The Coffee Drinker's Tea or I Used to Steal My Husbands Coffee!

Hi All~ Quick post today~ Going to make a nice breakfast for the family.

I wanted to share with you a tea I found from Teavana called "My Morning Mate" (If any of you know how to put an sign over the "e" on Mate, PLEASE let me know...my daughter has that same sign and I don't know how to make it in Word!)

Now, even though I've always been a tea drinker, my coffee drinking as increased SIGNIFICANTLY in the last 5 years...the increase has coinsided with the raising of kids, I'm sure that means something.

I like coffee with cream...well, not with...but half...Half coffee, Half cream. I noticed once I was a little embaressed when I pulled up to McDonald's drive through (I'm a tea snob, not a coffee snob), friend in the seat next to me, and ordered 7 creams in my small coffee.

The truth is, that kind of cream, even though it was just once a day, was killing my "watchful" eating plan. Cream is full of fat, and any fat on this short body shows like a beacon!

My husband drinks coffee most of the day. I make his first cup with my tea early in the morning.

Before my tea revolution, I'd gotten to the point in this last year where I'd make my husband's coffee, drink about a third of it, then fill it "in" with more cream before giving it to him...It always tasted so good, before I had to ruin it with sugar, his preference, not mine :)

Then I discovered Mates!

Mates are quite interesting and not technically a 'tea'  in the Chinese sense of the word, "Ch'a" since they don't come from the Camellia Sinensis plant. But it is made from the leaf of a plant and brewed, so "tea" in the Western sense of the word, works for me! The following information is copied from the Teavan website under "Mate" for information and timing sake:

"Mate teas are made from the South American yerba mate plant. Most yerba mate comes from Argentina; at these plantations, the leaves and stems of yerba mate are harvested and then blanched, dried, aged, and finally milled or cut. The final yerba mate tea product contains a natural energy booster. This feel good tea is often coffee lover’s favorite tea since it has the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. The energy effect is similar to that as drinking coffee but without the jitters."

"My Morning Mate" (following description from Teavana)

is a rich and robust caffeine mix of mate, black tea, and red rooibos. A natural energy boost and a healthier alternative to coffee, this morning blend is filled to the brim with sweet cocoa, chocolate and almond bits, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts and coriander rounded off with warm hazelnut and cinnamon. CONTAINS NUTS 

Well, now that tea is my preferred beverage, this tea  has become my anytime I want a coffee 'fix' fix!

I drink it with a bit of milk, not cream~ too heavy for tea~ and no sugar...it is a delightful coffee alternative, and I don't feel in anyway I'm "stepping down" on those occasions where coffee is preferred~ such as dessert or a big Sunday breakfast, where "tea" per sey, just won't do!