The holiday blues, feeling stressed or sad around the holidays, affects people across the country, and a group called Matcha Meetup is helping people feel relaxed, with some matcha tea at 3 Leaf Tea.

They sit in a group, talk about their feelings for an hour, and sip some matcha.

It’s the first year this meetup has taken place right after the holidays, and people such as Shannon Tanner who attended are so happy it did.

“I get to not put so much pressure on myself,” Tanner said. 

Pressure that the holidays, especially Christmas, brings. “Oh lord,” said Tanner, “I could really do without them.”

She can’t get rid of the holidays, but she can get rid of the stress, thinks creator of Matcha Meetup Luciana Torous.

“With the holidays, everyone has a lot going on in their minds,” said Torous. “It’s really great to have a meeting point where people can just check in and relax.”

Torous thinks drinking matcha tea is important when it comes to decompressing and recharging.

“It’s really high in antioxidants but it’s also rich in amino acid called L-theanine,” she said. “It picks you up and calms you down. Traditionally Buddhist monks would drink matcha before mediation to help calm.”

Mediation was one of the techniques discussed to those at Matcha Meetup to help deal with stress. Tanner found this advice and session helpful.

“It was very calming and reassuring,” she said.

Torous, who is also the owner of 3 Leaf Tea, said she liked the turnout from Saturday’s event and plans to do this again next year around the same time.

“I thought it be really great to have a community of people where we can get together and talk about mental health topics over a cup of Matcha,” said Tourous.

She encourages people to sip matcha and chat about their feelings, since one out of five people struggle with mental health issues in the United States and this could really help those who need it.