Every day, at 5.30pm, Dubai food blogger Haiya Tariq shares pictures and videos of her rustic tea set-up on her Instagram page. Some delicious cuppas she has savoured and shared digitally are hojicha, milk oolong and, her personal favourite, matcha.
Practising On-nomi
Unlike a lot of content on the social media app, Tariq’s posts are not merely visually pleasing, but also informative. They delve into the preparation of the tea – from the temperature of the water to steeping time to trivia – and ask others to share their own tea arrangements. Tariq is indulging in On-nomi, the Japanese concept of drinking online while chatting to friends, which is picking up steam globally.
When Tariq heard of it, she realised it was the perfect way to bond with fellow tea lovers from all over the world. “By putting up my teatime ritual, I had people tagging me, sharing their evening cuppas and asking me questions about how I brewed my cup. It gives me time to answer queries, and feels intimate and personal,” she says.
Tariq started the ritual on March 28, as more people in the UAE took to self-isolation, and says there are numerous benefits of practising On-nomi during these times of loneliness, uncertainty and indoor living. “Tea time gives people something to look forward to. Even though we are all holed up, we can get so caught up in the mundane. Having this ritual forces people to pause and take a break,” she says.
It’s why she is making a case for doing more than just downing a cup of tea. Tariq wants others to make a ritual out of it – find a spot in the house you enjoy being in, perhaps on the balcony or seated next to an open window, carefully brew the tea leaves to perfection and savour the flavour – just as she is doing.
Top tea drinking tips
“For me, tea time is not about pressing a button on a kettle; teas need to be brewed at a particular temperature. I weigh the leaves, heat the water to the right temperature, rinse the leaves, brew for the desired amount of time, then decant. I use Chinese tea cups, that last two sips and ensures you are always drinking at the perfect temperature. But because they are so small, you have to keep filling them up – it is an experience in itself.”
Some of her other top tips include: “Decanting tea before pouring it into cups ensures that each cup gets the same strength of an evenly mixed batch of tea. The temperature for brewing tea ranges from 70°C to 95°C, and boiling water should rarely be used [except for tisanes or herbal teas].
“When buying tea, check the harvest date, cultivator, etc. The more details, the better. Teas that are fresher are better, as are teas grown in higher altitudes. Finally, try to opt for organic whenever possible.”
Benefits of tea time
This ritual of what she calls “mindful drinking” may have bona fide psychological benefits, too. As nutritionist Victoria Tipper says: “There is an interesting theory on how tea affects our mental health because of the ritual of preparing and consuming it, rather than what is in the tea itself. Many will take a tea break or time out to have that cup, time to themselves or with others, but that is primarily associated with having a rest from whatever else we have going on in our lives.
“There is also research out there to support that tea has a positive impact on mood and cognitive performance,” Tipper adds. “Within a healthy population, drinking green tea has been shown to lower the risk of depression and the stress hormone cortisol, which is good for many in times of self-isolation.”
This is all in addition to the normal health benefits a good old cup can offer. Tipper explains that the high levels of flavonoids found in teas may reduce inflammation, a key step in chronic disease development such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. They also protect the brain from oxidative stress, which helps ward off conditions such as Alzheimer’s and memory loss, while the drink’s high antioxidant content fights ageing, cell damage and the risk of cancer.
Drinking green tea has been shown to lower the risk of depression and the stress hormone cortisol
“Of course, to get the best out of your tea, it is wise to have it without added sugar or sweeteners. If you must add some sweetness, opt for natural, raw honey,” says Tipper.
With more time on hand, people are seemingly coming around to the idea of an idyllic tea ritual. Tariq’s Instagram is inundated with posts from the local community on all things tea. “Ironically, I think this [situation] has brought people together – they are more sensitive to how others are feeling and more supportive.”
Three teas to try
Chai (black tea)
Most traditional chai mixtures have ingredients such as black tea leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, black pepper, cloves and star anise. Take one teaspoon of tea leaves, place in a steeper or strainer, fill with water and steep for four to six minutes (depending on how strong you like your tea). Drink as is or add honey and / or milk. Black tea can prevent mouth infections and cavities, improve metabolism and boost energy levels, thanks to its caffeine content. The spices have great anti-inflammatory properties that aid gut health and digestion. Cardamom, for instance, is high in vitamin C, and helps reduce muscle pain.
Chamomile tea (herbal tea)
Take one teaspoon of tea leaves, place in a steeper or strainer, fill with water and steep for four to six minutes (again depending on how strong you like your tea). Once steeped, either drink as is or add honey. This tea is very comforting and great for easing tension, anxiety and stress, as well as for reducing bloating, nausea, fatigue, insomnia, menstrual cramps, and inflammation. Camomile can also be put to cosmetic use; the herbal tea helps get rid of eye bags and dark circles. Simply press a cold camomile-filled tea bag against your eyes for a few minutes, and you will be bright, wide-eyed and ready to face the day.
Matcha latte (green tea)
Take one teaspoon of matcha powder, whisk with a quarter cup of hot water. Once blended, top with any nut milk of your choice – almond, hazelnut or coconut – and add honey if preferred. This latte is packed with antioxidants, it boosts metabolism, is super-detoxifying, enhances mood and gives you “zenergy”. Matcha tea also works wonders as a spot corrector; mix matcha powder with a tiny bit of water and apply on problem areas – the antibacterial properties help to reduce redness and remove impurities.
Source: Tania Lodi of Tania’s Teahouse in Jumeirah
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
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