Tea Expert Needed

(Jay Patten) #1

I hate coffee. I’ve tried drinking it a hundred times and I just can’t stand it.

I can tolerate tea better than coffee so I’m going to give it a try (I NEED the caffine, lol). My problem is that I know nothing about tea other than it exists and is really good when filled with sugar, lol.

I don’t know anything about green versus black, which has more caffine, which tatses better, etc.

In case anyone is wondering, I am against using artificial sweeteners except for an occasional treat.

I bought some unsweetened Pure Leaf black tea this morning, but it has citric acid. Is that okay? Can I get tea without citric acid? Should I be brewing my own? If so, what brand/ type?

Thanks in advance for your help!

(John B) #2

I was actually looking at this the other day, and found a website that gave a lot of good information. I think basically, black tea will have more caffeine than green, but I do like green tea better (I’m also a coffee drinker) but I’m sure you can find something that suits your needs.

https://www.caffeineinformer.com/the-caffeine-database

(Nancy) #3

Black tea has a stronger taste. And (supposedly) green tea has all sorts of antioxidants and other qualities that are good for you. It has a much milder taste. I switched from black to green 10-12 years ago and had a hard time adjusting to how weak if tasted. But now I love it. I just get Bigelow green teabags which can be found at pretty much all grocery stores and probably Walmart/Target.

(Jay AM) #4

Yerba mate is the one with the most caffeine but, I don’t know much about it flavor wise. Black tea has a more bitter flavor and generally the most caffeine of the regular teas. Oolong is second for caffeine and is still bitter. Green tea is the least bitter and has lower caffeine, same with white tea. Caffeine varies for a lot of reasons White and green would generally taste best without sweeteners. They all taste fine with the natural sweetener stevia. Heavy cream and other cream stuff can cut the bitterness in tea. If you like flavor, you can mix any herbal tea with a regular tea. My favorite is peppermint tea. It tastes good with any of the teas. I also love lemon ginger mixed with green or white specifically. My favorite tea preparation is overnight cold brew. You put tea bags in cool water and into the fridge to steep overnight. You can drink the tea from the jar for 2-3 days. This leaves tea with a milder flavor. Citric acid is fine, it’s probably being used to keep the tea from going cloudy.

(Leslie) #5

The Obesity Code podcast interview with Dr. Fung regarding the release of his new book, The Diabetes Code, had an entire segment about teas.
My husband and I both drink tea. We brew it ourselves because the less processing in our food, the better. I enjoy English breakfast with a little lemon, he prefers Earl Gray with l-glycine as a sweetener.

Brewing tea is extremely easy and inexpensive.
Buy a variety and give it a try.

I hope you find this helpful
Keep calm and keto on

(Jay Patten) #6

Thanks guys!! I think I will try green and white tea… this black tea is a bit too bitter for my taste. I’m guessing that there is really no limit on how much one could/ should drink? I think I will also try the cold brewing, as well. Anything to cut down on the bitterness!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #7

Imma green tea gal. I especially love Tevanna’s Jade Citrus Mint. You can get it at Starbucks. I also brew at home. Any mint green tea is refreshing and good both hot or cold.
I also like chai tea in the evening to wind down. You can do chai latte Keto versions, but I don’t mind the chai tea straight.

Green tea has gotten me through all my IF. That being said, I tried to do a Bullet Proof Tea version and hated it the taste with the MCT oil. If i need to fatten up my drink, I do a Rocket Fuel Latte made with coffee instead. Taste like a vanilla capaccino. Yumm… and I’m not a coffee drinker.

(Crippie) #8

I recently made the switch from coffee to tea myself. Just a couple days ago actually. I have been wanting to work in IF to my routine but had to have my coffee every morning, and couldn’t stand it black so had a BPC instead, which messed with IF. So I switched to English Breakfast Tea with lemon, easily drinkable and gets the job done. Give it a try.

I also have a friend who needs caffeine but cant stand coffee or tea, he always did the zero calorie, zero carb energy drinks. But I convinced him he should cut back on those as well. His solution was some of the caffeinated MiO water enhancers, or he bought bulk liquid caffeine and mixes a little in with his morning protein shake.

#9

Try finding some Hojicha if you can. I really like Mighty Leaf. It’s a toasted green tea I’ve found hits the spot when I want a coffee substitute. It’s not really a high caffeine beverage but I think in general it’s harder to get a good caffeine buzz from tea when compared to coffee anyway.

For me tea is all about variety, I have probably 15 types I rotate between. It’s all about trying a bunch and seeing what you like.

(Liz ) #10

I drink all kinds of teas & coffee too. I think it’s fun to just try new teas & learn as I go. I will mention that I, and some others, get super nauseated drinking black tea straight on an empty stomach due to the tannins. I had remediated that for years by adding collagen but since that’s protein I don’t use it first thing in the morning anymore. I don’t love green tea but jasmine green is my favorite flavor. I do add glycine to take away the bitterness sometimes. I have blended ghee and coconut oils into my black tea the way I do my coffee & it works. Also heavy cream is wonderful in black tea. Anyway, have fun experimenting!

(Trish) #11

A word of caution though. …a lot of teas are not actually tea…they are tisanes and don’t contain actual tea. They are very good and yummy and come in every flavor imaginable. They often contain herbs, spices and fruits and also 2 or 3 carbs per serving which if you drink several cups a day…well…you get the picture. :slight_smile:

(Retta Stephenson) #12

My all time favorite tea place for the last decade or so is The Republic of Tea. And my favorite black tea is Lucky Irish Breakfast tea, with a little splash of cream and a tiny sprinkle of stevia. Mmmmm…

http://www.republicoftea.com/lucky-irish-breakfast/p/v00591/

#13

Ok, so I’m English.
I’m telling you that now because it is important for you to understand my HORROR when I read about English Breakast with lemon. :wink:

I know. You are thinking I’m just a mad English woman. But believe me, if you enjoy that, then you will be bowled over by some of the good ways to have tea. Oolong, lapsang souchong, earl grey, orange pekoe, Assam, Indian, gunpowder, green, white… brewed delicately. Without milk or lemon. Just perfect.

Find an online supplier and order them all. Then drink them from glass or bone china.

Yes. I am suffering major withdrawal. I’m irrational about it. I had to give up caffeine 18 months ago and I haven’t had a cup of it since. Tea, I mean. I love it.

So you just have to drink it for me. In all its delicate, fragrant variety.

I am so jealous.

And please, for me, if you have English Breakfast, have it with milk.

(matt ) #14

I know @siobhan loves tea.

(Jay Patten) #15

Um… thats a lot of tea!!

No wonder you guys got so mad when we threw it in Boston Harbor!! :hugs:

Just kidding, of course. But I will certainly find somewhere local that sells all of that exciting-sounding tea!!

Thank you!

(Rob) #16

Have you tried Roibos (Redbush). Naturally decaf and my favorite…

(Celi Liu) #17

Earl Grey and Jasmine are my favourite teas.
The difference between Black, Green, etc. is how long the tea leaves were oxidized (commonly, it is the same leaves from same plant!) And the flavours are what is mixed in, herbs, oils, etc.
When brewing, each tea requires a different temperature (otherwise you may burn the leaves or alter the flavour) but honestly I don’t think anyone cares (including myself most of the time).

Jasmine is a good transitional tea if you’ve never really been a fan.

(Angie Cummings) #18

There are so many varieties of tea, one thing you may want to do is see if there is a tea shop near you where you can go and sample the teas and buy loose tea in small amounts. There is also a lot of variety within a certain tea style where you may like one from one brand but not another. Just because you tried a black tea once that you didn’t like don’t write it off forever. For example, I drink Twinnings Earl Grey but can’t stand the one from Bigelow.

(Andrea) #19

I second that…Rooibos is a wonderful drink before bed (like right now!)

Another one that’s worth a shot is Lady Grey - it was originally made for the Nordic market who thought Earl Grey was too strong. Ok that’s Lady Grey on this week’s shopping list…!

(Jay AM) #20

I did look through some of my teas and couldn’t find any carbs that high. Noting I don’t have any fruit tea. The highest I have is 0.5 carbs for 1 tea bag. Even regular actual teas have about 0.5g of carbs.

https://www.bigelowtea.com/Special-Pages/Customer-Service/FAQs/Nutritional/Are-there-any-carbohydrates-in-your-teas