If I would have told you, oh, six months ago that I was going to switch from drinking coffee (often multiple cups a day) to tea, you probably would have laughed in my face. I was (still am, let's be real) a girl who loves a skinny vanilla latte, who took joy in pressing coffee on weekends, who was always amenable to taking a meeting at a local coffee shop.
I actually switched from coffee to tea once before, after a gnarly UTI, and I was successful at it for a few months—then I went right back to my old lattes. But this time, a combination of factors—I am a very high-strung person and coffee exacerbates that in me being the main one—led me to the switch, and I have to say, it feels more permanent this time. Sure, there are mornings when I'm dragging, and in fact, the other day I felt like I needed a little something extra, so I had half a cup of coffee with cream and that did the trick. But I didn't even drink the whole thing, which would have been unheard of about six months ago. Coffee feels like a treat now; like something I don't need every day, and I like that.
(Side note: I do drink multiple cups of tea on most days—matcha or English breakfast in the morning, green tea throughout the day and decaf black tea at night before bed.)
Another benefit, I've found, is that I don't feel the need to dump artificial sweeteners into my tea like I did with coffee; I use strictly agave nectar or local honey now (in fact, I'll tell you about my favorite honey later this week). That's something I knew I wanted to do and I'm glad that the coffee-to-tea switch has been the vehicle for it. Yay for healthy changes.
Are you guys coffee or tea drinkers or both? Any favorite teas out there? I'm dying to try some of the Bellocq brand teas—the Afghani chai in particular.
P.S. Funny story: ACS, who is also on a tea kick, is here this week and he makes me tea when I'm in the shower in the mornings (the sweetest, I know). This morning I took a sip of what I thought was English breakfast tea and was like, "Hmm, this tastes rather floral." So I asked him what it was—turns out it was chamomile. I may be off coffee but I need something a little stronger than that in the morning! So funny.
Photo by Maxwell Tielman for Design*Sponge
I have never cultivated a taste for either coffee or tea, but I am married to a Brit. So yeah, lots of tea and a fancy electric kettle are in my house. ; ) The chai varieties always smell so good.
ReplyDeleteMy parents have an electric kettle and that thing is AWESOME. I do like the ritual of heating water on the stove, but the electric kettle is quite cool. And yes, the scent of chai is so wonderful.
DeleteI'm a coffee fiend, and every couple weeks I toy with the idea of giving it up for 30 days. From the taste to the ritual of making a pour-over cup in the morning, I just can't let it go! Glad to hear you've been successful though...
ReplyDeleteand I don't think chamomile could wake me up either, but what a sweet gesture!
I know, such a sweet gesture. :)
DeleteYes, the ritual of coffee is part of why I loved it, too--setting the timer, pushing down on the press, adding milk and sweetener...luckily tea allows for that, too, because I think I'd really miss it.
I give you a lot of credit. I don't think I would ever be able to give up coffee. We are a two cup a day (at least) household. It does help that I drink it black so I don't have to worry about any extra calories, etc. All that being said, I would really love to start drinking more tea -- especially in the evening! :-)
ReplyDeleteKenley
Ha, thanks! I didn't think so either but here I am. It helps that I already loved tea--if you do start drinking it in the evening, I've found that it's a really nice ritual and a nice way to come down from the day.
Deletewelcome to the club ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Monica! Speaking of--great blog name. ;)
DeleteI cut the most of my coffee intake from my diet earlier this year and it's been really easy to edge out of it based on two favorites:
ReplyDelete-green tea or earl grey topped with steamed almond milk + nutmeg & cinnamon. I typically sweeten with stevia
-chai roobios with the same steamed almond, nutmeg, cinna combo
Davids Teas are known for being extra delicious, so I'd suggest checking those out. Recently A and I sort of went wild with buying a variety of teas and now keep them in tea caddies. For whatever reason, it feels like a fancy restaurant perk in our own kitchen. Seems like something you might like, as well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008DJVCC/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks foor sharing this
ReplyDelete