Let’s face it: coffee and college life go hand-in-hand, both literally and figuratively. Whether it’s to stay up for a late night studying, to stay awake during the exam because of that late night studying, or to have something to drink during coffee shop dates and meetings, coffee is a fixture in at least four out of five college students’ lives.
However, I must confess that I am the one out of five who never picks up a latte en route to my morning classes. Though I am undoubtedly not a morning person, coffee has an incredibly awful effect on my health: my anxiety spikes, I become jittery, and I eventually get an upset stomach. Plus, I just really can’t stand the taste. Eventually, I just resigned myself to accepting that coffee and I would never be on good terms.
With that said, I am not advocating that anyone quit his or her coffee addiction. At least three-fourths of my friends would be appalled at the very notion. However, I do suggest trying out an alternative hot beverage that comes in multiple flavors and can also be found in coffee shops: tea.
Admittedly, not all tea varieties have caffeine, and the ones that do certainly don’t have nearly as much caffeine as coffee. However, if you’re seeking to wean yourself from a coffee addiction or just want more information before branching out into tea consumption, here is a list of the five basic types of tea you’ll want to try:
White
The rarest of all tea types, white teas are subtle, with a slightly sweet, complex flavor. They are brewed at a low temperature and also have a short steeping time. Consequently, they have a low level of caffeine per cup of tea, roughly 6-25 mg.
Green
Making up ten percent of the world’s tea, this tea is a green-yellow color and has a subtle, herbal taste with many undertones. Green tea can prevent cavities and gum disease as well as increase the body’s antioxidant activity. The ingredients in green tea are also believed to help increase metabolism and burn fat.
Green teas are often brewed at lower temperatures as well as for less time, though not as low or for as little time as white teas. In terms of caffeine, green teas have roughly 10-30% the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee.
Oolong
Oolong is often seen as one of the finest and, therefore, one of the most expensive teas available. It’s usually a pale yellow with a floral, fruity quality and a smoky undertone. Its flavor is not as subtle as green teas, but it still possesses a rather fragrant tone. With more caffeine than green tea but less than black tea, it contains around 12-55 mg of caffeine per cup.
Black
Unlike the other teas that I’ve mentioned so far, black teas undergo full oxidation and thus have one of the strongest and most pronounced flavors of all types of tea. One of the most common types of teas available, black tea is typically a reddish-brown color. Black teas have a much higher caffeine content than other teas, around 50-65% of the caffeine of a cup of coffee and around roughly 23-110 mg of caffeine per cup.
Tisane
Tisane is the formal name for what you probably know as “herbal tea.” Tisane teas can be made with the berries, flowers, and seeds of many different kinds of plants. Some common ingredients are chamomile, peppermint leaf, and ginger root.
Tisane teas are often used for their soothing or rejuvenating qualities. Unlike the other teas that I have mentioned, herbal teas do not contain caffeine whatsoever so they are a great choice for those who prefer to avoid caffeine.
What do you think?
Do you enjoy drinking tea? Are you a devoted coffee drinker? Or do you have no preference? What is your favorite kind of tea? What do you like to put in it (e.g. honey, sugar, etc.)? Where do you usually go to get your tea fix? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
you forgot to discuss chai! it’s a personal favorite, although i’ve found our local coffee shops make better chai than starbucks. vanilla chai is a year-round delight, and i love to get pumpkin spice chai in the fall and winter.
Coffee, espresso, and all their variations: liquid joy, and the ONLY thing that can make me get going in the morning. Tea, however, is wonderful for a lazy afternoon or if I need a comforting hot drink to sip on before bedtime.
Love this! I love coffee but since I usually have to add milk, it upsets my stomach afterwards. I don’t have to worry about that after drinking tea 🙂
I would also add red tea (aka rooibos) to the list, it’s a kind of herbal tea and I adore it! Also, mate tea is a great herbal tea, although it does contain caffeine. For those tempted to try these I would recommend Sweet Amore rooibos (tastes like a sunny fall day) and Raspberry Riot Lemon mate (tart and fruity taste) from Teavana 😀
I found this article very much to my liking, since I hate the smell of coffee and have never had a cup of coffee. However, I find tea is a great substitute if you can find the right one, although I’d rather lay off the caffeine, since I’m a nervous person all by my own and don’t need aid of any kind.
So thanks for the article, because it gives me a couple more teas to try, plus the ones that anyone mentions here in the comments =)
I personally love this because I’m totally the same with my relationship with coffee. I mean, coffee smells WONDERFUL and I love the atmosphere of coffeeshops and everything, but… I only drink coffee when it’s an absolute emergency (i.e., all nighter, exam cram, etc.). I usually opt for tea when I need a modest caffeine boost or when I just need to relax. I personally like green tea, especially when it’s in ice cream form. 🙂 Great post!
I’m a HUGE fan of teas. I used to be a starbucks addict, extra shots of espresso and everything. Eventually that left me in a crash and bur sort of situation. So I cut myself off from coffee, and started drinking teas — slowly adjusting from high caffeine content teas like matés and black teas to less and less caffeine. Now I usually have two or three cups of rooibos (not a “real” tea, but quite similar to a tisane) a day and probably black tea if I need the slight caffeine jolt. I’m Canadian, so DavidsTea is a favourite place for funky new teas — they feature new ones every season, just like designer clothing lines! Right up my alley.
Great post! Drinks like red tea and tisane are technically teas, but rather infusions. Sorry I’m a tea/coffee nerd and had to say it! The Republic of Tea’s Good Hope Vanilla Rooibos is delicious for anyone curious.
I love this post for the last three wks I found a place in Manhattan called Argo tea they have a vairty of everything and I been trying it out and didnt know there were so many teas when I finish drinking I feel zen and ready to do some work way better then coffeee
I LOVE TEA! I was introduced to the wonders of loose leaf tea by my freshman year roommate and I’ve never stopped drinking it. I much prefer white and green teas, as I don’t really like super strong teas. My favorite kind of all time is probably Jasmine Pearl Green Tea, which I usually buy from Chinatown in Downtown LA. I once bought on Amazon this amazing tea called ‘Meditative Mind’ by a brand called the teaspot. It was a mix of white tea, green tea, and rosebuds, probably one of the most amazing complex flavors I’ve ever tasted!
Nothing makes me feel more comfortable than a cup of tea, best stress reliever ever!
i love green tea 🙂
I drink tea every morning from my cute tea thermus. My favorite is jasmine green tea and a mango peach black tea from Ahmad Tea. It is literally what gets me to class in the morning.
I love tea! I especially enjoy the flavoured green varietes, like mint flavoured, or with flower petals, or dried fruids and cocos 🙂
Wow I did not know that Herbal tea does not have caffeine. Personally i think that green tea has bitter taste and i would not recommended.
Wow. I did not know that herbal tea does not have caffeine. I would not recommend green tea to anyone. It has a weird after taste.
I get a Chai Tea Latte every day. Calories? Yes. Delicious? Also yes. Chai tea is a little bit spicy, and delicious with a bit of sugar even if you don’t get it as a latte. Smells wonderful.
I love herbal teas with chamomile. So nice to sip on around bedtime 🙂
I worked in a chinese looseleaf tea store for almost a year, so it’s pretty much an addiction now. The buzz from it is way different than a coffee buzz, it’s more of a meditative, focused energy, rather than the anxious, jittery effect that coffee has.
What a lot of people don’t understand about tea is that the bitter taste that you get in some green teas or the english style black teas comes mostly from low quality tea and misguided steeping. Try finding a high grade tea (look for loose leaves that are actually recognizable as leaves – the best teas are whole leaves, and the best greens and whites are very green in color) and steeping it for just 30 seconds to a minute. And if you’re brewing a white or green tea, use water that is way cooler than boiling – aim for about 175 (for greens) or 185 (for whites). Many good teas, when brewed correctly, are sweet, floral, and, well, delicious.
For a much more comprehensive look, and a spot to get some seriously good quality tea, check out redblossomtea.com. =)
Love this post! I occassionally drink coffee, and I mostly avoid it because the ones I prefer are much more expensive than the tea I like to drink. I find that I don’t need the caffeine in the morning so much as a hot drink in general, and then I don’t crash later. So great to see someone spreading the word about tea 🙂 I also highly recommend Teavana, a chain of loose leaf tea stores that you’ll find in malls. They have at least a hundred kinds and you can also order any of them brewed in front of you in case you’re curious about the flavor but don’t want to commit to a whole bag. They are a great place to go for someone curious about trying out tea for the first time!
I never knew green tea could help you lose weight. Now I can’t wait to try it 😀
I wish I liked tea because I know it has so many great benefits, but I’m just not a fan of the flavor:( The only kind I drink is chai… Any suggestions?
I like this post (and mate), and clearly it’s getting a good response, but I’m intrigued by its (lack of?) relevance. Is CF drifting/broadening?
Wow, lots of tea lovers! I live in Washington, so everyone here drinks A LOT of coffee. Sometimes it gets a little excessive…
I wish I liked tea more, really. Maybe I just haven’t found the right flavor, but the few that I have tried all taste like hot water. Chai tea is okay, but I prefer the lattes =P
Any suggestions on a nice, flavorful tea that taste good?
Great post! I am obsessed with tea at the moment! I drink chai tea like coffee now!
Tea is just the perfect drink all around. I kind of use it to keep my eating under control – if I am at risk of emotional eating or boredom eating, I just make a cup of tea instead. The hot beverage is just as soothing as that Kraft Dinner/other comfort food! And since I don’t use sugar, it’s calorie-free! I just make sure to drink herbal teas in the evening to keep my caffeine intake under control, because I can easily have 10 cups of tea in a day…
I’m afraid I don’t have too much to add to the conversation, but I do love this post and all its comments! I’m not a diehard fan of tea, but I enjoy it since I grew up around it in Japan and nothing tea-flavored could match this beautiful beverage. (Curse you Lipton Green Tea! CURSE YOU!)
The only thing I’d suggest is trying out valerian tea. I hear the flavor is sh*t if you don’t have the acquired taste, but it has the most soothing effects ever. And of course anyone could get the acquired taste for tea. In fact, I’m sure the only reason I’ve head the flavor is terrible is because people I’ve heard it from practically shoot caffeine into their veins.
I definitely have to start drinking this more. Love the article!
I ve jus tried chai tea n i din lik it much.. So basically m a coffee person bt i tink i shud try d green tea n earl grey tea wit chamomile
I know it might not be a real “tea” but I’d still like to mentioned my favorite which is MILK TEA with boba. I’m totally addicted to this stuff, In fact I’m drinking some right now :). Great article and keep up the great work CF!!
This is so great! I love both coffee and tea. I’d like to drink more green tea since it’s so good for you, but I haven’t really found a brand I like that much. I liked the one at my old work but you can’t get it anywhere :(. Any suggestions of brands that make good green tea?
I am a tea fanatic! My favorite shop has to be Tevana! The article is great although I would have loved to see some specific teas to try for each type 🙂
I love tea! I find it more convenient, and cheaper (?) than coffee. 😀
Green tea with milk and no sugar is the way to go! 8)
Great Post! I like tea much better than coffe, plus it’s more healthy 🙂
For a while there I was getting pretty addicted to coffee, which usually makes me feel insane & jittery but is delicious and helps to wake me up. So I switched to tea as my “regular” drink rather than just drinking it sometimes, and now I’m addicted. I literally drink 3-6 cups a day! (Good thing a tea bag is way cheaper than a caramel macchiato!)
My favorites are green teas, especially jasmine blossom and cool combos like mint green tea or white & green. I also loove strong black tea.. if it’s not your thing you could always try “Constant Comment” which is more mild and has a tasty orange flavor to it.
The only thing I add to my tea is stevia. I used to add tons of sugar but (obviously) that’s not very healthy, & I’m pretty wary about artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Sweet n Low.
I adore tea, coffee just comes on too strong for my tastes. I’m sensitive to caffeine, so I typically reach for herbals, though I always have decaf black on hand! I usually keep peppermint and chamomile on hand (for headaches and sleeplessness), I typically reach for some of the fancier blends, and I find that even then I spend less than my coffee-drinking friends.
I love Adagio’s Rooibos Vanilla Chai–perfect for a cold evening at home. Twining’s Cherry and Cinnamon is wonderful for when I’m up late and stressed. Adagio’s Foxtrot (chamomile, rooibos, and mint) and Cha-Cha (chamomile, lemongrass, and mint) are both fantastic. Adagio also has several varieties of chocolate tea! The chocolate flavor isn’t quite as pronounced as hot chocolate, it does settle my cravings nicely with fewer calories.
I really recommend ordering tea online–the specialty blends are tasty, and once you know what you like you can make your own blends. You can get samples (~10 cups of tea) for $2.
I really enjoy mixing up my sweeteners. With herbals I prefer sugar, if it’s a fruit based I enjoy honey most. I’ve recently been sweetening my black tea with maple syrup to get a bit of extra flavor. If someone’s not sure they like tea, that’s what I’d recommendatory trying them on–a bit of black tea, a bit of milk, and maple syrup. Converts them every time!
I’m not a coffee drinker either. I’ve tried drinking it and it kills my stomach if I don’t put, like, three times more milk than coffee. I prefer drinking black tea with milk and sugar, iced or warm. Chai and milk tea are my favorites.
Love this post it’s so helpful. You guys should do a post on how an what to add to the different types of tea. (:
Best tea ever: Mango Chamomile
Actually, I don’t drink coffee or tea, which I know would probably sound weird since nearly everyone drinks at least either of them. But I,be never been used to either, and my mum has always forced me to drink milk, though I hate that too. She thinks because I’m vegetarian, if I don’t drink milk I’ll get even less nutrition. May be true, may not be true, but I still hate milk.
I thoroughly enjoy drinking tea and thankfully since I live so close to the chinese community I can go into a shop and check out the dried display and pick whichever I want. You also forgot dragonwell tea which gives a sort of misty taste, I used to drink cups of that when I felt a migraine from studying for a horrific exam that god only knows that I will never ever apply to my life again. Also ginger and lemon is wonderful for those with a sore throat.
I’m definitely a coffee drinker, but I’ve also always loved tea. Earl gray might be my all-time favorite (it’s delicious with unsweetened soy milk), but I like most teas that I’ve tried. The exceptions would be smoky teas (which my mom loves, but she’s never been able to convert me) and some green tea, though I think that my problem with green teas might be that they were low quality/made incorrectly (too-hot water, as an earlier commenter mentioned). I think it’s funny that so many commenters say that tea is cheaper than coffee — I’ve always thought of tea as the more expensive option, because a pound of coffee beans lasts me so much longer than a nice box of tea, even though I drink coffee more.
I love drinking herbal tea at night while studying. I’ve found that if I have a serious sweet craving, a nice cup of herbal tea can alleviate it. And real chai (like, made from scratch with loose black tea and milk and spices) is one of my favorite things EVER, but since I grew up drinking that, chai tea bags don’t do it for me at all.
I love tea! It is so nice to have a hot cup of tea on a lazy Sunday while curled up reading a favorite book. I prefer black tea, my favorites being Darjeeling (considered the “champagne” of tea by some) and English Breakfast tea. I think the best brand I have found is called Mighty Leaf. They have an ‘african nectar’ tea that is just divine!
Chai is also very delicious, but I wanted to point out that it is a mixture or drink instead of a ‘type’ of tea. Usually made with black tea, milk, sugars/sweeteners, and a mixture of spices (cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, etc.).
As a Brit, I drink tea ALL THE TIME! Strangely though, you don’t tend to get offered all the different types of tea in the UK unless you ask – we only drink black, with milk, and sugar depending on your taste!
You can also buy decaf black tea (which I’ve had to start buying due to drinking about 5 cups of tea a day!) It tastes exactly the same 🙂
Also, don’t forget the cake 😉
I really don’t like coffee at all, and I like my tea very sweet so I normally always get in Latte form. Honestly, it’s just easier for me to not drink the stuff at all, or very little because it gets so expensive anyway.
Though this is a great article. I’ve been meaning to buy some tea for myself and try it out. THis gives me a good idea of what I may want.
I used to drink a lot of tea growing up, but now, I’ve switched to having iced coffee on a regular basis. Still, I do love tea because it reminds me of home. I pretty much only have a taste for black tea, taken with a bit of sugar and no milk or cream. English Breakfast is my absolute favorite!
I love both coffee and tea, and I drink both all the time!
I do have to warn people:
YES herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free (or at least, most of them) but if you have to absolutely stay away from caffeine (like allergies or using it as a sleep aid) I would recommend making 100% sure that your tea does NOT have caffeine in it. Some companies will add caffeine, or advertise a herbal tea when really it is a mixture of herbal with black tea. I’ve fallen into the trap once with bad results. So be careful!
Ahh, how I love my teas! One of my favourite tea shops is Silk Roads (near China Town in Victoria, BC), and another is around Broadway and Bayswater in Vancouver, BC (can’t remember the store name right now, whoops!); there are plenty more excellent ones I can think of, but those are two I frequent (the former when at school, the latter when at home).
My advice to anyone who claims they don’t like any tea is to go to a good tea shop and sample as many as you can – you’re bound to find at least ONE you like! Good tea shops will also tell you how long to steep it for and sell (or provide) tins to store the tea leaves in. Some others already touched on the steeping, but I feel it’s important to repeat because not everyone reads all the comments. (^_^;)
Also, not trying to say that loose leaf teas are better than tea bags (both have their pros and cons), but I find that most people will like a loose leaf tea more than a tea bag of the same variety. (^_^;)
I drink at least 3 cups of tea a day, all different kinds and I also work for my friend who owns a small tea business. Her products are all natural and organic as she grows most of the ingredients herself! She has several different tea and tisane flavors that are all great tasting. She also ships all over! Check it out 🙂
tbysarah.com
As a college student I relied on coffee and caffeine pills to keep me awake driving home from North Carolina to Florida, but one potentially fatal automobile accident and another almost headon automobile accident during the same trip showed me as a sophomore that people cannot rely on coffee to keep them awake driving. I knew that I would have to transcend the coffee habit. What finally did it was also having a pulse rate of 160 bpm after a 3 mile run after drinking 2 cups of coffee before the run. I decided the choice was between running and coffee. I chose running. My last cup of coffee was in february of 1977 over 35 years ago. I love teas, All kinds of green teas, with all the different flavorings they put in, all kinds of hibiscus teas, and all the combinations with chamomile they put in. Wow, all these different kinds of teas they make is amazing and very interesting. I wish I could have convinced my Army and Army Reserve units that tea is the drink not coffee. I served 91/2 years without a single cup of coffee and trained myself to stay awake for 3 days and nights without any reliance on coffee.
Oh my goodness. I am a tea junkie. I usually put stevea in my Chai (yum!). I usually make it at home,but if I’m out and about it’s either the campus coffee shop or coffee bean for my tea.