Six Serious Life Lessons from Yoga and Tea

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Tea Talk 21Yoga and tea are ancient spiritual disciplines and therapies that work on creating harmony between mind, body and spirit. In the aaaah!… good stretch of the muscles and steeping of the tea leaves in hot water, lies an entire philosophy that is inspiring the world to change the way we live and think.

The principles of yoga are parallel with the art of tea. They both are addictive practices that alter the very way we feel, think, understand and experience life – a life beyond the good and the evil. I believe my tea journey wouldn’t have reached this present if my fifteen years with Ashtanga yoga, hadn’t morphed the confluence of my asanas into something more personal.

Yoga has so much to give us beyond its science of asanas. In the subtle moments of deep self-connection and introspection, it’s transformative powers inspire us to embrace change and grow to new heights. In case you are on a path to achieve modern day enlightenment and are in search of living a more deliberate life, here are six lessons that have helped me trust in the practice and in the answers that arise from it.

1. Alignment – One of the best lessons you can learn from yoga is to master the art of staying calm and not give a F. Yoga emphasises the most on the importance of correct body alignment, to hold an asana and do it correctly. This is a prerequisite for all the good energies to generate and flow, and bring us to a meditative state that we are seeking. Yoga teaches us how to live in harmony with life’s asymmetries, by subconsciously making us understand the significance of our health and well-being.

2. Courage – Off the mat, yoga teaches us our capacity to build strength and withstand life’s obstacles. Asanas are not exercises. They are very subtle methods of manipulating our energy in a certain direction. If practised correctly and mindfully, yoga can break down all the negative thinking patterns, psychological, emotional and physical barriers that inhibit us from thriving and feeling bulletproof.

3. Consciousness – The longest journey is the journey inward. Yoga helps to develop a connection with our soul, and it makes us experience the spiritual energy that is a pathway for higher awakening, consciousness, intuition and healing. Yoga and tea are forms of meditation and they make us realise, that mindfulness does not have to be complicated. Just ending a yoga session by lying down still and deep breathing in Savasana, followed by a cup of tea, simplifies the whole concept of “mindfulness”.

4. Feel less pain – Letting go and moving on is the hardest asana. In yoga, we are taught to “let go” when we are sitting calmly, deep breathing on the mat and even when we are trying to nail a headstand effortlessly. Releasing all the tension and breathing through the noise of it all, is the smoothest take-off. Yoga, just like tea, shows us that we have the power to silence the chaos within. Both the practices help us comprehend the true reality – that just as pain compounds with time, so do positive thoughts.

5. Evolve – Once you get into yoga and tea, you are a student for life. The science of asanas and the history of different kinds and styles, make our bodies limitless. Awakening our senses and opening our minds to receive information is the mantra that creates the “zest” factor in our lives. Yoga teaches us how to open to the world and stay receptive to all its possibilities and opportunities.

6. Self-love  – Yoga makes us sensitive and helps us listen to our body’s messages and emotions. It forms the connection that we are looking for. Right from what we should and shouldn’t eat, how we must deal with toxicity, to serious decisions about what we want and do not want in life – the practice of yoga creates a sacred foundation within ourselves, where there is more acceptance, freedom, love, peace, joy and light. It’s a total upgrade!

Inspired to read more about the uplifting effects of yoga and tea? Here are 5 reasons why Rangsaa is your best post-yoga drink.

Illustration credit: Erika Lourenco

RANGSAA TALK – Marathi Literature Festival

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I recently got invited to be a part of the panel at India’s first Marathi Literature Festival organised by Dainik Bhaskar Group in Nasik. The theme of the event was “From Tapri to Cafes: Exciting Days Ahead”.

It was an honour to join the fellow panellist Ankit Bohra, founder of Tapri Cafe in Jaipur and Priya Kapoor, founder of Roli Books Publication and CMYK stores. While Ankit represented the love for traditional chai in India and Priya highlighted the growing trend of cafes in bookstores, Rangsaa was there to introduce people to the new culture of tea and the Global Tea Movement that we have initiated.

It was a great opportunity for me to speak about our incredible Rangsaa journey. I was deeply humbled and honoured to share my knowledge, insights…and of course love for tea in the company of esteemed authors, writers, creatives and visionaries. The hospitality and kindness of people in Maharashtra always fills my heart. And I thank Dainik Bhaskar group with all my heart for this opportunity.

RECIPE – Instant Firebird Whisky Cocktail

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Recipe Tea Rangsaa Insta Tea

Tea-time meets happy hours with this classic instant tea cocktail that is straightforward, well-balanced and boasts myriad of refreshing flavors that you are bound to enjoy!

KEY INGREDIENTS
1/4 tsp Instant black tea powder
50ml JW Red Label
4 mint leaves
Lemon slices
1 inch ginger
2 tsp honey

PROCEDURE
Pop 3–4 mint leaves into a shaker. Add instant tea powder, Johnnie Walker Red Label, ginger piece, a lime slice, honey and muddle them together. Add ice and shake vigorously until cold. Strain into a glass with 2-3 ice cubes and 3-4 lemon slices. Garnish with mint leaves.

FOOD PAIRING
Caramelised scallops, smoky steak or bbq veggies – preferably brussel sprouts.

Drinking Tea And The Art Of Doing Nothing

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Tea Talk 11AThe Italians have a beautiful concept signifying the pleasantness of inactivity – ‘La Dolce Far Niente’, which roughly translates to ‘the sweetness of doing nothing’.

Well, the concept seems easy as taking a break doing relaxing activities gives us lot of options to chose from. But the challenge here is to cultivate ‘mental silence’, which isn’t just about getting respite from the distractions of office chatter or deadlines. It’s about the real sustained silence that quietens inner as well as outer chatter and takes us beyond the noise. A state that can be easily attained through the ‘Art of Tea Meditation’.

A recent Harvard Business Review states that the busier we are, the more quiet time we need. It emphasises on the need of structured periods of silence as important factors in achieving success. In our modern lives when our day begins running on a treadmill of duties and ends with exhaustion, taking a silent break is a luxury. Tea is the modern day meditation and a simple solution to effortlessly embrace the art of doing nothing and experiencing mental silence.

Tea masters and monks have been practising the ‘art of tea way’ for more than 3,000 years – an art that consists simply of boiling water, preparing tea and drinking it. Embracing the traditional goodness of tea in modern times by upgrading our tea-time can help to reprogram our thoughts, manage the non-stop information flow and cultivate periods of deep silence. It can condition our minds to be more adaptive and responsive to the complex environments in which so many of us now live, work, and lead.

Our lives can be a lot different if we take a deliberate pause by just giving 30 minutes of our day to the process of making our cup of tea. This pause declutters our mind, bringing about a sense of calmness and tranquillity.  You can chose this time to unwind, plan your day, read a book, think about what you love, admire the view from your window or think about nothing at all. You make your tea, absorb yourself in the process, sit and sip with no particular agenda, letting yourself go wherever your mind takes you. You could also use this time to think about what kind of life would be worth living, rather than simply living the life you live.

With each passing day, we feel more tired, hoping for a reboot in the form of a break, a pause from the daily hustle. And this idea usually translates into a quarterly vacation – travelling to a far off land to get away from the madness for a while. But we don’t need to postpone that idea any further because the elusive ‘relaxation’ that we yearn for is not just found in the scenic landscapes of our ideal vacation spots. It exists within each one of us and is ours to claim if we learn to embrace it with a tea lifestyle. So instead of fantasising about that one big vacation, brew your tea, find that perfect spot in the house, and reboot your life with a simple tea meditation.

The world is getting louder. But silence is still accessible. It just takes commitment and creativity to cultivate it.  Make your cup of tea mindfully, take a deep breath, relax and let your brain move away from the abstract and the distant towards the tangible and the near.

RECIPE – Insignia Tea Créme Anglaise by Robert Wemischner

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Recipe Tea Rangsaa Insignia Robert W

Pastry chef and culinary educator Robert Wemischner, adds complex wonderful flavors of Rangsaa tea to the popular Créme Anglaise in this vibrant Rangsaa Insignia Tea Créme Anglaise recipe, that finds it’s use in versatile desserts. Thank you Robert Wemischner for creating this wonderful recipe and sharing the Rangsaa love.

KEY INGREDIENTS
Yield: approximately 1 cup
1 generous tbsp Rangsaa Insignia
240 ml whole milk
3 egg yolks from large eggs
50 gms granulated sugar

PROCEDURE
Place the milk and tea in a heavy saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Once ready, remove it from heat and let it stand for another 5 minutes. Pour through a fine-meshed sieve and set aside. While your mixture is getting done, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the sugar dissolves and the mixture has lightened in color. In a clean saucepan, reheat the infused milk to the simmer. Pour gradually over the egg yolks and sugar mixture, stirring to combine. Return that mixture to the saucepan and cook until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (180 degrees F.)  Do not overcook or the mixture will curdle. Once thickened pour it through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl set over ice water. Stir to cool quickly. Store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 2 days.

RECOMMENDED USE
As the basis for an ice cream, as a dipping sauce for brownies or other rich cookies or bars, as a sauce over the ice cream of your choice, as a plating sauce for a seasonal fruit tart or as a pour over fresh berries.

Check out the original recipe here.

5 Reasons Why You Should Add Rangsaa to Your Fitness Regime

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Fitness lifestyleIf you’ve wandered along your supermarket’s tea aisle over the past 5 years, you would have noticed a massive multiplication in the breadth and depth of choice in ‘herbal’ options, with mostly mundane and uninspiring flavor innovations.

We at Rangsaa are huge fans of powerful herbs, but were fed up of the weak, dusty flavours that ended up in ‘herbal’ infusions replete with chemicals and artificial substances. We realised there existed a gap in the market for innovative, 100% natural teas that also tasted delicious, loaded with the true power of herbs. A fitness and wellness movement, Rangsaa operates in a unique space. Our work revolves around an overarching aim to discover delicious yet effective ways to harness nature’s power in our teas.

The concept of healthy, nutritious tea is fast changing to go beyond green tea bags. Surprising as it may be, tea is becoming the latest fitness power drink around the world. Fitness blends are now a global trend among fitness enthusiasts, sportsmen, athletes and people into target training. However, the trend is yet to catch up in India.

When you work out, an adequate intake of fluids is essential. A healthy body results from 80% diet and just 20% workout, so being conscious of not just what you eat but also what you drink becomes crucial to your fitness journey. Imagine if your fluids came packed with strengthening and rejuvenating herbs. Rangsaa offers just that, bringing the fitness movement to the health conscious.

Here are 5 reasons why Rangsaa blends are a great addition to a fitness enthusiast’s arsenal:

1. Unadulterated delicious power – Rangsaa blends are the best alternative to chemically loaded and sugary energy drinks. Made with nature’s most powerful botanicals, Rangsaa is packed with vitamins and nutrients that improve stamina, boost vitality and reduce muscle stress. 100% pure and natural, our blends help you experience the power of nature with pure deliciousness.

2. Powerhouse of herbs – Our blends are formulated with superfood herbs like moringa, ginseng, seabuckthorn leaves, gotu kola, cramp bark, Indian gooseberry and other speciality target-focused herbs that help you energise and improve stamina.

3. Naturally sweetened with Stevia – Rangsaa blends are naturally sweet and delicious with no added sugar. Stevia helps fight diabetes, thus making for a great option for diabetic patients looking for a sweet treat.

4. Multi-versatile – Not just a hot cup of tea, Rangsaa blends can be transformed into fitness drinks, smoothies, healthy cocktails etc. Our recipes take tea beyond the usual cup. Perfect for people who love experimenting, our blends are easy to incorporate in your fitness journey. If you want power on-the-go, you can use our fitness tumbler to assist you.

5. No-caffeine option – If you want to stay away from caffeine but still want an energy-booster, our blends are here for you. Our tisanes, which are pure herbal infusions, are caffeine-free and boost stamina naturally. They also offer multiple so you can sip power all day.

When you drink a cup of Rangsaa, you sip in the essence of nature and experience a medley of nutritious, colourful, tasty and aromatic molecules that protect against stress and exhaustion. Whether you hit it hard at the gym, run a 10k to train for a marathon, swing kettlebells at home, sweat it out on the yoga mat or do laps in the pool, Rangsaa is your one-stop fitness drink. Our blends help you energise before your workout, keep you going during your session and help you recover and restore post workout.

At Rangsaa we go back to the basics, turn to nature and bring you tea blends and tisanes that help you energise, elevate and feel amazing even after a thoroughly exhausting session. Whatever be your fitness goals, say goodbye to sugary drinks and switch to a cleaner lifestyle with Rangsaa. Gift yourself a healthier, fitter and better you and experience tea like never before.

5 Ways To Train Your Palate With Rangsaa Tea

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Tea Talk 9Rangsaa’s tagline ‘Symphony of Colorful Tea’ reflects the various tasting notes in our blends, which come together to create a beautiful, elaborate musical composition, full of orchestral flavor profiles. There are different tasting notes, depth of flavors, aroma, undertones, complexities and spikes before you get an aftertaste. Every Rangsaa blend is an experience in taste, simplicity and purity, making it a beautiful tea drinking journey, something that you want to keep coming back for.

Indulging in novel ideas and events enriches our understanding of life and enhances the quality of our experiences. We at Rangsaa love trying out new notes, taste and flavour profiles with our tea blends. With the finest organic herbs and high altitude tippy tea leaves, we have created a beautiful symphony of unique flavours and notes, distinguishing our blends from the artificial ones that have proliferated the market today. We want people to experience this colourful symphony with five simple steps. Ask yourself the following questions when drinking our teas:

1. Describe your tea blend – How is the appeal? Examine the appearance of the dry tea leaves and other ingredients in the blend. Are the tea leaves whole or broken? Do you see silver or golden tips? How do the ingredients look? What do they smell like? Examine your tea, studying it for clues and flavours that are about to indulge your senses. Rejoice in the moment.

2. Describe the color of the tea liquor – Watch the leaves infuse and spread a cloud of color in your cup or teapot. Is it amber, crimson, golden, or a different color altogether? How does the color change with steeping time?

3. Describe the aroma – Close your eyes and inhale the rich aroma wafting from the infusion. What does it smell like? What are the hints of flavors that you are experiencing? Is it fresh, exciting, warm, spicy, comforting etc.?

4. Describe the tasting notes – Now, slurp the tea (don’t worry about the loud noises). Spread it all over your tongue and mouth. What flavors, notes, undertones do you detect? What are the top notes? Is there a balance? How is the texture and the finish? Try to describe your experience.

5. Describe the aftertaste – Finally, swallow the tea. Is the finish long or short? Do the flavors dissipate quickly or last for a while in your mouth? What flavors remain? Is the mouthfeel dry or creamy? Do you detect sweetness? You are the taster here. Enjoy every sip.

For a heightened tea experience, we suggest steeping the tea for 5-10 minutes and see how you like your tea, detecting the change in density and depth of flavours, thus allowing the musical notes to resonate.

To learn more about the new flavors that you can experience, please refer to our tea reviews on the website. Our reviews will act as an introduction and reference guide and will also enhance your experience by giving you cues on exploring your blends in different ways.

Train your palate and explore new flavors and nuances with Rangsaa’s premium tea blends and tisanes. Drinking tea is fun and we want you to experience the magic with your Rangsaa journey.

Valentine’s Special – Rangsaa’s 10 Tips To Embrace Life With Tea

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Get your adrenaline shooting. Shake up. Get up. Make a cup of tea. Relax. Keep walking. Set goals. Live life. Smile often. Laugh loud. Love yourself. Love more. Eat nutritious food. Stay hydrated. Drink more tea. Listen to more music and less advise. And lastly – Never give up on love. Find love in whatever and whomever you can. Find love in people, moments, places, work and things. Love is the essence of everything. It is the core of our existence and the most beautiful element in our lives. It is the ultimate path to inner peace.

Let tea make your journey better. Let it remind you that real love is pure and special. Bring more colors, flavors and aroma in your life. Wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day! Live well. Drink well. Be well.

6 Ways To Cook With Rangsaa Tea Blends

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cookingwithteaRangsaa’s obsession with tea transcends just drinking it. We like to add a whole world of innovation to how we use our blends. Our teas are our favorite ways to add grassy, herbal, sweet, and even smoky notes to our cooking repertoire. From buttery cookies to smoked meat and even stir-fries and butter, here’s how to eat more tea:

1. Swap stock for tea – Use Rangsaa for making pasta and oats, cooking grains like rice, barley, buckwheat and quinoa. You can also spice your soup up with a hint of fine tea. Use our infusions with intense aromas and flavors to give an unexpected twist to otherwise simple dishes.

2. Use it as spice rub – Adding Rangsaa to the usual rub suspects like salt, brown sugar, and garlic adds a savory note to cooking all kinds of poultry. Use our tea to mix with spices and rub it on meat (chicken, fish, lamb), followed with pan sautéing. Infusing the meat with tea makes for an enticing medley of scents and flavors. You can then de-glaze the pan with brewed tea, add a bit of butter and have a delicious pan sauce ready! Whether you are cooking a pot or baking a delicious chicken roast, experiment and have fun with Rangsaa.

3. Make tea butter – Think of this as your Rangsaa-rated herbal butter. To prepare the butter, add tea to heated butter and let it seep in for 5-10 minutes on medium heat before separating the leaves. Re-solidify the butter and store it in the fridge for later use in cakes, cookies, desserts and other baked items. The possibilities are truly endless. Be ready for a big gustatory surprise!

4. Work it into dough and batter – Tea absorbs water much like flour does. Adding butter stir-fried Rangsaa to the homemade dough for pasta, noodles, batter for bread and cakes imbues the item with a pretty color, texture and an exotic flavor. Add noodles into soup, bake a nice fruit bread or tea cookies or come up with an invention of your own. There are multiple options to mix and match your Rangsaa to wonderful recipes.

5. As a flavoring tool – Make a strong Rangsaa concoction and soak nuts and fruits in it overnight. Store this in the fridge and use in cakes, desserts and various dishes. This easy trick does wonder to your recipes and will amaze everyone around you.

6. Braising with Rangsaa – Apart from providing pleasure in a cup, Rangsaa is also ideal for braising lesser cuts of meat. A long slow cooking of meat in brewed tea results in a delicious sauce. Try brined sweet chicken to begin with. You’ll fall in love with the recipe and it won’t even be the beginning of a delicious affair!

Whether you are a seasoned chef or a newbie experimenting with different dishes, cooking with tea is going to take you on a new, uncharted culinary journey. Try our variety of blends and make Rangsaa not just a beverage choice but an ideal companion for your daily meals too.

12 Reasons Why Rangsaa Blends Are Awesome

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awesomerangsaablends4blog-1Tea is no longer about the regular chai we have all grown up with and grown idly used to. Neither are healthy teas now limited to the idea of green tea, let alone the convenient green tea bags most people take to.

We see people drinking poor-grade teas, chemically loaded with artificial flavors all around us and we are here to bring about a change. Although tea is widely accessible, most people remain oblivious to the whole array of options tea has to offer. A tea revolution has begun and we are here to help you re-discover tea.

Rangsaa’s tea blends and tisanes introduce you to the world of unique flavors, nuances and delicate balances not offered by your usual cup of tea. Every cup of Rangsaa is a delicious yet nutritious tea experience, bringing a premium cuppa to your table that also gives you ample room to innovate. Be it iced drinks, nutritious brews, healthy cockails and smoothies, our all-natural products come loaded with unadulterated power. Here are 10 reasons why we are unique and as cool as ice:

1. High-altitude tippy teas – At Rangsaa, we aim at bringing awareness and promote advance tea drinking culture. Tea grows slowly at high altitude, giving the leaves a greater depth of flavors and aroma. Trickling down from the hilly tea gardens in the Eastern Himalayan range, Rangsaa teas are hand-plucked and abundant in silver and golden tips.

2. All-natural tea blends – Many companies use artificially/naturally flavored oils which can be harmful to health. At Rangsaa, we use all-natural ingredients that transform, bringing out complex layers of flavors and aroma that you’ve never tasted before. Our blends are locally inspired and globally desired. 

3. Taste Experience and freedom from sugar – We believe that the act of drinking tea is a soothing, simple and a mind-awakening experience, that is nothing short of a thrilling sensory experience. We’ve worked with tea masters to create that perfect balance of flavors and aroma, for the delicious Rangsaa experience. Our teas are delectable, naturally sweet, enormously uplifting and nourishing – made with the finest organic ingredients.

4. Superfood drink – We’ve developed tea blends and tisanes using a precise selection of evocative herbs with proven health benefits, for the modern tea drinker. Our unique recipes with blend of superfood herbs is a great addition to modern day lifestyle. Stomp on artificially flavored teas, sugary energy drinks and leap to natural herbs and vitamins with an exuberant premium tea experience. Rise up to all your unhealthy monstrosi-teas.

5. Multi- versatile – We believe in having fun with tea, because there’s no drink like it. Rangsaa blends are great for cooking, making delicious cocktails, smoothies, detox drinks etc. Use our tea as a spice, marinate poultry or simply add fruits to make a healthy workout drink. Tea just went from traditional to progressive.

6. Shopping experience – At Rangsaa, we didn’t want to put people off with complicated names and a vast array from the mediocre to the good. We offer a small selection of the best. We’ve travelled the country seeking out the finest so that our customers don’t have to be experts to enjoy good tea. So, every time you sip one of our expert-curated tea blends, you are in the company of the most unique tea experience there is.

7. Tea with a purpose – Our blends are handcrafted keeping in mind the stressful on-the-go lifestyle of the modern tea drinker. Whether you want something to get refreshed in the morning, detox, a drink before a run, or a pre and post workout fuel, Rangsaa can be enjoyed every moment of the day.

8. Great for tea meditation – Rangsaa offers you meditation in a cup, leaving you physically relaxed and mentally alert – with it’s symphony of unique flavors and aroma. Just taking the time to brew and drink a cup of Rangsaa mindfully can quiet your mental chatter and help you tune into the present moment.

9. Rangsaa’s Golden Box – When it tastes amazing and feels amazing, it should absolutely look amazing too. We send our tea out like you send your first born to school for the first time – With love, affection, warmth and shining like the golden sun.

10. Tea gifting – Tea is meant to be shared. Even with those who are unfamiliar with the aromatic depths it can take one to. Our packaging is designed to give you the luxuriant Rangsaa experience. All our boxes have two pouches, red to induce and white to introduce. Share it if you love it.

11. Social responsibility – There’s lot that goes into bringing a cup of Rangsaa to your table and we ensure that journey is beneficial for all by working directly with farmers and small growers.

12. The Global Tea Movement – With every box of Rangsaa you purchase, you become part of LoveforTea – A Global Tea Movement. Rangsaa is continuously bringing together artists, musicians, designers and creating a high tea circle for those who share common love for the brew. With reach across 140 countries, we are one of the largest tea communities globally. Our goal is to make a difference by educating people about tea, how it’s good for us and connect with the vast tea community globally. Join us on a journey to enlighten the right tea drinking culture. It’s the modern tea movement!

For someone who loves tea, commitment to good tea comes naturally. We are trying to uphold this commitment every day at Rangsaa. We are on a mission to reveal the value and purpose of the rich tea drinking heritage by infusing it into our daily lives and culture. Let the tea-naissance begin!