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Interesting. At my peak caffeine addiction, I was drinking 8 cans of Coke DAILY and still getting 7-8 hrs sleep a night.
I average about 3 cans a day of Coke Zero these days and still sleep pretty well (about 6.5 hours a night). Reading how little caffeine affects some of you should make me feel like a freak, but it doesn't
I get terrible caffeine withdrawal symptoms which leads me to think that caffeine cannot be good for me. How could something that was good for you cause the body to withdraw so badly?
@Hozan said:
I get terrible caffeine withdrawal symptoms which leads me to think that caffeine cannot be good for me. How could something that was good for you cause the body to withdraw so badly?
Good news coffee drinkers according to this article. I would say that decaf sounds dodgy alright considering there are chemicals added to remove caffeine from beans. Those chemicals are probably not good for us. Summary of this article says benefits of coffee outweigh negative effects. Still going ahead with with caffeine detox personally but these articles are probably good news for coffee drinkers.
Everyone is different with regards to everything we put in our bodies. Some people are sensitive to caffeine others are not. And once you build up a tolerance it's like any other drug-it will cease to impact you (give you an energy boost) yet you still have to drink it to feel normal otherwise you start to feel off, tired, headachey etc. Not everyone, of course, but many people. If you discover caffeine isn't good for you then don't use it. BUT that doesn't mean it is equally bad for everyone else. Which is why you can find studies that prove both sides. Caffeine can offer a boost to your body and mind, but most of the benefit comes from the oils in the beans. So be careful not to confuse benefits of coffee with benefits of caffeine. Many of the measureable benefits of the coffee itself are still measurable with decaf. Just not the benefits of caffeine, of course.
I love tea and drink several cups a day (herbal and otherwise, I have like 40 types of tea, lol). Tulsi Rose and lavender are my favorites. I grow my own lavender just to make tea. I have one cup of coffee every morning, and enjoy the creaminess of it first thing in the morning. I enjoy the routine of making it (I use whole bean and a french press) and of sitting with my son while we each enjoy a cup. But it doesn't affect me to go days without it either, as I don't drink pop or other caffeine sources regularly enough. As soon as I jump to 2-3 cups a day of coffee, I get gross feeling, jittery, and then I get headaches when I stop. So I keep it to one because that is what works for my body. Others have different experiences.
I mostly drink loose leaf tea, but my hubby got this collection of teas for me for Valentine's Day and they make me laugh so I enjoy them every day.
Green tea, especially matcha green tea, are excellent for your health.
Matcha is by far the beverage with the highest coffeine content there is, but is also a powerful antioxidant storehouse...
Buddhist monks used matcha green tea as a meditation aid.
@DhammaDragon said:
Green tea, especially matcha green tea, are excellent for your health.
Matcha is by far the beverage with the highest coffeine content there is, but is also a powerful antioxidant storehouse...
Buddhist monks used matcha green tea as a meditation aid.
My daughter LOVES green matcha tea. She even bought a cinnamon one to try to get me to drink it. I'm not totally blown away by it, but I try to drink one with her when she offers.
Matcha, green tea in general, is an acquired taste, @dhammachick.
I don't think anyone really appreciates either from the start.
Though matcha lattes really grow into you more easily...
@DhammaDragon said:
Matcha, green tea in general, is an acquired taste, @dhammachick.
I don't think anyone really appreciates either from the start.
Though matcha lattes really grow into you more easily...
I can relate, I have tried it. Although very good for me just wasn't my bag.
Decaf versions of green tea and coffee strip the original of most of its antioxidants and vital nutrients, so they should be used as a last resort, in my opinion.
Hi @DhammaDragon am in the process of weaning off coffee. From your experience can the caffeine in green tea cause withdrawal symptoms also. I am in the process of becoming a tea drinker only and saying goodbye to coffee.
They say that the theine in green tea -especially matcha- is not the sort that causes jitters and withdrawal symptoms, @Hozan.
And honestly, the benefits of including green tea in your life far surpass the inconveniences of coffeine intake, so I'd go for it without thinking.
I am a lost green tea junkie
@DhammaDragon very interested in the health benefits of matcha green tea. It seems much more paste-like . What way would you prepare it as a hot drink?
@Fosdick said:
Anyone have an opinion on the use of Stevia as a sweetener?
I don't mind stevia in tea, use half as much as you would normally for sugar. I'm not a big sugar fan, but I do like my tea lightly sweetened. It's a better alternative than artificial sweetners.
A friend of ours who runs a coffee shop makes matcha lemonade in the summer. It is a gift from the gods! So amazing. @Hozan there are a million good tea companies out there. I like Heavenly Teas (online) and they have a huge variety. I don't know if they are all loose tea or not, i prefer loose tea and just use a variety of fun tea diffusers. I cannot get loose leaf here so I have to buy online. If you get into herbal teas at all, you can make a lot of your own, which is a lot of fun. I make raspberry leaf tea in the fall when my berries are done, you just dehydrate the leaves. You can make dandelion tea, chamomile, cedar, lavender, all sorts of things. even something like an aerogarden can let you grow some tea plants in your home and enjoy them. not everyone likes that kind of stuff, I just find it fun, lol.
@Hozan: it's true that there are very good brands out there.
For matcha powder, I use some German drugstore brands which trade in Japanese organic brands at a cheap price.
I usually mix a tiny teaspoon of matcha powder in hot but not boiling water.
Boiling water burns green tea. It should never exceed 80 degrees Celsius.
I mix it with a latte macchiato tiny hand mixer.
Another way my son and hubby enjoy matcha is mixing it with fresh orange juice, also mixing it with the latte macchiato mixer.
You get an instant, healthy energy drink as potent as your average Red Bull, except much healthier.
You can add maca and wheatgrass to make it more wholesome.
Yogi teas and Pukkha have some flavours which combine 2% matcha with lemon or ginseng.
I like those very much.
Indeed, knowing how to make tea is so important! For so long I made green tea like herbal teas. No go, it was so bitter and I couldn't understand why everyone loved it. Turned out the water cannot be boiling. My tea experience improved vastly when I received a guide for how long to steep and what temp to do so at for the different types of tea. Game changer!
Boil fresh water and leave in kettle for two to three minutes, otherwise you burn the tea. Ay karamba!
Use tea pot even for bag
Pour a few sips into a large cup/mug, this way you can drink tepid tea - totally different taste to hot tea
Went for tea and freshly baked scones this afternoon ... however that is just 'sheer luxury' ...
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I remember on Dartmoor there is an inn callled the Two Bridges... they bake their own scones for afternoon tea and they are huge and incredibly delicious. I remember being amazed at the size of those scones on the very sunny afternoon I spent there.
Thanks everyone for the advice and input here. I am no longer a coffee drinker and a complete convert to Green Tea. Cant believe green tea has been absent in my life up until now....must head off now and make up for lost time...boiled water has cooled to 80 degrees....time for a cup....cheers everybody....
Really interesting chat. I'm a coffee lover and addict (the love is for good coffee at home; the addiction, from 20 cent espressos out of a machine at work). Anyways I was given a bag of tea seeds a while ago in Japan, and I'm trying to grow them. Has anyone on here ever tried to grow tea? Any advice? I'm based in the south of France.
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@roddy, They should do well, but keep them humid, not wet. The tea plant is in the same family as the commercial Camelia; it likes acid soil, so research 'camelia cultivation/propagation' and go from there.
I mostly drink Oolong tea of a morning and Green tea/Gunpowder tea during the day...(the English term "gunpowder" may stem from the Mandarin Chinese phrase for "freshly brewed", gāng pào de , which sounds like "gunpowder) "Link"
This is pomegranate flavoured Oolong tea... my favourite tea ...at the moment
Comments
Interesting. At my peak caffeine addiction, I was drinking 8 cans of Coke DAILY and still getting 7-8 hrs sleep a night.
I average about 3 cans a day of Coke Zero these days and still sleep pretty well (about 6.5 hours a night). Reading how little caffeine affects some of you should make me feel like a freak, but it doesn't
I get terrible caffeine withdrawal symptoms which leads me to think that caffeine cannot be good for me. How could something that was good for you cause the body to withdraw so badly?
https://www.caffeineinformer.com/harmful-effects-of-caffeine
https://www.caffeineinformer.com/top-10-caffeine-health-benefits
Balanced reporting. Harmful vs Beneficial effects of caffeine.
So did I. Which is why I never quit it
https://authoritynutrition.com/coffee-good-or-bad/
Good news coffee drinkers according to this article. I would say that decaf sounds dodgy alright considering there are chemicals added to remove caffeine from beans. Those chemicals are probably not good for us. Summary of this article says benefits of coffee outweigh negative effects. Still going ahead with with caffeine detox personally but these articles are probably good news for coffee drinkers.
The Middle Way is probably what I should seek.
Everyone is different with regards to everything we put in our bodies. Some people are sensitive to caffeine others are not. And once you build up a tolerance it's like any other drug-it will cease to impact you (give you an energy boost) yet you still have to drink it to feel normal otherwise you start to feel off, tired, headachey etc. Not everyone, of course, but many people. If you discover caffeine isn't good for you then don't use it. BUT that doesn't mean it is equally bad for everyone else. Which is why you can find studies that prove both sides. Caffeine can offer a boost to your body and mind, but most of the benefit comes from the oils in the beans. So be careful not to confuse benefits of coffee with benefits of caffeine. Many of the measureable benefits of the coffee itself are still measurable with decaf. Just not the benefits of caffeine, of course.
I love tea and drink several cups a day (herbal and otherwise, I have like 40 types of tea, lol). Tulsi Rose and lavender are my favorites. I grow my own lavender just to make tea. I have one cup of coffee every morning, and enjoy the creaminess of it first thing in the morning. I enjoy the routine of making it (I use whole bean and a french press) and of sitting with my son while we each enjoy a cup. But it doesn't affect me to go days without it either, as I don't drink pop or other caffeine sources regularly enough. As soon as I jump to 2-3 cups a day of coffee, I get gross feeling, jittery, and then I get headaches when I stop. So I keep it to one because that is what works for my body. Others have different experiences.
I mostly drink loose leaf tea, but my hubby got this collection of teas for me for Valentine's Day and they make me laugh so I enjoy them every day.
Hey @karasti . Thanks for the great post! Very informative! Seems like 2 coffees a day is enough for me to get weaning off headaches
Or coffee with cinnamon and a bit of cream, with or without some cocoa powder.
Green tea, especially matcha green tea, are excellent for your health.
Matcha is by far the beverage with the highest coffeine content there is, but is also a powerful antioxidant storehouse...
Buddhist monks used matcha green tea as a meditation aid.
My daughter LOVES green matcha tea. She even bought a cinnamon one to try to get me to drink it. I'm not totally blown away by it, but I try to drink one with her when she offers.
Matcha, green tea in general, is an acquired taste, @dhammachick.
I don't think anyone really appreciates either from the start.
Though matcha lattes really grow into you more easily...
I can relate, I have tried it. Although very good for me just wasn't my bag.
Decaf versions of green tea and coffee strip the original of most of its antioxidants and vital nutrients, so they should be used as a last resort, in my opinion.
Hi @DhammaDragon am in the process of weaning off coffee. From your experience can the caffeine in green tea cause withdrawal symptoms also. I am in the process of becoming a tea drinker only and saying goodbye to coffee.
They say that the theine in green tea -especially matcha- is not the sort that causes jitters and withdrawal symptoms, @Hozan.
And honestly, the benefits of including green tea in your life far surpass the inconveniences of coffeine intake, so I'd go for it without thinking.
I am a lost green tea junkie
@DhammaDragon thank you! I will go for it !! Any green teas you especially recommend?
They have to be green, and preferably, tea.....
@federica LOL!!!
@DhammaDragon very interested in the health benefits of matcha green tea. It seems much more paste-like . What way would you prepare it as a hot drink?
I don't mind stevia in tea, use half as much as you would normally for sugar. I'm not a big sugar fan, but I do like my tea lightly sweetened. It's a better alternative than artificial sweetners.
A friend of ours who runs a coffee shop makes matcha lemonade in the summer. It is a gift from the gods! So amazing.
@Hozan there are a million good tea companies out there. I like Heavenly Teas (online) and they have a huge variety. I don't know if they are all loose tea or not, i prefer loose tea and just use a variety of fun tea diffusers. I cannot get loose leaf here so I have to buy online. If you get into herbal teas at all, you can make a lot of your own, which is a lot of fun. I make raspberry leaf tea in the fall when my berries are done, you just dehydrate the leaves. You can make dandelion tea, chamomile, cedar, lavender, all sorts of things. even something like an aerogarden can let you grow some tea plants in your home and enjoy them. not everyone likes that kind of stuff, I just find it fun, lol.
Thanks @karasti . That sounds great. Definitely something I would like to try!
@Hozan: it's true that there are very good brands out there.
For matcha powder, I use some German drugstore brands which trade in Japanese organic brands at a cheap price.
I usually mix a tiny teaspoon of matcha powder in hot but not boiling water.
Boiling water burns green tea. It should never exceed 80 degrees Celsius.
I mix it with a latte macchiato tiny hand mixer.
Another way my son and hubby enjoy matcha is mixing it with fresh orange juice, also mixing it with the latte macchiato mixer.
You get an instant, healthy energy drink as potent as your average Red Bull, except much healthier.
You can add maca and wheatgrass to make it more wholesome.
Yogi teas and Pukkha have some flavours which combine 2% matcha with lemon or ginseng.
I like those very much.
Thank you @DhammaDragon !!!
Indeed, knowing how to make tea is so important! For so long I made green tea like herbal teas. No go, it was so bitter and I couldn't understand why everyone loved it. Turned out the water cannot be boiling. My tea experience improved vastly when I received a guide for how long to steep and what temp to do so at for the different types of tea. Game changer!
Its a great lesson in mindfulness too. Making the tea and drinking it is zen
Scrap that lengthy coffee weaning plan. Had coffee Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Over withdrawal now. Im done. Goodbye coffee. Hello Green Tea.
Yum! Ginseng = adaptogen
Finally learning about green tea ...
Tips:
Went for tea and freshly baked scones this afternoon ... however that is just 'sheer luxury' ...
I remember on Dartmoor there is an inn callled the Two Bridges... they bake their own scones for afternoon tea and they are huge and incredibly delicious. I remember being amazed at the size of those scones on the very sunny afternoon I spent there.
This mornings brew!
Why did the shrimp go pink?
Because the sea wee'd.
My cup of sea wee was a good start to the day....
Bleedin' hippies. How abart a strong cup of Rosy Lee wiv the tea-bag left in an' six sugars innit?
Thanks everyone for the advice and input here. I am no longer a coffee drinker and a complete convert to Green Tea. Cant believe green tea has been absent in my life up until now....must head off now and make up for lost time...boiled water has cooled to 80 degrees....time for a cup....cheers everybody....
I drink Everything with moderation as long as it does not messes with the fifth precept
Really interesting chat. I'm a coffee lover and addict (the love is for good coffee at home; the addiction, from 20 cent espressos out of a machine at work). Anyways I was given a bag of tea seeds a while ago in Japan, and I'm trying to grow them. Has anyone on here ever tried to grow tea? Any advice? I'm based in the south of France.
@roddy, They should do well, but keep them humid, not wet. The tea plant is in the same family as the commercial Camelia; it likes acid soil, so research 'camelia cultivation/propagation' and go from there.
Skeptically surprised at the "Dirty Chai Latte". A shot of espresso in a masala chai latte is one very interesting combination. Once in awhile.
I lived in France for 7 years...in Haute-Saône, quite near Besançon....
Loose leaf gunpowder green tea! Boom! Love it!
I have 2-3 cups of coffee in the morning, then it's tea and water for the rest of the day.
The coffee snaps me out of the fog of my meds and the actions of baby twins all night.
I stopped drinking coffee many moons ago ...
I mostly drink Oolong tea of a morning and Green tea/Gunpowder tea during the day...(the English term "gunpowder" may stem from the Mandarin Chinese phrase for "freshly brewed", gāng pào de , which sounds like "gunpowder) "Link"
This is pomegranate flavoured Oolong tea... my favourite tea ...at the moment
As the leaf unravels in the teapot, so does the mind in meditation...