If foot pain or stinky feet are a problem, members of the Tea Lover's Social Group say the cure may be soaking your feet in Earl Grey tea.
Founder Angela Fioravantes said at the New Mexico Tea Company she heard about the healing benefits of Earl Grey tea on foot pain. She said her father, who is undergoing chemotherapy, had foot and leg pain, and she tried it on him.
"I told him, 'Dad, I have something for you, but only if you are open to doing something homeopathic,'" she said. "So he sat down, and I put the Earl Grey in, and he was practically crying, kissing my hand saying, 'Thank you,' because all the pain went away, and I think the bergamot in the Earl Grey has something to do with it."
Fioravantes started the group in January and has since recruited about 60 members. The group is celebrating Founders Day Fiesta and Albuquerque's 303 birthday in Old Town on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. at Golden Crown Panaderia.
"We are going to start there and maybe have some lunch," Fioravantes said. "There are teas there, and then we are going to explore Old Town."
Stephanie Perez and Callista Wohl are also part of the group. Perez said she was introduced to tea by her mother and has continued drinking it since.
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"My mom was a tea drinker, my dad was a coffee drinker, and my mom pretty much raised us when my dad was off to work," Perez said. "She drank her tea English-style, so she would put cream and sugar in it, and now I have a couple of cups of tea every morning."
Wohl said she likes the group because it is focused on making a healthy activity social and enjoyable. She said the owner of the New Mexico Tea Company, David Edwards, invited the group to a tea tasting.
"The nice thing I learned there was how to decaffeinate my own tea," Wohl said. "Only the first pot of tea is caffeinated, so it's really nice if you are sensitive to caffeine. David gave us a tasting and taught us a lot about tea, about how they cure it to make different teas."
Wohl said the way a tea tastes depends on how it is picked and cured.
"All tea comes from one plant, but it varies because of the way they cure it," Wohl said. "The black, green and the white are all done a little bit differently. It just has to do with the way they dry, the way they prepare it. For instance, Earl Grey has bergamot in it."
Perez said she has noticed a difference in the way her body responds to tea as opposed to coffee.
"It's a calm buzz, and you don't get that hopped-up, wired feeling," Perez said. "It has a decent measure of caffeine that you need for the morning. Coffee is way too caffeinated for me now."
Fioravantes said the group went to Santa Fe to explore the tea houses.
"We did one trip to the tea house that was off Canyon Road," Fioravantes said. "I really loved the atmosphere. The owner . was really helpful, and they have these great big canisters on the side of the entrance of tea. The whole experience of using your senses - it's kind of like a wine tasting, and it's good for you."
The group will continue to have meetups, and members plan on meeting more frequently for the summertime.
"I have the summer off, which will be good, because then I can maybe get some more assistants who can help plan events even if I am not there," she said.
Founders Day Fiesta
Saturday, April 18, 1 p.m.
Golden Crown Panaderia
1103 Mountain Road N.W.
Free
