Have you ever heard the saying that it takes 21 days to break a habit? I’m not sure if that’s true, but I plan to find out. I, a coffee girl, am going to go 21 days where I substitute coffee for tea, and, so you can follow along in my journey, I will write a couple of thoughts down each day. Here we go!
Day 1: Wahhhhhhh I want coffee. *Brews tea* Hmm smells good….wahhhhhhhhhh doesn’t taste like coffee!
Day 2: Okay, okay, excited for green tea this morning. And bonus! Since it’s just water, I can have as many cups as I want!
Day 3: Raspberry tea is not for me.
Day 4: Uh oh, really want coffee…craving coffee…need to distract myself from coffee. Don’t really feel like tea. What’s a good alternative…hmm…HOT CHOCOLATE.
(Not sure if hot chocolate in place of coffee is the healthiest alternative but it reeeaaaallllyyyy hit the spot this morning. Christmas in September!)
Day 5: So, I’m trying to resist the temptation to go for the PSL. Luckily, the PSL costs money and making tea in my room does not so that helps reduce the urge. Chose Hot Cinnamon Spice tea as an alternative — excellent choice. Highly recommend. Mmhmmm.
Day 6: Pretty good today, had 3 cups☺
Day 7: Fun Fact: a cup of black tea has roughly the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Upon hearing that, I basically inhaled a cup of black tea this morning on my way to class, hoping for a coffee-like jolt of energy. Didn’t happen. Nearly fell asleep in class. LIES.
Day 8: Black tea was on point this morning.
Day 9: I kind of feel like tea is something you savor slowly, instead of gulping it down for the caffeine like coffee. Soooooooo I was late for class this morning because of my tea. Whoops
Day 10: Today I took my tea conversion to a whole new level! Went to a tea shop in Squirrel Hill (shout out to Dobra Tea) where they had a huge menu just of teas! My friend and I talked for hours over teas from China which were brewed right in front of us. Definitely a perk of being a tea person.
Day 11: Tea and homework. Tea was good, homework was homework.
Day 12: Surprised how I’m already used to tea. Couldn’t have my morning tea ‘cause I slept over a friend’s, and I’m really feeling the loss of my tea, just like I didn’t use to be the same person without my morning coffee. Funny how fast that shift can happen.
Day 13: Three cups today! I love how I can switch kinds and flavors to match my mood. I wanted a breakfast tea in the morning as I was eating breakfast. Later I wanted a little something with a kick because I was still feeling sleepy, so I had a black tea with cinnamon in it, and, at night, as I got under my blankets and grabbed my laptop to study, I cozied up to green tea.
Day 14: After a morning workout I have chocolate milk, but I also want my caffeine, so I make my black tea. The combination, if you could not foresee this, is weird.
Day 15: I am so tired today for some reason that the tea has no effect on me whatsoever. Craving something strong like espresso. Grr.
Day 16: Only halfway done when I need to dash off to class. On other days I’ve chugged it, but I must admit that is far from a pleasurable experience. Dumped it down the sink instead, leaving the tea bag in the mug so my room is aromatic hehe.
Day 17: Sipping tea while taking an important phone call…learning that I kind of slurp my tea…
Day 18: Tea is good. Having slow sips on a weekend day with no class to rush off to reminds me how tea is supposed to be enjoyed.
Day 19: Was going through tea withdrawal after I decided to start my day off with orange juice. Went to one coffee cart — closed. Went to a second coffee cart — closed. It’s a sad day.
Day 20: Supposed to make a phone call…don’t want to make a phone call…use finishing my tea as my excuse for delay.
Day 21: So today I was hardcore craving coffee. What do you know, it’s my last day of my little challenge and it’s NATIONAL COFFEE DAY for goodness’ sake. No, I am not un-addicted to coffee, because when I was supposed to be doing homework I was having visions of caramel macchiatos and pumpkin spice lattes. But I will say one thing — I MADE IT.
So, hopefully my medal for becoming a tea person is in the mail. But really, there are reasons to join me in switching. Here are a few I found:
According to the Harvard University, tea contains substances linked to a lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
One cup of tea can provide up to five times the antioxidants of any single fruit or vegetable, according to Fitness Magazine.
And Doctor Oz talks about the benefits of specific teas, such as oolong tea for weight loss or passionflower tea for anxiety (I might just try that next!).
Anyway, no pressure, but I had fun challenging myself to become a tea person! I made all my tea in my dorm, so I definitely saved money by not going to Starbucks or Dunkin, I definitely saved calories, and, because a lot of the tea I was drinking wasn’t caffeinated, I probably weakened my dependency on caffeine. I’d call that an all-around success.