Nowadays I sip tea regularly, but you wouldn’t have guessed it if you knew how much I used to love and depend on coffee years ago. Although now I drink matcha instead of coffee, it wasn’t an easy switch. I had been drinking coffee before I even knew what coffee was. I remember ordering a large hazelnut coolata at Dunkin’ Donuts almost every day when I was a kid. Yes, I said a kid. I had no idea they were coffee. It explains all the extra energy I had when I was younger and the reason why I was such a night owl. As you’d probably guess, I became very dependent on coffee, since I had been drinking it for years. I had to have at least one cup a day, sometimes more. Without it, I got headaches and just felt groggy.
I continued drinking one to two cups of coffee a day for years and years. But when I was pregnant, I decided to stop. It was so hard. Although coffee isn’t off limits while pregnant, coffee consumption has a limit. I didn’t want to have to worry if I was drinking too much, and so I gave it up. After my daughter was born, I continued to not drink coffee. It was horrible. I chose not to drink coffee because I was afraid it would affect my milk supply and also, I didn’t want to be that dependent on it again.
When I dropped coffee, I realized how much more free I felt. When I was a regular coffee drinker, if I couldn’t have it first thing in the morning, I’d get really bad headaches and just not feel well. There were some instances where I couldn’t drink coffee like while fasting for bloodwork or if I was going on a long drive. And those days were tough. But when I quit drinking coffee, I didn’t have to worry about that. It was great for a while.
But eventually, I caved. My husband became a coffee connoisseur and getting a whiff of his Starbucks order was enough to do me in. I started drinking coffee again. I felt better at first but a few months in, I got the worst heartburn of my life. It was so bad that I thought I was having a heart attack and ended up at the hospital. It was because I was consuming too much caffeine and also, I usually drank coffee on an empty stomach. I found myself again weening off of coffee. It was a nightmare. But, my heartburn never returned so I decided to stick with it. But I missed the whole routine, and felt like I needed a replacement.
I kept seeing match tea every where I turned. I had tried it once or twice but never really liked it. But I missed having a cup of coffee in the morning and had been searching for an alternative ever since coffee and I broke up. I tried various teas but it wasn’t the same. After reading up on matcha tea and also seeing that one of my favorite tea companies began selling flavored match tea, I decided to give it another try. The flavored aspect is what really drew me in, because plain matcha wasn’t pleasant tasting, to me at least. Also, there are a lot of benefits associated with drinking matcha tea. According to Healthline, match tea is high in antioxidants, can boost brain function, and may prevent certain illness or deceases.
Matcha tea is is made from the entire leaves of green tea plants. It is made by grinding young green tea leaves into a powder. You then simply add the powder to water. You can have it hot or cold and even as a latte. So, I decided to give matcha tea a try. It does contain caffeine so I was a little apprehensive about becoming dependent on caffeine again. But my curiosity got the best of me. So, I ordered mango flavored matcha tea.
The matcha tea I ordered suggested adding 2-5 spoonfuls of matcha powder to 16z of water. Since matcha tea comes in powder form, I decided to find what amount worked for me. I started with one spoonful. This time around I found the flavor to be much better than unflavored matcha tea. I also got a little boost of energy. I tried it for a few months and here’s what happened.
Overall, the switch from coffee to matcha tea has been smooth. I love the taste when flavored, it was easy to prepare, and I could customize my caffeine intake. I still use less than the recommended amount of matcha, about one to two spoonfuls and that seems to be perfect for me. I also like the fact that I don’t feel the crash in the middle of the day that I usually felt when I drank coffee. Also, sometimes I skip days and I don’t get headaches. Perhaps that’s because I only use a small amount, I’m not sure. So, I’d consider the switch a success.
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