Morning Tea Ritual Ideas
Mornings are for tea!
In this article, I will discuss several ways to approach a morning tea time ritual so that you have some fresh ideas to try or some new perspectives on it.
What a morning tea ritual needs to be in order to help you get going for your day.
Sustained energy, no jitters, no crash: This is tea’s specialty. Certainly if you brew your tea too strong, you will still get caffeine jitters, but once you get the correct amount, you’re all set for long lasting sustained calming energy—until your midday tea. :)
Relatively quick: depending on your morning schedules, tea time in the morning should be something easy and relatively quick. Having said that, some people like using it as a mindful morning companion as a way to slowly wake up and set their outlook for the day.
Tasty & Uplifting: needs to be something that excites you to get you out of bed.
Hydrating: When you wake up you are dehydrated from the evening and you should be drinking something that hydrates you. It should also give you a morning palate refresh to start your day off well.
Healthy Start: Sometimes a tea in the morning is exactly the thing that gets my digestion going for the day without it being overly stimulating as coffee would. Tea in the morning can also be delicious without sugar and milk. (I always aim to set myself up for success by starting the day without an inevitable sugar crash or loads of empty calories in the first few hours of the day. Of course, no judgements if you do enjoy sugar in your tea. Everybody is different!) I typically add some non-dairy milk to my tea. These day, I mostly add oat milk. If I’m adding sugar to my tea, it’s for a treat later in the afternoon.
If I’m sluggish that morning, I’ll typically make myself a pot of black tea, pour some milk into my glass mug, and bring it into my room as it steeps. From there I may meditate and journal, followed by some reading. I have noticed lately that if I have tea first thing in the morning, sometimes that gets my digestion going and makes me quite hungry, especially if the tea is strong. It makes a lot of sense to have food accompanying your tea. This can sometimes get in the way of my morning exercise routine, as I don’t want prefer to exercise immedietely after a meal.
When this happens, I’ll make sure I exercise later in the day. This is tricky because the later I leave something like working out to the end of the day, there’s a higher chance it won’t get done. Part of having a morning routine is to do all the activities that set me up for good health mentally and physically. Being rigid and strict is not something I respond well towards, so I have rotating morning blueprints and schedules for how a working weekday will go.
Having said all this, one of my favorite new morning routines is waking up, drinking water, and heading outside immedietely for a walk or jog. Afterwards, I would return home, shower and get ready for the day, and then make tea with my breakfast. Though I will say, on most mornings I wake up slowly with tea. I’m working to improve my sleep hygiene so that I wake up feeling well-rest and ready to go!
Black tea for the mornings is still my #1 choice, but occasionally switching it up to oolong is always fun especially if I’m looking for some extra mood-boosting for that day or week. In the next part I’ll go into a bit more detail about teas for the morning and brewing methods that work well for the mornings.
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Some of my favorite Morning Teas:
Black Teas
…for a classic malty & mellow wake-up brew with plenty of nice brisk tannins and sufficient caffeine.
English Breakfast and Earl Greys: Rishi is one of my, favorite slightly fancier places, for high quality teas. It is a solid choice for any tea purchase, but I especially love their Earl Grey blends. I think they nailed their bergamot oil source or their ratio of it is excellent. Their black teas are well balanced and have an attractive malt aroma.
Indian Single Estate Teas: This is a link to a lovely little tea shop in Paso Robles, CA that I love. Their single estate Assam that I had was full-bodied and perfectly tannic: just the way I like it! It even had the name of the tea estate which is nice to see.
Rwandan Black Tea: This was a delicious mellow black tea that packs a punch in caffeine. The loose leaf tea has some buds present and maintains an attractive full leaf shape. I originally discovered this brand on Amazon though I linked it here direct to their website. Always good to support the company directly.
Nepal Black Tea: This tea is Oh-So Cocoa-y! It feels reminiscent of a hot chocolate but it’s a scrumptious black tea. This tea tells you that there’s definitely something very exciting about the Nepalese terroir.
Darjeeling Second Flush: The Simple Loose Leaf Company has a decent 2nd flush Darjeeling (2nd flush means it’s harvested in the fall). The tea liquor is a full-bodied amber red and has lovely red floral and fruity wood notes. Quite a special and decadent morning tea which works well in the afternoon too, as it drinks almost like an oolong.
Oolongs
…for when you’re looking for mood-boosting floral and fruit morning infusion and the possibility of many hydrating steeps that keeps developing in flavor with slightly less intense caffeine than black tea.
Orchid Fragrance: Everything about this tea screams to me “wake-up and smell the flowers, ya dope!” It’s a tea that takes you out of the stress of the week and into a valley of flowers and nectar. Medium roast.
Mu Zha Te Kuan Yin: This is a dark-roasted tea with lots of pyrogenic body to satisfy your roasted coffee cravings if that’s something you need.
Wuyi Mountain Rock Oolongs: This assortment of teas will definitely fall within the “treat yo-self” mornings as these are luxurious teas from the rocky mountains of Fujian, China. Read more about these below. Da Hong Pao or Big Red Robe is a particularly famous tea from this region and is also a rarity. I highly recommend taking time to brew this category of teas in the gong fu style, or the short steep time with less water style.
Jin Suo Shi or “Golden Key”: This is another Wuyi Mountain or “Wuyishan” tea, but it’s anything from ordinary. It’s an uncommon cultivar as it states because it has drought resistant and withstands cold. The word “cultivar” designates a plant that has undergone selective breeding and can boast a unique character or quality. This dark-roasted tea comes with ample sweetness and balance in the fruit and floral realm.
Note: I am not an affiliate to any of these tea companies linked.
Recommended Brewing Methods:
Glass tea pot (This is quickly becoming my favorite brew method because of the lightness of the teapot and the aesthetics of being able to observe the tea liquor color through the glassware).
A typical western ceramic or porcelain tea pot
Large metal ball tea infuser (The larger the volume, the more room an oolong has to expand its leaves once steeped to help release flavors.)
A word on Oolongs for mornings…
Oolongs that come from the Wuyi Mountains of the Fujian province in China are situated in a rocky elevated terrain. These rock teas are also known yan cha and typically come more oxidized, usually charcoal-fired and are loosely twisted. Because of this elevation and the mineral content of the rocky cliffs, the teas will have a mineral flavor profile and carry with it extra “qi” boosting qualities. Coupled with the semi-fermented processing and roasting, these teas present an attractive caramel, fruit, and dried floral tasting notes.
“Qi” is what the Chinese refer to, and what my mom says I don’t have enough of, as the life energy or life force within our bodies. Its literal meaning “breath” or “air” doesn’t quite encompass its full weight as a word. The Cantonese are culturally aware of this concept of “qi” because it’s a way of observing energy within ourselves and others. It’s what Kung Fu masters aim to cultivate. Conjuring any images of Bruce Lee movies for you? If you have sufficient “qi” it means you are energetic internally and will experience sustained energy in your life. A person full of “qi” may appear as being quite talkative or have a strong voice when speaking. An opera singer who has what we consider “lungs of steel” or can “sing for days” is someone who my mother would consider to have abundant “qi.” Me on the other hand, she doesn’t seem to always think so. But well, that’s mothers and their critical concern for their children, am I right?
Darjeeling 1st Flush creates a more luxurious black tea morning experience.
Your tea ritual is YOUR tea ritual.
Which means, if your body craves green, white, or non-caffeinated tisanes in the morning, then you should absolutely have those in the morning! Though do be aware that some tisanes have a sleepy affect. Let me know if you want to know more about this.
This article simply stands as serving suggestions based on my experience thus far of adamantly consuming tea on a daily basis for the past year and also studying the nuances in the function of each type of tea. I also hope this gave you ideas on switching up your morning caffeine rituals or as you discover how and when you like to have your tea during the day.
In any case, if you are one of those amazing people who survive a long week without tea (or other forms of energy inducing methods), I want to know your secret. If this is you, leave a comment below asap—thanks! I say this in jest as I know tea and caffeine is a luxury that I can humanely survive without, but why would I?
Summary
A morning tea should:
hydrate
give sustained energy
be flavorful
uplift the mood
be quick
give a healthy start to day
Teas I recommend:
black teas
occasionally, oolong teas.
Brewing methods:
regular western or modern teapot (glass, ceramic, porcelain)
metal ball
I hope this gives you some ideas for your morning tea. Please comment below or send me a message with any questions. Ciao for now!
MinTea xOO