Hoogly Blogs / home comforts

THE THRILL OF THE CHILL

THE THRILL OF THE CHILL

Greetings Hoogly fans! With the world continuing to be upside down, I expect we’re all finding things tough at the minute. At Hoogly, we’re always looking for ways to relax, unwind and put a smile back on our faces. With this in mind we’ve been scouring the web to find the Ultimate Chill List: a comprehensive compendium of mindful activities that will help you find balance, tranquillity and calm in your day-to-day life. You may find that some of your favourites have made it onto this list, which means you’re ahead of the game. If not, you may just find something new to help keep you rolling on through the lockdown and beyond!

 

  1. Write something: Putting pen to paper can be deeply cathartic. Write down your worries, your thoughts, your ideas. Jot down the things you love and appreciate. Write about the past and your favourite memories. Write about what you’re looking forward to in the future. Pay attention to the way the pen feels in your hand. Listen to the scrape of the nib on the paper. Go back later and look at what you have written later and see if you feel the same way. 

 

  1. Take a hike! Get out and about in nature. Try starting early when the air is fresh and the birds and other animals are out in force. Slow down and observe everything around you: the colours, the birdsong, the smell of the bark, grass and wet pavement. Enjoy the crunch of leaves under your feet. Stand and watch a dog chasing a ball. Or a bird sculling through the air above you. A squirrel scampering across a field. Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth as you travel. Savour the moment.

 

  1. Have a contrast shower. OK, this might not be for everyone, but repeating cycles of hot then cold showers can be extremely relaxing for your mind and body, and fitness professionals and athletes recommend this procedure to produce relief for muscle fatigue and soreness! A great way to start the day! Screaming permitted…

 

  1. Make a song or dance of it…Put on your favourite playlist, make some space and dance like no-one is watching. Don’t focus on form or technique, just let it all hang out. Sing along at the top of your voice (wall thickness permitting) and power out those ballads from deep inside your chest. Movement, rhythm and song are wonderful ways to relax the mind, body and soul.

 

  1. Watch your fave childhood cartoons: Make a list of the shows that brought you joy, excitement and laughter—then hunt them down on YouTube or streaming channels. Connect with your inner child and remember how you felt as you watched them back in the day. For me, it’s Dogtanion and the Three Muskahounds; Thundercats and Super Ted. What’s yours??

 

  1. Ditch the Tech: Take a day off from all your devices. It’s quite a tricky one, this—but with a bit of determination it’s possible, and the rewards are huge. There’s a very strong chance you will feel more relaxed, have greater energy, attain more focus, and observe a big drop in stress.

 

  1. Colour it in! Adult colouring has become hugely popular over the last few years, and with good reason. The act of focussing on the intricate designs, staying within the lines and creating something beautiful is a great way to take your mind off things that are bothering you, and the gentle repetition is an excellent way to relax and bring some mindfulness into your life!

 

  1. Yoga! As an active meditation, Yoga is a wonderful way to reduce stress and lower your blood pressure and heart rate. Combining physical poses, controlled breathing and relaxation, yoga is a healthy, calming and enjoyable way to chill out—and can be done in the comfort of your own home with a free YouTube beginner’s video.

 

  1. Knit! Once you’ve picked up this amazing hobby, it can be as relaxing as meditation. Once you’ve mastered the skill, muscle memory will take over and you can zone out and let all that tension and anxiety dissipate. Also, you can create yourself some super-cosy warm socks for those Hoogly nights in front of the fire!

 

  1. Drink tea! We’ve saved the best for last, of course! Having a cuppa is a wonderful way to slow down and reset. Take your time, experiment with new flavours, enjoy the warmth as it passes through your body, and then put the kettle on and do it all again! At Hoogly, you can choose from a huge range of sumptuous and scent-rich brews that will be the perfect accompaniment to your mindful route. Relax, unwind and discover ancient and modern tastes that will put a thrill in your chill!

 

Until next time, take care of yourself, and we’ll see you on the other side!

Written by Chris Bedford

www.hooglytea.com

Posted on November 18, 2020
Tagged: fresh air, healthy indulgence, herbal infusion, home comforts, hygge, keeping healthy, mind and body, mindfullness, natural, tea, vegan, well-being, Winter warmer, yoga
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Home Comforts

Home Comforts

Greetings Hoogly lovers! Well, what a bizarre few weeks! With the majority of us stuck at home and ordered to stay distant from our friends and extended families, we’ve been forced to make quite a number of adjustments, both physically and mentally. This unprecedented phenomenon has led, no doubt, to many of us experiencing a wide range of emotions, some good, some bad, but in most cases shared by people all over the world who are—for perhaps the first time in human history—all in the same boat together. With this emotional journey in mind, I thought I’d explore some of the words other countries use to describe certain emotions, and the meanings behind them—drawn from Tiffany Watt Smith’s brilliant ‘The Book of Human Emotions.’ At a time when we are more separate than ever, it is comforting to discover what we have in common.

-Dolce Far Niente (Italy) This is the joy of doing nothing. This is quite apt for home-bound isolation, where it’s very easy to run out of things to occupy your time. Quite a few people, however, (if the internet is to be believed) have used their spare time very creatively, starting new projects, creating art and video content, or getting fit and healthy. Hygge aficionados, however, will tell you that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing proper zilch.

-Matutolypea. No-one quite knows where—or when—this word originated, but we are all familiar with it. Its name is a combination of the Roman goddess of dawn Mater Matuta, and the Greek for dejection, lype, giving us a compound, which means waking up in a foul, rotten mood.

-Ruinenlust (Germany) Feeling compelled to visit crumbling ruins and abandoned places. There is obviously an element of historical interest to this emotion, but sometimes, as the years pass, I think it’s comforting, now and again, to simply visit something that’s even older than we are…

-Oime (Japan) Feeling uncomfortable at owing someone a debt. I can vouch for this one; my best friend is always happy to sling me a fiver on Friday night—and happier still to watch me pat my pockets awkwardly on a Monday, before frog-marching me to the ATM.

-Nginyiwarrarringu (The Pintupi people of the deserts of Western Australia) This is a jolt of fear that makes a person jump up and look around, trying to discover the cause of their alarm. My greyhound does this regularly, especially in the dead of night, which sets off a chain reaction of jolts, starting with my wife, and then finally, with me. No wonder I wake up with Matutolypea.

-Kaukokaipuu (Finland) Combining kauko—faraway, and kaipuu—a yearning, this Finnish word translates as a craving for a distant land, or, perhaps, anywhere but your home. The pub will do.

-Iktsuarpok (Innuit) This is the restlessness we get when we’re expecting guests, sometimes compelling us to go outside to scan the horizon. A more contemporary reading of this may be the urge to refresh or check your phone for texts or emails. Either way, it’s a familiar, antsy and unsatisfied feeling.

-Gezelligheid (The Netherlands) This is Hygge’s cousin! Derived from the word for ‘friend’, it means both the feeling of being snug and cosy and surrounded by friends, as well as the emotional state of feeling ‘held’ and comforted. Throw in a nice cuppa and you’re on!

 

…And if you want a recommendation for that cuppa, then look no further than one of our most indulgent brews yet: White choc and chilli white tea! This luxurious Chinese concoction is both creamy and sweet, with cocoa shells and apple pieces complementing the elegant white tea, all underscored by the subtle and seductive warmth of chilli!

So, until next time: stay safe and boil the kettle!

Written by Chris Bedford

www.hooglytea.com

Posted on April 17, 2020
Tagged: Dolce Far Niente, emotional, Gezelligheid, home comforts, hot drinks, hygge, hyggelig, Iktsuarpok, Kaukokaipuu, Nginyiwarrarringu, Oime, Ruinenlust, soothing tea, Stay safe, tea
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Viva Las Vegas!

Viva Las Vegas!

What a strange place Las Vegas is.

A city carved out of a desert. A place of luxury, glamour and wealth. A place of excess, extravagance and eccentricity. Where else would you find a replica of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower in the vicinity of a hotel shaped like a pyramid, and another like a Disney castle? And the hotels are not simply hotels, of course. They have shopping malls, and restaurants, museums and aquariums. They house sports venues, concert venues, computer game tournaments and conferences. And of course, they are home to the lifeblood of Las Vegas: the casino. The twinkling neon mazes that chime and whizz and clink, tempting and teasing you inside with the promise of gold, and keep you there with their clockless walls, free drinks, and smoky seduction. But the House always wins. Despite your best intentions, your secret strategies and your carefully calculated tactics, the chances are that you’ll leave with less than you came with. But that’s OK. You can console yourself with a magic act, or a comedy gig, or a burlesque show. You can learn about the history of atomic testing, the mob, and the sinking of the Titanic before indulging in a meal from any cuisine in the world. You can have waffles, ice creams, ice creams in waffles; pretzels, sausages, sausages in pretzels; milk shakes and cheesecakes watching Chippendale beefcakes. You can watch Celine Dion, or Lady Gaga, and see David Copperfield make things vanish. You can ride a rollercoaster or sit in a car leaning over a skyscraper. You can take a chopper to the Grand Canyon or the Hoover Dam, and you take a stretched Hummer to a nightclub just because you can. You can be yourself, or you can be someone else, or you can be no-one at all. A city of sin doesn’t sit in judgement. Just ask the Heart Attack Grill, where you eat free if you weigh over 350lbs.

As the cab drove away from Gatwick on my return, everything felt a little dull, muted and quiet. For a while, it felt wrong. Then, it felt absolutely right again. Vegas is unique, brazen and memorable, but it’s also like fever dream, where everything is faster, brighter, stronger—but also surreal and edgy and cauldron-hot. I was relieved to be back. Everything in moderation, as they say…but I’d jump at the chance to go again. The aces are high.

And now I’m back I’ll be indulging in a very English past-time: the glorious cup of tea! How I missed it in America! How strange to be denied easy access to such a simple pleasure in a foreign land, especially in a city that has everything for everyone. But now, at long last, the wait is over. I can drink Hoogly to my heart’s content, gently lowering myself from the highs of Nevada, and allowing the beautiful and tantalising tastes to transport me to a place of tranquillity and calm.

As the kettle rumbles and puffs, I begin to think about how Hoogly connects with Vegas. The luxurious quality of our teas, the indulgence, the elegance—like the finest hotels—crafted with the highest quality to bring pleasure and relaxation in equal measure. And the sheer range of tastes, like Vegas’s endless showcase of restaurants, offers something for everyone. Genmai Cha green tea from Japan; White Choc and Chilli—a creamy and sweet Chinese treat; Indian-inspired Masala Chai, delightful Danish Pastry Rooibos; classic English Breakfast black tea—not to mention a decadent collection of sweet and delicious treats, such as Spiced Orange and Berrylicious herbal infusions, Chocolate Brownie Black tea and Apple Strudel Green Tea!

Unlike the twinkling casinos, however, Hoogly is not a gamble. We guarantee you’ll love our seductive scents and gorgeously mellow brews, and that before long, you’ll refuse to go without our calming, cosy and mindful blends, infused with a touch of Danish Hygge!

Go on, roll the dice…you really can’t lose!

 Written by Chris Bedford!

www.hooglytea.com

Posted on May 03, 2019
Tagged: black tea, green tea, healthy, healthy indulgences, herbal infusions, herbal teas, Hoilday, home comforts, hot drinks, Hygge, loose leaf, natural, premium tea, tea, Vegas
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