coffee vs. tea.... my two cents

AnnieeR

I absolutely love my 2 morning coffees - it's the ritual AND the taste, but I can't stand milk or sugar in it - I think it's just what you get used to.... I grew up in Northern California where there's a coffee shop on every corner and my teens were spent sitting around drinking the stuff so I guess I just got used to it. I live in the UK now but I've never really caught tea fever, so after my coffee I'm trying to just have water and green tea.

ruststar

I noticed this same thing recently and asked for suggestions to help. I love my morning coffee and wasn't satisfied with tea, so I tried other things. Two version I've liked:

Replacing my 1/3 cup(!) of flavored creamer with a half cup of Silk Almond or Coconut milk and a sprinkle of splenda - only 1/4 cup of milk needed, and it cuts 125 calories.

Soy latte with sugar free flavored syrups - a tall is 170 calories, but I count that as my morning snack since it has the combo of carbs and protein from the soy milk, and it's better than the fat free mocha I used to get!

betterthanmama

I love coffee with cream and sugar, and love tea. I drink about 4-6 cups of tea per day. Every morning I wake up to make my husband's coffee, and I used to have a cup also, but I cut that out and save myself 70cals.

I have found that coffee affects my system in weird ways, making me lose the water and give me a quick caffeine fix, but after a few weeks I end up gaining weight. Not sure if it's the diuretic effect or just the 70calories.

With tea, I drink it without cream or sugar. Green teas are too delicate and the sweetness/cream will ruin any subtle flavor that the tea has. Also cheap dark tea is very bitter, and you need creme and sugar to mask the taste. (I deal with it due to cost issues from drinking too much tea). For green teas, I recommend getting a Japanese brand like Yamamotoyama and Itoen. Make sure the box is fresh, over 1 year and the taste will start going. Tea will also not give you the jump start like coffee, but more of a relaxed buzz.

Adding a drop of vanilla extract to your drink can trick you into thinking it's "sweeter" too.

irridia

I like both, I drink them according to mood and how I physically feel. Chai is my tea of choice. Especially Stash Double Spice and I make it uber strong. I like it w/2% milk, no lower, no higher. Or in a pinch unsweetened Silk Soy. I'm going to try some tomorrow w/unsweetened Silk Almond. I've moved to stevia exclusively for sweetening beverages except on the occasion that I just wanted the honey flavor and then add a little w/the chai. Chai is especially soothing when my sinuses have flared up or I have a cold. I actually find a more diuretic effect from the Chai than the coffee. Stevia can be a little bitter, so I use cinnamon to mask it. Caffeine kills appetite and so do the thermogenics in the spice and the cinnamon. I'm hoping the almond milk will help with inflammation. I avoid the name brand stevia, both Truvia and Purvia made by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo respectively as they have alchahol sugars which can cause bloat, gas, pain and the runs. Most of the creamers and possibly even the sugar free variety have high fructose corn syrup which increases uric acid, which then prevents glucose uptake into the muscles and the uric acid can build up and actually cause damage to ligaments.

On the subject of water, I take my weight/2 and that's how many oz of water I need, add more for meds, caffeine, and exercise.