good for and anything else I happen to discover about tea.

I trust that you enjoy this hub and find it useful.

Perhaps one of the healthiest teas you can drink is green tea. This tea has long been drunk in the East for its health properties and has recently gained a lot of popularity in the West as well as more scientific tests are being done on it.

Green tea is a powerful antioxidant which means that it is able to fight the free radicals in your body which ultimately lead to many different diseases, including cancer.

Green tea is also good for skin care and helps to revitalize the dying skin cells which holds much promise for many skin conditions. It is also excellent at treating acne, both taken internally and used externally.

For more benefits of green tea please visit our Green Tea Hub.

If you really want to appreciate a good cup of tea then there are a few things you should know about how to make it.

The first thing is that if you can use filtered or bottled water then this is best. If you are going to be using tap water then make sure that it runs cold before putting it into the kettle or pot to boil.

Before pouring boiling water into the tea pot, mugs or cups rinse them out with some boiling water to ensure that they are also warm when the tea is brewed in them.

In general one teaspoon of tea or one tea bag is used per cup. This tea can be placed in the bottom of the pot for better release of flavor or use a strainer.

The water temperature you use will also depend on the type of tea. Green tea should be made with a cooler water than Oolong or black teas, with Oolong tea using cooler water than black.

Allow the tea leaves or tea bags to steep for a few minutes. You can either taste test to see when it is steeped to your satisfaction or follow instructions on the packaging.

Remove tea leaves or tea bags, pour into another cup if necessary and then it is ready to drink.

In future articles on this hub we will go into more detail about the different health benefits of herbal teas but here is a quick overview of some of the different herbal teas and their uses:

• Chamomile - calming, sedative, sore stomach
• Catnip - relaxing, calming, sedative
• Echinacea - protect against colds and flu
• Peppermint - ease IBS, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and headaches
• Red bush - antioxidant similar to green tea

Although there are many health benefits to drinking herbal teas, some also pose certain dangers so please be careful when using them and if you are concerned about a new tea then take time to study it before using it.