Tea and chocolate: not two words that come to mind when you are thinking about health food until now.

The Shippensburg University counseling center is attempting to change the way that students think about health food. On March 19, a tea and chocolate tasting was held at the library from 3 to 4 p.m. to introduce students to their health benefits. The tasting workshop was part of an ongoing collaborative effort between the learning center and the counseling center.

Two counseling center graduate assistants held the event discussing the benefits of tea and chocolate to participants and handed out informational health flyers. Two different types of tea were offered at the event: chamomile and black cherry. Studies have shown that chamomile tea is great for stress relief. The black cherry tea was low in caffeine, which is very beneficial for students who have trouble sleeping. According to the informational piece by Doctors Health Press, tea contains a compound called theanine, which when paired with caffeine, can actually improve memory and alertness. Two different types of dark chocolate were also offered: sweet and slightly bitter. Studies have shown a small bar of dark chocolate every day can lower blood pressure.

Participants responded very well to the tasting. SU sophomore Alyssa Hay said, “I really like events like this. They help to get your mind off school work.”

The learning center offers many resources for students in a variety of platforms. Graduate student, Bri Fuhrman said, “We’re here daily to help students relieve stress and to provide opportunities to them to help them succeed.”

According to graduate student, Rebecca Kennedy, the counseling center offers one or two workshops every month. “They [the workshops] usually involve tea because we all love tea,” Kennedy said.

Every Tuesday for the remainder of the semester, the counseling center offers Mindfulness Meditation at 1 p.m. in an attempt to help students alleviate stress. The meditation is held at the Cora I. Grove Spiritual Center. The counseling center is also holding the annual wellness fair on April 8. The event is free to students. 

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