When feeling anxious, I like to practice simple, tried-and-true calming rituals—like brewing tea. Masters Teas by Adagio Teas is a curated collection of specialty teas harvested directly from farms throughout Asia.

The last few months have been challenging. In fact, I’ve found myself experiencing more low moods and high anxiety-filled days than usual.

I’ve been down that road before.

And eternal optimism aside, I’m sure I’ll go down similar roads again in the future.

Nevertheless, it’s forced me to do some soul-searching.

I’ve made an effort to be more intentional with my free time, and I’ve challenged myself to reconnect with some of the calming and centering tools learned in therapy and throughout my own self-exploration.

Recently I was given the opportunity to sample several offerings of tea from Adagio Teas new specialty tea line, Masters Teas.

I don’t know a whole lot about tea or how it’s farmed, harvested, and preserved, but that’s the beautiful thing about Masters: it connects you to the farmers and educates you on some of that important background.

While anybody can enjoy these teas, Masters is designed for the tea enthusiast. The leaves are harvested at their peak, and they are immediately packaged and distributed for the highest quality.

When enjoyed properly, tea gives us a way to slow down, awaken our senses, and “embrace” ourselves with fragrance and warmth. Selecting the tea, boiling the water, choosing the perfect mug, and waiting patiently throughout the steeping process is almost like preparing communion to be shared between body and mind.

It makes sense that, in an effort to combat my heightened anxiety, I’ve been enjoying soothing mugs of hot tea in the evenings.

Whether I’m watching a TV show with the hubby or reading a novel, I’ve been treating my mug of tea as a treat and tool for self-care.

I sampled the following: Balasun First Flush (a floral Darjeeling tea); Shincha Sencha (nutty, with hints of apricot; Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needle); Gong Ting Puerh (dark with hints of anise and plum); Jin Guan Yin (an oolong tea with notes of wild orchid); Ma Liu Mi (a light, floral green tea); and Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun (a sweeter yellow tea with apricot and sweet pea notes).

While each of the teas had a unique taste and aroma, I enjoyed Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun the most because of its floral scent and light fruitiness.

I’ve also returned to my outdoor walks at lunch.

For a while (read: since April), it was too hot to spend my lunch break outside, but now that it’s finally starting to feel like autumn, I’ve taken every chance I can to get some fresh air and practice my meditative breathing.

Gentle movement and cleansing my lungs with fresh air will always be favorites among my health maintenance “tools.”

One last thing I’ve (very recently) started practicing again is journaling.

When I was a teenager, I kept many journals. Most were full of angsty poetry or recounts of my day-to-day life and thoughts, but now, I’ve been trying to slow down, identify my emotions, and reflect on the things that bring me joy and fulfillment as well as the things that make me feel frustrated, sad, or anxious.

Whether it’s a calming cup of tea, a relaxing facial, or a gentle hour on the yoga mat, it’s important that we all have simple, yet effective, ways to manage our ups and downs.

As I shared last week, self-care doesn’t have to be complicated, and it isn’t something we should force or feel competitive about. Much like tea, we all have different tastes that should be celebrated and respected.

Why @adagioteas #MastersTea is part of my #anxiety tool kit Share on X

**I received a free sample of Masters by Adagio Teas to review on my blog. I was not compensated for this blog post, and all opinions are my own**