Our coffee habit is so universal, we don't give it much thought — which is why taking a week-long hiatus from the beverage is an exercise in mindfulness. Swapping out tea for your usual coffee won't change your life, but it may alter your perspective on your daily routine, and you'll definitely save some money.
For a different kind of morning pick-me-up, try drinking green tea instead. Green tea is a healthy alternative with several varieties that provide subtleties in flavor and sustainable levels of caffeine.
Dragon Well tea in Hangzhou, China.
Brewed green tea on average has 35 to 50 milligrams of caffeine per 8 oz. serving, compared to 95-170 mg for 8 oz. of brewed coffee, or 45-65 mg for a one-ounce shot of espresso.
Though Far Leaves Tea doesn't test for specific caffeine content, you can raise the amount of caffeine by steeping tea for a longer amount of time than is recommended, but this will alter the flavor.
Here are seven suggestions—one for each day of the week:
Matcha Sencha
A blend of raw, green Japanese sencha and matcha powder, this bright-green tea will enliven you with its bright color and relatively high caffeine content. Because matcha is made of powdered whole tea leaves, it contains more caffeine than regular brewed green tea.
Hojicha
Hojicha — Japanese charcoal-roasted bancha tea — has rich notes of caramel, walnut and charcoal.
Ohayo
If you don't love the flavor of coffee, try ohayo, a blend of hojicha with nutty chicory root that was specifically created to be a coffee replacement. Many drinkers say it offers hearty flavor without the bitterness and high acid associated with coffee.
Dragon Well
Pan-fired Dragon Well from Hangzhou, China "stays the king of green tea for me, with its subtle taste, refreshing flavor, and jade-like color," reports one of our customers.
Genmaicha
Sourced from Kyushu, Japan, genmaicha is blended with popped rice to produce a nutty, malty cup that brews in just 60 seconds, which means more time for contemplation than a trip to that Corporate Coffee Chain can offer.
Bi Luo Chun
Grown on a plantation near Tai Lake in Suzhou, Jiangsu, the hand-twisted leaves of Bi Luo Chun tea unfurl in hot water, evoking the beauty of spring and energizing, vegetal hints.
Dragon Blossom
Dragon Blossom is about as far from a cup of coffee as you can get, and is much more visually refreshing. Blending green tea, chrysanthemum blossoms, and “super food” goji berries, this brew dances in your cup and may help put an extra spring in your step.
After your week of green tea goodness, you might go back to your regular cup of Joe — and that’s fine — but maybe, the brewing and imbibing of these vibrant varieties will have set you on a different path.