Coffee and tea...

[catmogg]

Lets discuss them...What are the pros and cons of drinking them in all their different guises... What about their production...Discuss....

[lavender]

I will be really interested in the answers to this one ,as its something I would of liked to ask. I dont drink coffee, but we do drink tea. I drink a lot of lemon tea. I do like a cup of 'normal' tea but worry about the ethics behind the growing etc.

[Maisiepaisie]

You can buy fairtrade tea and coffee but I stopped drinking both because I want to avoid caffeine. Now I drink rooibus tea or Barleycup. I do occasionaly have a coffee if I'm out with friends sometimes but no more than once a month.

[Herbsman]

Buy fair trade organic tea and coffee, it's good for the conscience and somewhat better for the growers (but not everyone in the production line benefits from fairtrade, just remember that. its not 100% ethical still, but its better than the alternative).

If you're a coffee connoiseur though, you'll lose out on all those un-fairtrade non-organically-grown varieties... I used to love going to whittards and choosing an 8th of a kilo of 5 different coffees from various places around the world every week and tasting them when I got home... it was like being a child in a sweet shop Gave that up though and stick to this horrible fair trade stuff that has actually put me off coffee

[RedWellies]

I used to drink tea as a child but went off it. I've never liked coffee. So now I don't drink either. I don't really like hot drinks (apart from hot chocolate occasionally).

[Agatha]

I drink loads of tea and coffee, although generally less in summer when i drink more water. I have really cut down my caffeine intake lately. I buy plenty of fairtrade tea and coffee (I am a bit of a sucker for a fairtrade label) but what confuses me is that I buy loose leaf tea from places like Atkinson's and Bramah's (tea traders) and they claim to be ethically or resposibily traded but don't carry the fairtrade label.

[Stu]

If I drink coffee I go all funny. I don't like caffeine. I don't like stimulants in general, actually. I think it's a shame that everyone's into these things. Why not drink some healthy fruit juice instead?

[Enchantress]

Fruit juice is too sugary .

[Mr Flibble]

I'm not really a fan of tea, but I seem to have collected a cupboard full of varieties. I like coffee, but am not into stimulants. I don't drink coffee in the evenings, only in the morning/afternoon. For normal tea, earl grey tea, freeze dried arabica and espresso arabica I only buy Clipper fair trade organic or Percol fair trade organic. I prefer hot chocolate, I currently have some Montezumas fair trade organic and some Cocoa Tree fair trade organic. They tend to get used for cocktails and as icecream topping thou and it's just as easy to make hot chocolate using normal chocolate (powder is gross).

[RachelJune]

I must confess to drinking far too much coffee! I know it's bad for me and it gives me terrible migraines sometimes, but I just can't seem to function without it. I gave up caffeine completely for 6 months and just about managed to get by at work. I did feel healthier and not a single headeache or migraine during that time! Then just a few weeks ago, after a particularly stressful day at work I gave in and had a cuppa, then another... Now I'm back to 6-8 cups a day Anyone else here an "addict"???

[Maisiepaisie]

For anyone who wants to give up coffee, why not switch to decaf? Its not totally healthy but better than coffee with caffeine. I think Barleycup is similar to coffee but nicer IMO and contains no caffeine at all.

[Kiran]

Anyone else here an "addict"???

My coffee machine is always on! Would not call myself as an addict, but it helps me stay awake late to study. I consume a lot of coffee. I was on black coffee before, but now I'v switched to white.

I don't have tea much.

[veganbikerboy]

i am a caffeine junkie, bit better than i was, i used to have a pint coffee mug in my old job

[my3labs]

I quit drinking coffee about six months ago, along with soda. I had some caffeine the other day and it really made me uncomfortable. It made me jittery and a bit nauseous. I used to drink a lot of it but now I just can't handle it.

[Wildflower]

Buy fair trade organic tea and coffee, it's good for the conscience and somewhat better for the growers (but not everyone in the production line benefits from fairtrade, just remember that. its not 100% ethical still, but its better than the alternative).

If you're a coffee connoiseur though, you'll lose out on all those un-fairtrade non-organically-grown varieties... I used to love going to whittards and choosing an 8th of a kilo of 5 different coffees from various places around the world every week and tasting them when I got home... it was like being a child in a sweet shop Gave that up though and stick to this horrible fair trade stuff that has actually put me off coffee

What kind of fair trade coffee do you buy?

The kinds I buy here in the US taste far superior to the non-organic/non-fair trade coffee. It is one of the reasons I always buy organic/fair trade - it is much better coffee!

Generally I buy a brand that is locally roasted called Alterra. They have all different kinds of coffee types/blends/roasts - >http://www.alterracoffee.com/store/findacoffee.aspx

I am partial to the African Safari Blend - which is mainly kenyan arabica beans.

I also love Kona coffee (grown in the US, in Hawaii) and Latin American coffees such as mexican and guatamalan.

Another brand I like a bit more than Alterra is called Cafe Fair - http://www.cafefair.com/pages/cf-Caf...Selection.html I am partial to the mexican.

Also, I generally buy my coffee in whole beans, and grind right before making. I use a french press to brew and I think it is fair superior to the drip auto makers. I really enjoy "making" coffee in the morning, the whole process of boiling the water, grinding the beans, etc. is very satisfying for some reason.

I take my coffee with lots of soymilk or soycreamer.

That being said, I am off of coffee at the moment. It really upsets my stomach and lately I am almost doubled over in pain after I drink it. Generally, I am extremely tollerant of eating anything spicy, greasy, acidic, etc - I have never even had heartburn before! But something about coffee burns my stomach something awful...so, i am letting it rest up for a bit before I drink coffee again. it is really hard, it has been 1 week and 1 day and i just want to sit down with a nice cup of coffee and a book and relax. *sigh*

I love lots of warm liquids in the morning. I also like tea, a good earl grey or darjeeling and i also like chai or green tea. I drink my tea w/soymilk. I am off that at the moment too, and am on warmed rice milk with candied ginger or mexican hot chocolate w/soymilk. Not quite the same, and more sugar too.

[Emam]

I'm not really a fan of tea, but I seem to have collected a cupboard full of varieties. I like coffee, but am not into stimulants. I don't drink coffee in the evenings, only in the morning/afternoon. For normal tea, earl grey tea, freeze dried arabica and espresso arabica I only buy Clipper fair trade organic or Percol fair trade organic. I prefer hot chocolate, I currently have some Montezumas fair trade organic and some Cocoa Tree fair trade organic. They tend to get used for cocktails and as icecream topping thou and it's just as easy to make hot chocolate using normal chocolate (powder is gross).

Flibble, how DO you make real hot chocolate? Please tell I am really craving chocolate at the moment in all it's forms and powdered hot chocolate is certainly awful Thank you.

[JustMe]

I like to start the day with lemon tea made from Tea Direct's teabags. About an hour later I have some coffee made from Coffee Direct's decaff. Usually have another lemon tea around midday. Otherwise I drink plain water or juice. Sometimes have Jackson's Green Tea & Lemon Teabags. (Btw, I don't have sugar in tea and like my coffee without "milk" or sugar.)

Hot chocolate? Mix a generous heaped teaspoon of good cocoa powder and a teaspoon of sugar (I buy raw, organic, fair-traded, unbleached sugar) with a little plain soya milk in a beaker. Gently heat almost a beakerful of plain soya milk until it starts to come to a simmer, stirring as it heats up. Pour onto the cocoa mix and stir. Empty it back into the saucepan and whisk to mix thoroughly. Now pour it back into the beaker. Enjoy. If you don't use sugar then sweeten with something else - you'll know what will work with this better than I do. You can also melt dark chocolate and mix with warmed soya milk. Sweeten to taste. If you live within reach of Unicorn Grocery in South Manchester they sell wonderful organic cocoa powder that has lovely chocolatey bits in it. (Strange, as I'm typing they've started playing one of Hot Chocolate's songs on 100.4 Smooth FM.)

I used to drink a lot of coffee - had the shakes when I first gave up the habit and restricted myself to one cup of decaff a day. Gradually the fog cleared, the headaches stopped and I felt so much better. Still enjoy the morning decaff though.

[mn_nurse]

Flibble, how DO you make real hot chocolate? Please tell I am really craving chocolate at the moment in all it's forms and powdered hot chocolate is certainly awful Thank you.

What is wrong with hot chocolate made from powdered cocoa? Yummy! All you need is the cocoa powder, soymilk, vanilla, and evaporated can juice.

[treehugga]

I drink chai mainly.

After 4 pm I drink Rooibos strawberry and cream. It has real freeze dried strawberry bits in it and is delicious and healthy.

I also like bancha macrobiotic tea.

Neither rooibos or banch have caffeine but still give the satisfaction of real tea.

[lozza]

i first started drinking coffee when i was about 10...i wouldnt say i was an addict, but i certainly drank it everyday. but when i didnt have it, it didnt bother me. no headaches, nothing like that.

i LOOOOVE coffee, cos i love the taste, but i try to avoid caffiene now, for my health. i drink herbal teas instead (dont like regular tea, yeuch). or i go for a decaff if i want the coffee taste but not the caffiene.

and when i do buy, it always has to be fairtrade. pref organic as well.

[fiamma]

Anyone else here an "addict"???

I suppose I am in a way, although I try to limit my caffeine intake to one cappuccino in the morning. I have this awesome coffee-bar style machine that froths the milk too, so I have a soya cappuccino, then I have a decaf mid morning. I work from home and am notoriously undisciplined, so this coffee "ritual" does help me get through the times when i don't feel like working. When I don't drink coffee in the mornings I get the most shocking headache, so I don't even try to push through that, even though I know I would probably be better off health wise without it. I love my coffee though, couldn't give it up

[Wildflower]

Flibble, how DO you make real hot chocolate? Please tell I am really craving chocolate at the moment in all it's forms and powdered hot chocolate is certainly awful Thank you.

I don't know what Mr Flibble considers to be "real" hot chocolate, but I make mine from melting chocolate (like a chocolate bar) into hot soymilk.

You can do this with any chocolate I suppose, at the moment I am partial to mexican chocolate like this - > http://www.mexgrocer.com/2544.html

It has a bit of cinnamon and course sugar with dark chocolate. Yum!

If I had a milk steamer, I would definately use that to make hot chocolate as well.

[Herbsman]

Fruit juice is too sugary .

Dilute it?

[Mr Flibble]

I go with wildflower - just use decent quality chocolate. It's usually easier to melt the chocolate with the soya milk or mix melted chocolate with a small amount of hot soya milk before stirring in the rest (never put cold soya milk into melted chocolate). You can use chilli chocolate if you so desire or add liquours like cointreau, kahlua or amaretto.

[Wildflower]

Dilute it?

I like to drink Perrier (sparkling mineral water) with a splash of orange juice or pineapple juice.

[Tigerlily]

I love coffee and tea. My small/overactive/messed up bladder doesn't.

[Gorilla]

i drink one or two cups of coffee nearly every day. i sometimes drink regular tea or herbal tea. i always buy fair trade and organic if i can.

[Benji]

What is the difference between storebought tea, and free trade tea. I for one drink green tea whenever I can. I am not a caffiene junky, although I do drink soda, and redbull on occasion (the taurine does not come from animals).

Also caffiene is a carcinogen. what are the health benefits/ cons of both? anyone know