When you’re offered a cup of tea, you’re generally supposed to say yes. It’s just a part of tea culture—and so is brewing a cup to punctuate all the moments of your life—a cup to warm you when you’re sad, or relax you when you’re down, to start the day, break up the afternoon, kick off your shoes with in the evening, and relax before bed.
And that could add up to a good chunk of caffeine. Especially because big chains are dominating the market right now. There are plenty of independent coffee shops, offering home-roasted, custom brewed, and custom recipe drinks. Tea isn’t really there.
Most of the teas you’ll find are based on low-quality tea (if there’s any actual tea in it, many are mixes of things in your pantry—popcorn, brown sugar, cinnamon, dried fruit…). Herbal teas can be great. So is adding edible flowers to black or green tea or mixing teas—but that can get expensive, and what you’re most likely to find are “teas” that may have some tea in them, but are stuffed with cheap, sweet add-ons. Or they just straight up have flavor added to them.
If you’re sinking into tea culture—holding a warm teacup in your hand and sipping it throughout your day—the added caffeine, sugar, and who knows what else are going to add up a lot more quickly.
It’s time to simplify tea again and cut out all the additives, and hold it to the same standard you hold your food and supplements. If you’re going to be sipping tea all day, sip something healthy!
Jiaogulan is an herbal tea—grown in SouthEast Asia, it’s known as the tea of life because of the correlation with the longevity of those who drink it there. It supports heart health, and it’s caffeine free. Not only will it not jack-you-up with sugar, it won’t get your heart racing with too much caffeine, so you can drink as much as you like, anytime of day. Or enjoy a milder flavor by doing multiple brews throughout the day (something that other teas seem to no longer have—all that artificial flavor washes out in pour one).
When do you pull out the tea pot? Share your stories below:
