It's 5:30. I just got home from work and I only have 15 minutes before I have to prepare dinner and attend to my other daily household chores. So how do I choose to spend those precious 15 minutes? It's tea time!

I've brewed myself a small pot of organic loose leaf green tea. I've sliced a lemon and pulled out a teacup with a beautiful, almost ceremonial design. I find a quiet corner of the house and sit there with my perfect cup of tea. Is it the many purported health benefits I'm after? Is it all of the research that points to green tea as preventative when it comes to cancer? Am I on a diet and interested in the 80 extra calories I could burn just from drinking it? No, it's so much more than that.

Everyone's heard the buzz surrounding green tea and it's health benefits. But there is so much more to this ancient beverage than meets the eye. The benefits green tea can offer you go way beyond the catechins and antioxidants. What I treasure most about tea is the restorative effect a daily tea time can have on the soul.

I enjoy every aspect of my daily tea ritual. It's something to look forward to throughout my workday. I love the smell of the tea as it brews and I know it's almost tea time. The aroma before that first sip is calming and refreshing at the same time. Then there's the tea itself; you can almost taste tea's rich history. Through thousands of years of tea making, the process is relatively unchanged. Through simplicity perfection is achieved.