My Canadian grandmother made sweet, milky English tea that was perfect for dunking her crumpets into. Two years in India added spiced, sweet, milky chai to my tea desires. Morning and afternoon chai became rituals that carried me through writing my book.

Living in NYC, I enjoyed green tea with sushi.

Meanwhile, I was reading the accumulating research on green tea, and the slowly accumulating pounds on the scale. I am always looking for choices to strengthen my health, but now I was also looking for ways to stop the scale’s slow, steady creep. After finishing my book, I resolved to delegate chai to special occasions and create a more sustaining daily ritual. I switched to green tea.

Fortunately Andy Weil had introduced me to a very special tea master, so the switch was easy–and yours can be too. Sebastian Beckwith of In Pursuit of Tea is as enamored of everything tea as I am of Reiki, and I was immediately drawn to his total immersion and artisanal approach. Some of my favorites are Buddha tea, jasmine pearls, and karigane kukicha; my daughter prefers genmaicha.

In Pursuit of Tea also carries high quality chamomile flowers. My days are busy, so most nights I steep a mug to support my digestive and nervous systems, and usher me into sweet sleep.

If you have only tasted green tea or chamomile infusions from tea bags, you have not tasted them at all. Eshew all teabags and teaballs in your home, and steep tea where it has room to swell. Take a look at the tea accessories at In Pursuit of Tea, or click here to purchase a darling teapot-for-one with strainer for $9.

All teas come with brewing instructions, which you can follow, or not. If your tea tastes bitter, either the water is too hot or you’ve left it too long. Enjoy!