Coffee vs. (black) Tea (social anthropology)

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  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    Being a true Brit, Afternoon Tea (tea, sandwiches, scones, cake) should be served with tea. But if I'm just out for 'tea and cake' I'll usually choose coffee, and have a skimmed latte (using the protein in the milk to help balance the cake macros :wink: )
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    I need caffeine in the morning, but I go through this odd phasing thing throughout my life where coffee will just suddenly become horrible to me. I'll stop drinking it for years and years (I'll drink strong tea instead in the morning), and then one day, out of the blue, I'll want coffee again. Lather, rinse repeat. One off-coffee phase was 10 years long.

    It's strange, because when I like coffee, I really love it. I make it quite strong.
  • carrieliz81
    carrieliz81 Posts: 489 Member
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    I like coffee and tea, and usually I drink them because I'm trying to avoid consuming something else that has calories. So, usually I enjoy them on their own. Also, I drink my tea and coffee black with no sugar, but I can enjoy sweet tea and vanilla lattes with the best of them. Those are usually special treats for me.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    Coffee with everything. Tea is only any good if it's the only caffeinated beverage available first thing in the morning, and you make it blinking strong with a dash of milk and no sugar anywhere near it. On the other hand I love coffee in all its forms, and it goes with everything cake/biscuit/scone/muffin/donut-like.

    Favourite thing is a strong filter coffee with half a sugar and milk, with a fridge-cold chocolate bar to break into pieces and dunk into it.
  • LovingLife_Erin
    LovingLife_Erin Posts: 328 Member
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    I used to drink coffee a lot more, but then gradually stopped as I didn't want the extra sugar in it (I wouldn't ever put sugar in tea as it's gross then).

    I am a tea-aholic. I crave it and drink a lot of it each day. Now when I drink coffee, it just doesn't have the same comforting effect as tea does.

    Tea is great. It picks you up when you need it, and calms you down when you need to relax. It goes great with any meal/sweet and is just the best.

    I won't lie... I do miss having a fatty cream tea though! Yummy clotted cream, jam, and scones. :smiley:
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
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    I don't miss having fatty cream teas - I have them about once a month. :) When I started this, I promised myself I wasn't going to make any change I wasn't willing to follow through with for as long as I am in control of my food and activity choices. Not having fancy tea was not on the table.

    As for the Pally tea biscuits - I don't love them 300 calories worth. :) It was mostly a matter of realizing how many I was actually eating on any given day. I like the Kedem biscuits; they're tiny but just a tiny bit of cookie crunch and cookie sweet.

    I agree, tea (even black tea) is (for me) generally more calming. Black tea and coffee may have the same caffeine content, but for me coffee definitely has a bigger psychological kick.
  • Kabijots
    Kabijots Posts: 218 Member
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    I drink tea (Twinings English Breakfast tea), strong with a dash of semi-skimmed milk, morning, noon and night. But then I am English!

    It goes with everything. Savoury foods (eggs and bacon), sweet (cakes and biscuits) and just about everything in between. I drink it when I am happy, when I am sad, when I am tired and when I working.

    Personally, only have coffee after dinner (strong and black) and on its own. Occasionally, I will have a whisky or liqueur to go with it.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    I drink strong black coffee in the mornings and herbal teas (tisanes?) in the evening or afternoons. For some reason black and green teas make me incredibly queasy, especially of I drink them on an empty stomach.
  • jenglish712
    jenglish712 Posts: 497 Member
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    I don't find myself pairing sweets with coffee or tea but there are certain rich sweets that require coffee as a balance.

    But I find I drink coffee black, no cream or sugar. I drink my iced tea unsweetened. A tablespoon of honey for Earl Grey, but if I drink Oolong I end up putting like 3 tablespoons of table sugar in it.
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
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    They make chocolate tea. My life is complete. I've never eaten with tea before, but I have to admit I like the chocolate flavor tea :)
  • Tea_Mistress
    Tea_Mistress Posts: 105 Member
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    Well I'm british and I associate cute things like cupcakes and scones with tea, whilst biscuits tend to go better with coffee :)
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
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    Nothing's better than coffee and cake, but I'm happy with coffee by itself, with half and half, because there's a richness to it. Well made coffee is a treat. But tea is utilitarian for me. I drink tea - all flavors, to hydrate myself and to keep away from too many servings of half and half that would come with drinking coffee all day. But tea with sweets doesn't work for me. It's more of a savory than a sweet. I don't put anything in my tea.
  • pandaahoy
    pandaahoy Posts: 13 Member
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    I find myself drinking both! Besides, after doing research on both drinks you will find that each has their own special health benefits. I typically drink both in moderation though. I find myself usually having a cup of coffee in the morning, and tea throughout the day. My tea choices vary based on how I'm feeling but black tea makes it on that list occasionally (:
  • GilBrennan
    GilBrennan Posts: 16
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    Tea shop, explain this to me.
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Well.. for my purposes, as I generally understand the term to be used in the US (and especially in larger, more affluent cities) a "Tea Shop" is an establishment where one can experience the literary affectation of "High Tea" which imprinted itself on many an American mind as a small party of Ladies enjoying tea and delicacies (scones, finger sandwiches, etc.)

    Here, there are several shops which cater to the experience (inaccurate as it may be compared to the reality of "tea" in the Victorian era) of a "Fancy Tea", complete with extravagant decor and niceties such as waitresses in black dresses with frilled white aprons, and a bell upon the table so one may ring for a waitress.

    A "tea shop" in Britain, as I experienced it, was a small shop in which one could purchase tea, scones, meat pies, and assorted other items.

    An independent coffee shop in the US might have a similar atmosphere to the modern British "tea shop", except, of course, the primary beverage is coffee, and not tea (although more teas are available in more locations than previously).

    But the American "Tea Shop" is very much the product of a deliberate, contrived (albeit, for me, quite pleasant) atmosphere.


  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
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    Unfortunatly its become a habit of mine that every time I have black tea or coffee, I need to accompany it with some biscuits or some sort of bread. Of course I opt for kedem tea biscuits or raisin bread (something a little healthier than a cinnamon roll!) but still... I just crave the yumminess of a hot beverage with a snack!

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