In India, they do it right.
They don’t just hand you a cup of tea. They give you a tiny glass of hot cutting chai—strong, sweet, and spiced—and slide over another tiny glass of cold water to go with it.
It’s yin and yang. Fire and ice. Darjeeling and distilled.
And somehow, it makes perfect sense.
🧳 Flashback: Banana Republic, Tea Diplomacy & Frostea Dreams
Before I started turning broth into functional medicine, I had the good fortune of meeting Mel and Patricia Ziegler, the wildly talented duo who founded Banana Republic.
He, a witty journalist.
She, a brilliant illustrator.
Together, they made cargo pants sexy and safari jackets a vibe—even if you never left SoHo.
Later, they brought the same storytelling magic to The Republic of Tea—turning a humble leaf into a wellness movement that brewed before its time.
I admired them then. I admire them now.
And when Unilever launched The Tea House in California, I got to meet some of their executives. I saw the world’s largest tea company lean into something ancient and elegant, and I had an idea.
A counter to the Starbucks Frappuccino.
Frostea.
Cool. Antioxidant-rich. Appetite-curbing.
A genius idea that, like most genius ideas, ended up scribbled in a notebook somewhere between a to-do list and a hummus recipe.
👩👦 A Tribute to My Mother (and Her Secret Weapon)
My mother understood tea long before the clinical trials did.
She didn’t drink it for the trend or the polyphenols.
She drank it because it kept her from snacking.
She always said, “Tea fills the mouth, quiets the stomach, and gives your hands something noble to do.”
Turns out, she was right.
📚 Enter: David White, Thermos Philosopher
My philosophy teacher, David White, translated the Bhagavad Gita from Sanskrit to English. He carried a flask of tea everywhere—everywhere—even to faculty meetings where others carried coffee or existential dread.
He taught that tea was the middle path. Not too hot, not too cold. Not indulgent, not depriving.
Balanced.
Just like Arjuna’s nerves on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
🍃 The Science That Caught Up With the Sages
For years, tea was just tea.
Then came the research. The polyphenols. The antioxidants. The catechins. The EGCG!
Suddenly, green tea was a superfood, and black tea was heart-smart, and oolong was a metabolism whisperer.
Now?
New studies suggest that tea—especially when combined with certain herbs—can actually bind to and remove heavy metals and contaminants from drinking water.
Tea isn’t just safe to drink. It helps make the water safer.
(Insert dramatic teacup clink here.)
✨ What Tea Really Does (a Hopium Health breakdown):
- Suppresses appetite (as my mother wisely demonstrated)
- Supports metabolism and blood sugar control
- Delivers antioxidants that protect skin, heart, and brain
- Soothes stress through L-theanine (a calm without the crash)
- Cleanses water by binding to impurities—yes, literally
And here’s the kicker: tea is not just food as medicine… it’s also culture as comfort.
🧊 So Let’s Rewind…
Banana Republic taught me that style could have soul.
The Republic of Tea taught me that ritual could be revolutionary.
Unilever taught me that big ideas start small and steep slow.
And tea—hot, cold, sweet, spiced, or steeped in a Thermos—taught me that healing can be sipped.
🫖 Final Thought from Dr. Bea Well:
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away—but a good cup of tea might stop you from needing the apple at all.”
