Tea & Me

Good day to you! As many Americans return to their routines following a long holiday weekend, I too have returned to mine – which involves a typical perusal of the day's news as well as other places online that I like to visit. One site I respect is Gawker. Excellent writing, a variety of subjects. How interesting, then, to find that they have written an article about the "new" love of tea moving around America of late. Last week I began to write about my love affair with tea when distractions made reasonably clear writing difficult. I erased it and decided to wait for a better time – which is now.

Today, inspired by THIS (from Gawker) I'm ready to share information regarding my tea-stained addiction.

At one time I was an "average," one might say, coffee drinker. I would have one or two cups a day of usually Black Coffee, occasionally adding a touch of cream. Prior to the High End Coffee Revolution begun commercially in The States by Starbucks (where, by odd coincidence, one of my BFF's became THE first "employee" of the company mapping-out the game plan in owner/CEO Howard Schultz's living room in Seattle), my desire for quality coffee found me buying the best coffee beans available in most grocery stores. I would grind my own and revel in the difference between Instant or Basic coffee offerings at restaurants in comparison to what I made at home. I would order heavy-duty Espresso if out at places where it was served instead of from the Hot Pots Of Blah! I appreciated the intense taste when it was done "correctly" – which is, of course, a subjective taste-opinion.

In 1986, something changed in my consciousness over what I was eating and drinking and what I believed I needed to "give up" to balance my body chemistry. Coffee and Red Meat were the first to go. I haven't looked back, nor have I regretted either decision. No longer "wired" from coffee (decaf or not), and feeling lighter in my body from not eating red meat (or "white" pork), it was a surprisingly easy transition.

Tea replaced coffee in my daily caffeine intake. Black Teas. (I'd always had herbal teas over the years but most, other than Green Tea, do not kick-start my system.) With the new daily drink, I found myself following the tradition of adding both sugar and cream to every cup. As time progressed, my tea intake increased. However, I'd usually have a few cups a day and that was that. Having tea was also fun. I would go off to High Tea events. Or create my own with friends. Later on, I had a fabulous job in Beverly Hills (where I had worked years before then, and loved the ability to walk, not drive, all over the small "downtown" enclave) on the quietly infamous Canon Drive while it was growing into a very trendy little section of the city for bistro's of every kind. One of my fav places was a small, yet very popular bistro where they made fresh scones every day.

Oh my! Fresh scones and tea at my desk almost every morning was a dream and a great way to begin each day!

Flash-forward to the present: When I began working more often than not from home, in addition to drinking copious amounts of water, my tea intake increased. Suddenly, three cups a day became four; then more – until I now have almost ten cups a day – and always with sugar and cream. I also cut down on dairy quite a bit over the years, allowing cream as one of the few supposedly "not so healthy" elements to my diet. No biggie, I thought (and still do); BUT, I wasn't thinking about how much tea can stain anything. Although I had begun whitening my teeth professionally beginning in the early 90's, over the past few years I noticed how the Pro Products were no longer working as quickly or as well as they once had.

Part of the seemingly sudden reluctance of ANY whitening gels I tried for more than a minor brightening happened when I could not see details. During a portion of the past ten years, as many of you know from what I have casually mentioned in previous posts, I went through a period of Legal Blindness due to a complicated eye condition which took years to eventually "fix" – thus; although I could see some things and people (more as burry outlines), and continued to whiten my teeth, no one around me at that time either noticed or would tell me how subtly stained my once pearly-whites had become. And then, following several eye procedures, I could see again! And Whoa! Was I shocked! It's not as if the teeth looked horrible; however, they were not white. And my skin is so white that even when my teeth have been White-White they often fade into the very pale skin colouring. OMG! screamed The Vanity!

Now, after finally realizing how the daily doses of Black teas is/are the primary culprits of my Dental Situation, it's clear that I have to curb the excessive tea intake. In fact, I'm soon to have a Major Whitening Procedure which involves not drinking or eating anything that will stain one's teeth within 48 hours. I'll need to detox. Never a fun thing no matter what one is detoxing from. Addictions/habits are just that: things we do or take all of the time, often believing (erroneously) that we can't live without "it" lest we – die? Cry? Feel uncomfortable for a while?

I will always drink tea, just not ten cups a day. How about only two? Can I do it?

Allow my simple story be a calm warning to new Black tea drinkers! Although coffee and red wine are often the main beverages we are told to avoid if we want our smiles to be all nice and Smiley-Friendly, do go easy on tea as well. And, after having a few cups, remember to do a quick mouth rinse or a surface brushing.

That's my sage advice to you this Tuesday. I know you just HAD to know all about my teeth today. (Good God, what else will I write of next that involves TMI? Stay tuned…)

Image via: http://britishfood.about.com