For 1 glass you need:
Pour the tea bag with 250 ml boiling water (100°C ) up, mix with sweetener if needed, and leave to infuse for 6 minutes and then refrigerate. Add the apple juice and serve with fresh mint leaves and apple to taste.
Enjoy the freshness of mint together with lavender and licorice as iced tea!
For 1 glass you need:
Pour the tea bag with 250ml boiling water up, leave to infuse for 6 minutes, and then refrigerate. Add cold plant-based milk and ice cubes, and done! Serve with fresh mint to taste!
Nothing says summer like a refreshing iced tea with oranges!
For 1 glass you need:
Pour the tea bag with 250 ml boiling water (90°C ) up, leave to infuse for 6 minutes and then refrigerate. Serve with fresh mint leaves or rosemary to taste. You can make lemon iced tea in a similar manner, but reduce lemon juice to 30 ml.
This cinnamon and cardamom infused tea is sweetened with freshly squeezed orange juice to make this delicious and soothing spice orange iced tea. It’s the perfect beverage to enjoy on summer days!
For 2 glasses you need:
Pour the tea bags with 500 ml boiling water (100°C ) up along with the cinnamon and cardamom, leave to infuse for 6 minutes and then refrigerate.
Garnish with slices of oranges. Enjoy!
Stay cool and hydrated this summer with glasses of delicious rose hibiscus iced tea. It is the perfect beverage to enjoy at the end of a long summer day!
For 1 glass you need:
Pour the tea bag with 300 ml boiling water (100°C ) up, leave to infuse for 6 minutes and then refrigerate.
Serve with fresh mint leaves and rose petals (the dried ones should be added 30 min before serving).
Enjoy!
The last element of the five elements is ether. This element is the most subtle of all the elements and can be hard to grasp. In essence, this element is space or emptiness. The ether element gives the other elements a place to exist in. The origin of ether is the shabd or naad, which is the vibration or sound which permeates the universe in its purest form because of this sound. It is inseparable.
Balance
When your ether element is balanced, you have a deep connection to the infinite, control of the projection, and effects of your voice. The qualities of ether are expansive, unlimited, or creative. However, the qualities of ether can also be described as the absence of the characteristics of the other elements.
For example, it can be cold due to the absence of fire or ungroundedness due to the absence of earth and so on.
Consequently, when the ether element is not in balance, you don’t give the other elements enough space to exist in and adopt the qualities of absence. It may also happen that it goes too far into the expanse of space, so you do not stay here on earth mentally. It is said that you must live predominantly from the ether element rather than any other element. When this happens, you are the happiest and most carefree being in the world. For this to happen, all other elements must be in balance.
Find balance
Ether is tasteless, however, there is a lot of the ether element in bitter foods as well as the air element. The air element is what gives it its unique flavor. So eating bitter foods will bring both these elements into your body.
Nutrition
To have a balance of our elements we need balance in our diet. Ether in itself is tasteless however we tend to find the most ether in bitter foods. These bitter foods are usually made up of both air and ether but usually have more air element which is why we usually associate the bitter foods with that element instead. With the right amount of ether, you will become expansive but with too much, you will be ungrounded.
Shoti Maa Tee
Another way to bring ether into your body is our Joyful Silence tea. From this heartwarming blend, you will get the space to be in the moment.
Chakra
The chakra tied to the ether element is our source of sound the fifth chakra or throat chakra. This chakra is what differentiates us from other living creatures, our ability for communication and self-expression. When this chakra is not flowing due to an imbalance in the ether tattva you can experience trouble communicating or expressing yourself or have a form of negative communication. Therefore, when you feel blocked in this way, it is important to give yourself space to have a healthy flow of self-expression.
The third tattva – the fire element is the source of pure energy and transformation. The Fire element being is the main energy source in the body that provides us with nourishment and growth in our body as well as within ourselves. It gives us the will and empowerment to push through all blocks that stand in our way.
Balance
With the right balance of fire, we are propelled forward through life with a powerful wave of energy. But just like fire in the natural world, when the fire is not controlled and grows too much, we will have too much anger and damage ourselves and what is around us. At the same time, when too little fire is present, we can feel depressed, cold, stuck, guilty, or doubtful.
Sence
The sense associated with the fire element is sight. Fire illumines our way forward and even though the fire is subtle its effects are still very observable.
Nutrition
Food is our source of energy. Thus we must maintain healthy digestion and eat right to keep our fire element in order. Foods that bring fire into your system are hot, spicy, sour, and salty foods. On the flip side, foods which decrease your internal fire are cold and heavy. Thus when our digestion is sluggish and weak we should be eating lighter and spicier foods until our digestion balances out. However, when we are too fiery eating cold and heavy foods will help calm the flames. Eating these foods in the right proportion according to your nature is essential to keeping your fire warm yet controlled.
Shoti Maa Tee
Our Purity flame tea will rekindle the flame inside you with its fiery combination of Choco, mint, chili, and its lovely auburn color.
Chakra
The fire tattva is in synergy with the third chakra. When our fire tattva is out of balance the third chakra cannot flow. It is the base and starting point of the kundalini energy in our body. If it is not flowing, the rest of the chakras will not get the energy they need to function at full capacity.
Find balance
A simple good way to balance the fire element is to make sure you get enough sunlight. This may be difficult in some countries, which means you got to absorb it all in the times you can. Another great way is to get some exercise by making yourself go through exercising you release energy laying dormant and thus revitalize the essence of the fire tattva.
The second element is the water element (or the Apas tattva). The water element is cool, smooth, flowing, and soft. Due to its soothing effect, it becomes our protector.
Balance
Balanced water element will soothe all your pain and inflammation in your body as well as protect you from the heat of the fire element, rough motions of air, disintegrating effect of ether, and keeps you flowing from the stagnant nature of earth element. Most importantly, the water tattva takes the form of our most pure and basic nourishment. However, it must be moderated as well. Otherwise, you will drown in it if it is too much, and dry up when it is too little. When the water tattva is out of balance, you can feel emotional, obstructed, too warm, lacking in self-esteem, transparent, vulnerable, stuck, or hard at heart.
Sence
The sense associated with the water tattva is taste. Thus, it is not too hard to see that to take care of the element of water in your body you must begin with your stomach.
Nutrition
Maintaining a proper balance of water is essential and can be regulated by what we eat and drink. Food that is supposed to bring the water in your body is cooked grains, oils, nuts, and non-fermented dairy. If you feel a lack of water in your body, you should be eating more of this food. If you feel too much water – eat less of these foods. Thus with proper regulation of drinking enough water and eating the right amount of these kinds of foods, we can have a balance of our water element in our body.
Shoti Maa Tee
Our Emotional Clarity tea will kick start your digestive system with its mint and hibiscus as well as bring your emotion to a calm and flowing state, the excellent blend of flavors alone will bring a balance to the water in your body.
Chakra
The water element like all the elements is in synergy with a chakra. The chakra associated with the water tattva is the second chakra. The second chakra is our center of creativity and sensuality as well as the basis of our individuality and unconscious personality.
Find balance
When the water tattva is out of balance, the energetic center of the second chakra will have a hard time flowing. To encapsulate the water tattva try to use the ‘let it be’ attitude for life and simply go with the flow with the whirlwinds of life and stop tugging away with your worries and negative emotions. There are many ways that you can balance the water tattva. An obvious, but very important point is just drinking lots of water. Even if you think you drink enough, drink more because it is never enough. Another way to balance the water tattva is to go swimming in some nice flowing water or to do anything creative (art, cooking, dancing, etc.).
The essence of any of the five elements to know its qualities and mediums it works through. The earth tattva (also known as the pritvi tattva) is the first element and in synergy with the first chakra is stable, heavy and clear.
Balance
When out of balance you can be chaotic, lacking in self-esteem, ungrounded, feeling insignificant, can’t withstand stress or irritable. However, when in balance, it can bring you compactness and stability to your emotions and your life due to its grounding effect. Balancing this tattva will give you more stamina, easy digestion and a soft restful sleep which are things that most of us could use.
Sence
The sense associated with the earth element is smell and it operates strongly through this medium.
Nutrition
The earth element provides the structure for all food. Certain foods bring more of the earth element into your body. Foods saturated with earth element are cooked vegetables, fruits, cereals, natural sweeteners (such as honey), and mild warming spices (cardamom, black pepper).
However, overeating of earth element food may cause an excess of new tissue needed in your body. Thus the intake of earth-element foods is essential, but it can be detrimental when thrown out of balance.
Shoti Maa Tee
Our Touch the Ground tea combines a beautiful blend of mild warming spices which creates a mouth-wateringly pungent flavor and an aroma that will reverberate through your whole earth element.
Chakra
The responsibilities of the earth tattva due to its close link to the first chakra are very close-related to those of the first chakra. Therefore, the earth tattva is also responsible for your security and survival. If your earth element is out of balance you could be on edge, struggling to stay above water, and possibly in a rough spot financially. This is where the earth tattva`s eliminating and releasing qualities come to play. By eliminating and releasing what holds you back, you can now move forward from a more grounded perspective and thus move through life smoothly and simply just like a true yogi.
Find balance
A great way to reconnect to the earth is to walk through nature barefoot. Simply take your shoes off and walk without any worries of your earthly troubles that keep us stuck, let the energy flow, and truly reconnect with the original base of our existence. Furthermore, there are plenty of ways to get the energy of the earth tattva moving. For example, exercise or have someone else open those physical earthly blocks with a massage.
The fourth element is the element of air. In the body, air is expressed as motion and life, through this element our blood circulates, our breath moves, and our thoughts flow. Air is the source behind all motion.
Balance
Each of these states has its determinants in any facet of our bodies and emotions. For example, in our circulation, it is not good when overflowing but also not when flowing too slowly it must stay within the balance between the two, and completely detrimental when fully blocked.
Find balance
To have control over air can be achieved through steady daily routines, that maintain the air tattva in a balance. This is because it keeps us in a constant motion instead of the spastic and chaotic motion it usually follows. Emotionally, the highest form of the air element is surrender and this requires faith. When surrendered to higher consciousness, this leads to a faith in the self and divine and allows the air to flow freely in our body.
Shoti Maa Tee
With our Life on Wings tea, you will feel the carefree flow of life from the lovely deep flavor of the fennel and cardamom and a little kick of orange, which will bring you to motion.
Nutrition
Lack of air element may cause you to feel sluggish or lazy. Bitter flavor food in our diet increases the influence of air the most.
Thus when you are feeling stuck or need that extra boost, bitter foods are excellent! However, when there is too much air, we have too much motion that results in a loss of stability. Like all things, balance is required.
Chakra
The chakra associated with the air element is the heart chakra (fourth chakra). Therefore, keeping the air tattva in balance is essential to keep your fourth chakra flowing. The heart chakra is related to compassion and love. Thus, when this chakra is flowing, we live a life of kindness and forgiveness to ourselves and others. From this, you will live in harmony within yourself and with your surroundings and you will feel the love form the infinite. When this happens, you will feel like you are soaring through the sky like the wind.
© 2020. La Alternativa b.v.
