I’m a huge fan of just about every flavor and form of tea you can imagine: black, white or green; bagged or loose; hot or iced. I’ve long considered tea to be the second-most perfect beverage (martinis being the first), even before scientists and magazines began touting its health benefits.

As to those benefits, well, there’s no disputing that our bodies need hydration and tea’s an excellent way to deliver that. On top of it, tea contains flavanoids — plant-derived compounds that reduce allergies, infection, and microbes. They’re powerhouses in the fight against cardiovascular disease and cancer, too. The anti-oxidants in tea improve artery function, help reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff) and increase HDL cholesterol (the good stuff).

In other words, tea does your body good. Ever since I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I’ve been drinking tea like it’s going out of style. Which, of course, it’s not, particularly now that more people (including fibro sufferers like me) are discovering how tea consumption can alleviate joint pain while delivering those other remarkable health benefits, too.

Unfortunately, here in my little town it’s hard to get some of the flavors of tea that I love the most. Previously, I’ve had to rely on the kindness of my friend Kim to do my tea-shopping for me at an Asian grocery store in her hometown. Getting a package from Kim is, for me, like enjoying Christmas all over again: I always know there’s going to be something good in it, and I practically tear open the box the instant it arrives. Within minutes, I brew a pot and find something to keep my son occupied so I can hurry down to my office and enjoy a nice, leisurely cup while reading a good book.

You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve found myself reaching the bottom of one of those cups and wishing I knew how to read tea leaves. That’s the frustrating thing about drinking the loose stuff: even with a fine-meshed infuser some of the leaves escape. Sure, I could switch to regular tea bags but usually it’s hard to find quality tea in that form.

Recently I learned about Revolution Tea, a premium tea company that created a unique, pyramid-shaped, biodegradable tea bag. It’s such a superior tea bag design, in fact, that a certain big-name company is now using a similar design for their teas.

But if you’re a tea fan you know that the stuff the big-name companies sell is stale and relatively tasteless. In other words: they may have ripped off the tea-bag design, but they just can’t match the flavor of master-blended Sencha tea, for instance.

Like all high-quality green tea varieties, Sencha leaves are steamed and withered instead of fermented. That process — when performed correctly — delivers a true natural, inimitable taste. There is, after all, a reason why it’s called “green” tea: properly manufactured and prepared, it almost tastes like you’re drinking the plant itself. Meanwhile, in addition to hydrating your body and upping your flavanoid intake, you’re also getting a dose of catechin, a natural compound that contains remarkable antibiotic properties.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not about to give up my beloved martinis — or even my morning dose of coffee. But those are things I drink to get me through my day. I drink tea because it’s health benefits ensure I’ll have plenty of more days to get through and, besides, it gives me the perfect excuse to lock myself in my office while I savor a cup or two.