Coffee Vs. Tea - Making the Switch
Making the Switch to Tea
I am a longtime coffee drinker, and a former 3 cups per day addict. Always black. No sugar or cream. No Starbucks or anything fancy, but I do love to brew Dunkin Donuts coffee, as I think it tastes the best. I even switched from a coffee machine to a single, plastic cone brewer to get a better and more clean taste.
Recently, though, I switched from coffee to tea for my mid-morning pick-me-up, and I’m happy to report, I like it much better.
Though raw tea leaves have more caffeine than coffee, when brewed, coffee ends up with about 2-3 times the caffeine content. So why did I switch to tea, and how did I do it? (The key is gradually.)
Coffee Vs. Tea Infographic
How to Switch
First, I stopped having an afternoon cup of coffee. I had been getting into the routine of having a cup when I woke up, a cup when I got to work, and a mid-afternoon cup to get me through the rest of the day. By the time quitting time rolled around, I was exhausted. But by the time I got home from work, I was awake again, and would stay up too late at night.
This fed a vicious cycle of caffeine addiction and exhaustion, and became sort of a “chicken and the egg” argument. I couldn’t tell what came first, my exhaustion or the coffee.
After quitting my afternoon cup by not drinking any after noon, I was down to two per day. The morning wake-up cup was more of an ingrained lizard brain habit at this point, so I looked for ways to replace the 10 am cup, and decided on tea bags.
Most of the tea I drink now is green, which has about the lowest caffeine content of teas available (except for white tea), especially as compared to black tea. But what I found when I switched surprised me. When I first switched to tea, I could immediately tell the difference from coffee. Though it supposedly had less caffeine, I could feel it more at first, almost as if I had been drinking decaf coffee for years. It was as if my body was reacting to a different type of caffeine, in a new and different way.
After a few days the immediate caffeine buzz was replaced by a longer lasting sense of alertness, something that coffee had been failing to give me. With coffee, I felt tired almost immediately after drinking it.
Why Switch to Tea?
According to Men’s Health, studies have shown that regular tea drinkers have lower body fat, lower cholesterol, and improved blood pressure readings than non tea-drinkers. Tea has also been shown to be a good way to control or suppress appetite, which can have a big role in healthy eating.
While there are plenty of studies saying good things about tea, and good things about coffee, what you ultimately choose is based on your personal preference. Are you tired of the coffee rut? Are you tired of feeling tired all day, then alert all night? Are you looking to wean yourself off caffeine altogether?
If the above are questions you have been pondering, switching to tea could be a useful exercise in improving your life.
While I have not made the step to get rid of caffeine altogether, I am weighing the idea of switching my morning cup of coffee to tea, as well. This would save me time in the morning, as I would not have to wait for the filter to finish letting the hot water drip through the grounds. I can simply drop a bag in a cup of hot water, then proceed to get along with my morning routine.
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Comments
marriedwithdebt . . .wonderfully-presented and written. Voted up and away. Amazing hub. Honestly, I like tea, but I am a forever black coffee addict. I live on the stuff. That is the only vice, if that is a vice,that I have. Drinking coffee. And reading hubs. Plus being HONORED to follow you. Please keep the great hubs rolling. Have a Merry Christmas up in the Land of Lincoln. Sincerely, Kenneth Avery.
Thanks Tammy and Kenneth. Your kind words help me to persevere and continue with my writing. Kenneth - thank you for your personal note, as well.
marriewithdebt, you are very welcome. And again, I am grateful to have you follow me. My hubs may not always be Pulitzer Prize winners, but I promise they will never bore you.
Thanks and have a safe weekend.
Kenneth
I always have this coffee debate in my mind as generally, I do not always feel the benefit from it.
I go through phases with coffee but I will always start my day with a cup, sometimes two. I then stay away from it for the rest of the day.
Maybe it's because I don't fancy it later on, but in winter I will drink more as I like hot drinks to warm me up.
Now during the day I will have rooibos tea or other caffeine free teas. They make me feel better - they flush out the system and keep me hydrated. A nicer alternative to water.
I like a nice cup of black tea now and again, but I add way too much milk and sugar - but that's another issue...
Hi Emma - I, too, have been unable to completely quit coffee. I almost always have a cup first thing in the morning.
As I write this, I am drinking a warm cup of green tea, as it is very cold in Illinois. Happy New Year!
Thanks for sharing. This seems like something I need to do as I struggle with my annual lose weight and live a more healthy lifestyle New Years resolution.
Hi Joshua - I believe in big wins (doing small things to make big changes). I think switching to tea is one of those, and can have health/weight benefits. I think I am addicted to coffee though. Hopefully this can be the year for me, too.
Well researched and well written hub,I am not a coffee drinker,But I take tea three to four times daily.So I don't think I could give up my tea.You wrote a fabulous hub.So Voted up and Awesome.
Thanks for stopping by, Coach. I took a look at your Hubs and I think you are gonna do well here. Welcome to HP!
i switched to green tea two years ago, and although i still enjoy a cup of coffee at least twice a week, i tend to drink tea everyday, even brew green tea in the summer and add water/ice for iced green tea. I noticed having a cup of green tea after i eat really helps digestion and is just a great choice over sugary juices and sodas. Although a grande cafe americano from starbucks does help me get those late night papers finished! Great hub, voted up, useful and intersting, moer people should realize the benefits of tea.
Ok, great info!
So, my decision is; down to less than a pot of coffee each morning and Tea for the rest of the day.
I am all about Compromise!
Nice informative Hub! I'm an avid coffee and tea drinker. I usually have 1-2 cups of coffee in a day and 1-2 cups of tea in a day. Not sure if that cancels each other out, but I love them both. Voted up!
Thanks for reading. I'll have to try the tea after eating. In fact, I'm gonna try it now as I just had lunch. Thanks for the idea!
This made me laugh! I was drinking like 2-3 cups every morning, but I found a way to get past it, though I love it. Thanks for reading.
That sounds like my current ratio and it's working pretty well. Trick is to not drink any after 1-2pm. Helps me go to bed earlier. Thanks for reading.
MWD: Love tea (!), and remain loyal, but cracked up over a FB friend's post of a quote: "Tea! Thou, thou sober, sage, and venerable liquid, thou female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart-opening, wink-tipping cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moment of my life, let me fall prostrate"
-Colley Cibber, The Lady's Last Stake, 1708.
Very cool quote, Hunter. I'm sipping some black coffee right now, and thinking about my post-lunch tea!
lovely!
I've never been a coffee drinker - always 1 cup of earl grey tea for me most mornings. While it may not have as much caffeine as a brewed cup of coffee, it has enough to leave me with a bit of a headache if I don't have it. I'm glad I never drank coffee though. My father used to drink a cup of black instant coffee. One sip of that as a kid and I forever had a bad association with coffee.
tammyswallow 5 months ago
Very well written, well researched hub. Excellent! But.. I don't think I could give up my coffee. I did cut back and I will drink green tea in the evening. You wrote a fabulous hub.