Spa in a Cup: the Ultimate Mighty Leaf Tea

I used to enjoy teas often. Somehow I got away from brewing them. But a few years ago Seabourn Cruise Line presented me with an exquisite tea box, filled with vials of tea so extraordinary that I had to call friends over to taste them. The vials were gone all too soon, but the kinds of tea were so rare that I thought I could find the source on the Internet, and I did; the extraordinary hand picked Mighty Leaf Teas.

Since then, I have drunk enough Mighty Leaf to float a small flotilla of Seabourn ships, carrying their silken, biodegradable little mesh pouches (hand-stitched and definitely not your mother's teabags) when I travel and at home moving from newly refilled one to the other, sipping Ginger Twist, Chocolate Chip Truffle, Earl Grey and Organic Himalayan Peak Darjeeling this week.

Mighty Leaf was created by Gary Shinner and Jill Portman in 1996 when they founded their teahouse on Fillmore Street in San Francisco, and they say its purpose is to "infuse life into an ancient indulgence by creating tea products that reach new heights of quality and innovation."

Their goal is to create the most incredible handcrafted tea blends found anywhere, globally sourcing the finest ingredients available. They draw from countries like Sri Lanka, China and India, where the company funds community programs from community centers for the elderly to glasses for those in need.

The teas themselves are works of art to the eye, the nose and the taste buds: whole leaves and herbs, never powdery remains. The scent, even before meeting the hot water, is an exquisite therapy all by itself. And the experience of drinking this tea is as far away from the usual beverage as single malt Scotch is from bathtub hooch. Most Mighty Leaf loose teas run around $30-35 a pound.

The company makes tea pouches especially designed for making iced tea. The delicious Detox Iced Tea Soother has cleansing properties that relax the nerves, organs and membranes as dandelion targets the liver, licorice root nurtures the heart and spleen, and burdock root purifies the blood. Peppermint promotes healthy digestion and aids in soothing indigestion. Red clover, and hearty herbs add anti-inflammatory qualities, calm the stomach and reduce blood sugar levels. What more can you ask of a glass of tea that tastes wonderful and is delicately sweet without anything added? Each tin contains 10 pre-portioned one-ounce filter bags; each yields a gallon of tea and the set of 10 runs around $15.

There is even a bath infusion from the Oasia body collection, where they bring together the healing element of tea with herbs, essential oils and minerals from cleansing Dead Sea salts to purifying French clay. A two-ounce pouch is $5.95.

I'm now working my way through the seemingly numberless green teas, white teas and the spa teas, but as we get closer to the holidays it will be back to the spicier teas and to flavors like Pear Caramel, which is justly called indulgence without guilt. Join me in a cup of tea?