We drink coffee before breakfast and lunch. It is hard to match the allure of coffee's smell. But I also like tea. Lynn used to make a large pitcher of iced tea with several oranges and lemons floating in it. She put a whole cup of sugar in it, too. I have read that pound for pound, tea has more caffeine in it than coffee but that the production process for making coffee extracts more caffeine that the way we make tea does. We used Lipton tea then. It was considered the drink to have during hot weather, which can be hotter in Maryland over longer periods and muggier than we typically get in Wisconsin. I am not sure why iced tea is so widespread as a hot weather drink but it has been a common item during my life, an easy alternative to water for children and adults.
About 2 years ago, Lynn developed a sensitivity to caffeine and has been drinking decaf since. But in small doses, she can tolerate a little caffeine. I run a short distance three times a week and walk a couple miles on those days, too. I like to have a cup of tea on those days, although I can't prove that it energizes me. I like Stash Earl Grey black tea and Stash Irish Breakfast black but my doctor mentioned the supposed health benefits of green tea a couple of years ago. I like green tea and often drink Stash Moroccan Mint. Recently, I discovered Republic of Tea Ginger Turmeric green tea and Lynn likes it, too, along with their Jasmine Jazz green tea.
Steve Levine and Patty Caro showed me that the Bible really does say "He brews" so I make our coffee every morning. I have read that our bodies adjust to caffeine and need more and more of it for a genuine lift or buzz. So, I try to limit our tea making to alternate weekdays.
I like making tea. I enjoy my childish impatience: when will the tea finally get hot? When will the 3 and half minute steep finally be over? The whole operation is good for a jr. Zen student to face his impatience and steep in it. The drama of hot and cold as the cooling ice cubes enter the hot tea, crackling and splitting, reminds me of that Hawaiian volcano that spills lava right into the cool sea.
