Self-Care Series: Slowly-Crafted Hot Beverages

This is the first article in a series of blog posts sharing favorite self-care practices aimed to recharge, de-stress, balance work/home energies, and realign priorities.  You can read the Self-Care Series introduction here.

If you watch the Big Bang Theory, you know that even Sheldon (a socially-awkward scientist who doesn’t really understand emotion let along how to deal with it) knows it is appropriate to offer a hot beverage to someone in distress.  There is something supremely comforting about holding a warm mug of tea or feeling the warmth of hot chocolate spreading down your throat into your belly.  I’ve learned that taking it even a step further and spending a longer time hand-crafting a hot beverage helps the destressing process even more.

Think beyond just microwaving a cup of water and dumping in hot cocoa mix or distracting yourself with checking your email while you wait for the kettle to boil for tea; try really spending time preparing whatever hot beverage you like to put in your cup. 

If you are a hot chocolate kind-of-person, slowly whisk milk on the stove over a low heat.  Watch it start to froth around the edges of the pot as it warms.  Get hypnotized by the way the liquid whirlpool spins as you stir. Experiment with your own blend of cocoa, sugar, and marshmallows.  Give yourself over to the juxtaposition of taste, letting your only worry be the bitter of the chocolate vs. the sweet of the sugar.  Maybe go a little crazy—add a dash of cinnamon or chili powder. Make it yours. Fight it, embrace it, enhance it, then drink it.

If you like tea, consider staying in the kitchen while you wait for your water to boil.  Don’t get out your phone, don’t check Facebook, don’t argue with your roommate about whose turn it is to do the dishes.  They say that a watched pot will never boil.  Challenge that. Meditate on it. Notice your kitchen, I mean, REALLY notice it—the exact color of the counters and what memories that color brings, the sound of the gas flame heating the pot, and (if your kitchen is anything like mine) maybe even do some much-needed therapeutic deep-cleaning. Stay by the stove.  Dance next to it if you can’t keep still, but stay there.  Think of your stove as a warm hearth; the longer you stand next to it preparing your water, the warmer your cold, stress-hardened heart will become.  And, I promise, the water will boil.

And if you REALLY had a bad day, consider handcrafting your own warm cocktail.  Here’s a recipe that I tried after a particularly high-profile Monday.

Monday-Night Cocktails: Honey Bourbon Apple Cider

Honey Bourbon Apple Cider 

10 oz apple cider
2 tsp honey
dash of cinnamon
apple slices
4 oz bourbon 

Boil the first four ingredients for about 5 minutes to bring out and meld the flavor.  Take off heat, strain, mix in the booze, and enjoy.  Apple slices are tasty as a garnish.

Do you have a favorite hot beverage? Share in the comments below!