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Poise: calm; confidence in a person’s way of behaving, or a quality of grace (= moving in an attractive way) and balance in the way a person holds or moves their body.
Cambridge English Dictionary

Poise. Something I do not possess.

Today I have Tetley’s “Poise” tea in my cup. The name immediately conjured visions of skinny girls balanced on yoga mats. I own a yoga mat – it decorates the corner of my room. I own yoga pants too – they’re wearing thin at the thighs from trudging (begrudgingly) through the neighbourhood! I don’t even want to think about the dumbbells covered in dust.

No, my bendy parts don’t bend like they used to bend! Some of them never did! But as long as my elbow still works and I can drink my tea, I’ll be ok. Fatter with thinning yoga pants, but still ok. Life without tea is not life! 😉

I am not a fan of chamomile tea and it’s telltale “grassy” notes, which is why I was surprised to find this particular tea in my basement stash. What was I thinking? I was probably hoping the addition of cinnamon and orange peel would make the chamomile more palatable.

Chamomile tea is an herbal infusion from dried chamomile flowers. Long-used in folk medicine, these little white “daisy-like” flowers earned bragging rights to creating calm in it’s consumer, and encouraging sleep. Other potential health benefits include reducing inflammation, lowering blood sugar levels, treating cold symptoms, settling upset stomachs, and slowing the onset of osteoporosis.

The stronger the tea, the stronger the health benefits, but as with any herbal entity, it’s best to tread lightly at first. Chamomile can be contaminated by pollen and other spores that could create allergic reactions, so never give it to children or young adults, and those with a history of severe allergies, particulary to pollen, would be wiser to avoid it completely.

Tetley’s Poise tea was a pretty golden colour. I chose not to steep the first cup very long in the hopes of minimizing the grassy flavour. Both the smell and taste reminded me of Tetley’s Antitox Tea (apple cinnamon & tumeric). While this tea is spiced with cinnamon bark and orange peel, I found the notes were grassy and earthy, with a gentle warmth at the back of the tongue. Other spices include fennel, cardamom, licorice root, and tulsi. (Pregnant women should avoid licorice root). This tea is part of their Ayurvedic Balance series.

I’m still not a convert to chamomile, but the addition of cinnamon, though very, very mild, may have helped. A little bit. But if you are a fan of chamomile, I would recommend giving it a go. Even if you aren’t bendy like me.

Speaking of grass, I’m persevering in my gardening ventures, though I possess no green thumb; it’s more a medium shade of gray. I don’t kill things outright but they have to learn to be hardy fast or they will not survive under my care. I ordered and planted herb seeds, but I appear to be growing grass in the feeder. The kind you mow. When I planted, I dropped a package and it got wet, so I threw the few remaining seeds in my big ol’ tea kettle.