Tea’s Meditative Roots

Tea and meditation have an ancient connection. As an old legend tells it, Bodhidharma—the monk who brought Chan Buddhism from India to China around the fifth or sixth century—spent nine years in a cave at the Shaolin Monastery staring at the wall in intense concentration. After continually struggling to stay awake, he cut away his eyelids, and where they fell to the ground, a tea plant sprang up, bringing him the energy he needed to stay present.

The link between tea and meditation extends well beyond myth. For centuries, Chan monks in China drank tea to hold their focus through long hours of seated meditation, and the custom became woven into monastic life. In the eighth century, Lu Yu—an orphan raised within a monastery—composed the Cha Jing, or Classic of Tea, the first book ever devoted to the subject.

As Buddhism spread, tea traveled with it: to the Seon temples of Korea, where tea trees were planted alongside the monasteries, and onward to Japan, where the monk Eisai brought tea seeds home from China in 1191. Powdered tea, the ancestor of today's matcha, arrived along the same path, prized for the clarity it lent a wandering mind.

Yoga and Tea

The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit yuj, which means to yoke, to join or to unite. At its heart, yoga seeks union: between body and breath, effort and ease, self and the moment. The sage Patanjali described yoga as the stilling of the mind's restless fluctuations—a quieting anyone who’s ever enjoyed a good cup of tea can recognize. It’s that shared stillness that makes yoga and tea such natural companions. A cup before practice can settle you onto the mat; a cup after can make the calm last.

Match Your Cup to Your Practice

When considering which tea to pair with your yoga or meditation session, take a minute to assess how you’re feeling. Too overstimulated and you may find it difficult to quiet your mind; too tired and you may struggle to focus or find the strength to move well.

Once you take note of your energy levels, let caffeine be your guide to tea and meditation. Save the moderate or high-caffeine options, such as green tea or matcha, for morning or pre-practice, and reach for caffeine-free botanical blends later in the day.

Teas That Calm

Meditative teas with somnolent herbs, such as chamomile or lavender, can be deeply calming and grounding—perfect for meditation, restorative yoga or journaling.

Lavender Tea

Lavender takes its name from the Latin lavare, “to wash.” The Romans scented their baths with lavender flowers, and the association with relaxation has clung to this botanical ever since.  A member of the mint family, lavender brews into a floral cup with a cool, herbal edge. Blending this flower with complementary botanicals tends to soften its intense flavor while maintaining a soothing, caffeine-free profile. Explore Lavender Mint, Earl Grey Lavender and more in our tea shop.

Chamomile Tea

Enjoyed across Europe and the Mediterranean for centuries as a soothing evening tea, chamomile is known for its delicate, nectar-like sweetness and comforting character. A member of the daisy family, its name is derived from the Greek for “earth apple”—a nod to its subtle apple-like tasting note.

Preparing loose leaf chamomile can be a calming ritual in itself—the measuring, steeping and pouring—each step inviting you to savor the moment.

Teas That Balance

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), foods and herbs are categorized as warming or cooling—not by temperature, but by how they interact energetically with the body. Feeling agitated and restless is associated with excess yang, or too much heat, while feeling tired and unmotivated corresponds with deficient yang, or too little heat. 

Below, we touch on teas with ingredients traditionally used to meet either imbalance—something you may find helpful before engaging in a mindfulness practice, whether a gentle one like meditation or tai chi, or something more active like Vinyasa yoga.

Chai Tea

Chai is a time-honored blend of black tea and aromatic spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. In TCM, spices like ginger and cinnamon are considered warming—a quality that contributes to chai's invigorating character.   The traditional method of slowly simmering loose leaf chai on the stovetop can be a moment of mindfulness in itself. If you need a quicker pick-me-up, however, our Masala Chai can also be enjoyed as a sachet or concentrate.

Peppermint Tea

Tracing its origins back to ancient Egypt and Greece, mint has a long, rich history of culinary and medicinal use. In TCM, peppermint is classified as a cooling herb—a quality owed to high levels of menthol, the compound responsible for its refreshing and awakening character. In the warmer months, peppermint makes a wonderful iced tea, offering a crisp, caffeine-free lift that has a way of clearing the mind.

Teas That Energize

True teas—those made from the Camellia sinensis plant—provide varying levels of caffeine depending on the cultivar, the age of the leaves and how they’re brewed. These energizing teas are ideal for a more active practice or longer periods of meditation.

Oolong

Oolong teas occupy a unique space between green and black teas, offering a spectrum of oxidation levels and flavor profiles. Depending on the style, oolong reveals notes that range from floral and creamy to roasted and nutty.

That complexity of flavor is mirrored in the calming and awakening sensation many people experience when drinking oolong. With its moderate caffeine content, oolong is a natural fit for tea and meditation enthusiasts hoping to find a little more ease in their effort.

Green Tea

Green tea is widely appreciated for its balance of caffeine and L-theanine, a naturally occurring amino acid that supports a relaxed yet alert state of mind. Beyond its gently energizing qualities, green tea comes in a wide range of flavor profiles, from savory umami to refreshingly floral to rich and toasty, making it a satisfying, clarifying sip before you hit the mat or settle into meditation.

Matcha

Matcha is a type of green tea that begins as tencha: shade-grown leaves that are steamed, dried and ground into a fine, silky powder. Shading the plants in the weeks before harvest concentrates L-theanine, giving matcha some of the highest levels of any green tea, along with its signature umami taste. It’s also high in caffeine, making it an optimal choice for an active mindfulness practice, such as walking meditation, yoga or qigong.

Matcha has been linked with mindfulness for centuries. Chanoyu, the Zen-based Japanese tea ceremony, is centered on the preparation of matcha—a choreographed practice that, if done properly, can create a full sensory experience for all who are present.

How to Prepare Matcha

To prepare matcha the traditional way, first make sure you have all the right teaware at hand, including a chawan (tea bowl), chasen (bamboo whisk), sifter and scoop. For a complete set of accessories, shop our Everyday Matcha Teaware Set.

1. Sift your matcha powder to allow for an even infusion.
2. Add 1 tsp of sifted matcha to a chawan. 
3. Pour 2 oz hot water (165°F) over the matcha, slowly, to prevent clumping.
4. Whisk briskly in a zigzag motion until a velvety foam appears across the surface
5. Enjoy as is or add your milk of choice for a matcha latte. Explore our matcha recipes for inspiration.

Behind the Cup

We've explored teas that calm, balance and energize, but there's more to a mindful cup: the people and places behind it. Every harvest season, our team travels to visit our longtime partners, taste the fresh crop and select only the finest ingredients for our Direct Trade teas. We pay up to 10 times the commodity price for our ingredients—all of which goes to our partners. We also work with organic growers skilled in agroforestry—an approach that honors biodiversity—to create tea that’s better for the world and better in your cup. When your tea reflects that level of intention, you can taste it.

If you’re considering incorporating Direct Trade tea into your mindfulness practice and craving a taste of something rare, our Garden Direct collection gathers prized micro-lot cultivars and heirloom varieties shipped fresh after harvest, each a remarkable expression of terroir, season and craftsmanship.

When it comes to tea and meditation, the most meaningful pairing is the one that meets you where you are. Whether you’re seeking stillness or a little more energy on any given day, let each sip be part of your practice.