How many cups of coffee did you have today? At least one? Us, too. Why not try tea instead? Hear us out — we’re going to look at one woman’s story about giving up her good old morning java (and switching it out for tea). Blasphemous, absolutely. But healthy? Definitely.
Over at Insider, Allie Lembo detailed her experience by starting with an admission of coffee addiction:
“Over time, it began to feel like I was addicted to caffeine. Whenever I skipped my daily coffee, I experienced symptoms of caffeine withdrawal — I would become irritable, struggle to concentrate throughout the day, get headaches, and feel a major dip in my energy levels by the afternoon.”
Lembo said she drinks two, or even three, cups of coffee per day — which is kind of a lot.
The Mayo Clinic says we really shouldn’t be drinking more than 400 mg of caffeine a day (and there’s about 100 in a single cup). There are lots of reasons — we can end up feeling nervous, hurting our tummies, and maybe even developing a UTI.
Lembo decided to swap out her coffee for black tea, which has significantly less caffeine than coffee, cutting her caffeine intake by about half.
What ensued was a few days of caffeine withdrawal, including headaches and low energy. She even mentioned that other energy boosters didn’t help replace the energy lost.
After that, though, she did notice some mega improvements, including better sleep (yes, please!).
In fact, coffee can impact your body for up to six hours, which Lembo noted.
This is why that late afternoon brew can keep you up at bedtime.
She also cited money saved (a cup of lunchtime coffee at Starbucks will cost about $2-4), and clearer skin.
This is because she was consuming less dairy, which can have a not-so-skin-friendly effect on your skin.
The verdict?
“After three months I still missed my daily morning ritual of brewing and consuming a cup of coffee. Sure, I enjoyed drinking black tea, but I still found myself missing coffee and the energy boost it gave me,” she said.
Are you looking to get some of these benefits yourself?
Why not start replacing one cup of coffee with a single cup of tea?
You can do this!
And if you’re hoping to jazz up your tea ritual, why not try swapping plain black tea for others?
Chamomile is known for relaxation, while green tea is known for a gentle boost in metabolism and energy.
In fact, green tea is loaded with antioxidants, which can help prevent cell damage.
(Hello, anti-aging!)
Did you know that there are teas for helping to pick up your mood?
What about teas to help support blood pressure?
Plenty of people turn to tea not only as a pick-me-up, but as an element in their self-care rituals.
Because tea is so gentle on the nervous system, it can help you destress and wind down.
Making tea part of your everyday routine can help you discover interests in new flavors, too.
Love the smell of lavender?
Try the flavor in a delicious de-stressing blend:
Plus, drinking tea means investing in an adorable tea set.
What could be better than drinking tea from this on a cozy Sunday morning?
(Just don’t boil your water the gross way Americans do).
And if you’re looking to really become a tea master — tea sommelier? — you’ll want to try teas at different temperatures.
Then you can sound like this guy:
Tea originated in the Yunnan region of China, and was mostly used as a medicinal treatment.
It wasn’t until 17th century England that tea became a daily fixture.
We recommend trying to integrate tea into your daily life — not simply to reduce your caffeine levels, but because teas are delicious, fun, and representative of the many places they are grown.
And it that doesn’t sound lovely, we don’t know what does.
