Did you know that all of my lunchtime poll ideas are taken from things I think about in my real life? Shocking but true. That’s why today’s lunchtime poll is: Coffee or Tea? Both? Neither? Do you make it at home or buy it? I’m only a relatively recent inductee into the Coffee Drinker’s Club. I drank it when I was about 12-13 because I thought it made me cool, and then I laid off any regular consumption for about 15 years. I picked it up again last summer when I was depressed and tired all the time and now…well…I have a pot brewing as I type and I prefer to have some in the morning. Although sometimes I think coffee might just be a vehicle for creamer.
So how about you? Caffeine-addict or Gwyneth Paltrow GOOP-clean? Also, if you make it at home, what brand/type do you like? I’m still trying to find a Usual.
26 replies on “Lunchtime Poll – 2/23”
All of the above. I’ll have days where I’ll survive on black coffees (supplemented by a few extra shots), and weeks where only the faintest of herbal teas will appeal. My body, and her tastes, are, apparently, immune to both ideology and reason. I can be an utter snob about a well-pulled shot, but will happily guzzle down the most horrifically over-brewed truck-stop options.
I became a major coffee addict during my first year of university, so I try to limit my intake these days. I drink tea too, ( raspberry is my favourite, with Earl Grey in second), but coffee is my fave. I prefer Tim Hortons, as it is in my opinion the best, cheap, coffee out there. I will on occasion indukge in this fair-trade local coffee chain but it is expensive, sadly.
Oooooh… I think I need to pick up raspberry tea next time I go to the grocery store.
I drink a LOT of coffee, but I think I am going to try to switch to decaf or none this summer. My boyfriend gave up coffee (/caffeine in general) for health reasons so when we’re together more in the summer, we will both just enjoy tons and tons of tea. Which I also quite like. It is just different, is all.
I’ll drink tea of any kind if it’s put before me, but I NEED coffee. I didn’t start drinking coffee until my mid-20s (so it’s been a decade for me) and I’m up to three small cups (not mugs) in the morning at home and a take-out cup mid-morning if I’m feeling flush. I get a little panicky if there’s no coffee in the morning. It’s kind of sad.
I’ve been a tea-lover since I was a wee art student, but after living with a Cuban for six months I’ve come to LOVE the espresso we brew in our little Bialetti! It’s so strong, but so sweet. Big departure for me, since when I drink coffee it has to be black and when I drink tea it has to be really well marinated.
Psh, I just love hot drinks.
I firmly believe that a cup of tea solves everything especially when accompanied by a digestive biscuit and a good chat with someone that you love.
COFFEE! Tea comes and goes, but coffee is forever. When I was a child my preferred Sunday morning breakfast was crackers dipped in sweetened coffee until soggy. I didn’t get in the habit of actually drinking it until college. I used to just buy it, but now I make it the same way I learned growing up…Cafe Bustelo brewed in a “greca,” which Google informs me is a stove-top espresso maker. For some reason, even though I like the coffee brewed commercially, I can never make a decent pot of coffee using a regular coffee maker. Nowadays I prefer it unsweetened with half-and-half or heavy cream.
First-time commenter, and thrilled that it’s on this topic.
Coffee for the win!
I started drinking coffee in college. Then I drank coffee with my father-in-law when we would visit my husband’s parents. He and I were always the first ones up, and we would sit and drink coffee and read comics or watch westerns until the other family members were up and about. He passed away a few years ago, and I drink coffee with my husband’s step-dad now, but it isn’t the same. He’s one of those people who drinks coffee, scalding hot, extra-strong, and black, from the time he gets up until the time he goes to bed. He thinks I’m a wuss for putting milk and sweetener in mine.
My hubby, however, is a tea freak. He has an entire shelf of it, completely full from front to back of the cabinet, with boxes stacked upon boxes and oodles of canisters. Yet he chides me if I have more than one container of coffee in the cabinet at once.
I don’t think that merely replying “I prefer coffee” would be in any way accurate or fair to our longstanding relationship. Therefore:
COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE!
Team tea! I like all kinds of green tea. Right now I have been drinking Republic of tea mint green tea. Oolong tea is good for those who can’t handle green tea. Plum oolong is so far my favorite. Did you know you can burn up to 70 calories from drinking 3 to 5 cups of green tea?? Yeah! I stock up in bulk…completely worth it!!!
I love coffee, and have ever since that fateful day when my pops made a little cup for me to “try” at a tender age (I must have been no more than 10). I enjoy it every day, any time of day, even in the evenings because it doesn’t seem to keep me from sleep. I’m an annoying person on camping trips, incapacitated and a total grumpy asshole if I can’t scavenge a first morning cup. You’ll have to pry my 15 year old french press from my cold, dead hands.
Tea is ok accompanied by snacks.
My choices are based on cost.
I drink the free coffee at work and pocket the free tea bags.
I drink the free coffee at home (fuck yeah living with the parents) and also drink the free tea from work at home.
This requires one to not be picky about brands, flavors or shame.
But, I can tell you – some of the best coffee is Stumptown and Seattle’s Best. The best tea is sold in giant jars at a local grocery co-op in my old neighborhood. Someday, when I have money, I will buy it all. I will buy it all!
For now – creamer and honey make any harsh cup of joe palatable. fyi.
Team tea! Now that I’m working from home (and learning self-discipline finally, haha), I drink tea all day. I usually get decaf, but it doesn’t really matter because I use the same teabag all day, and most of the caffeine is steeped out into the first cup (tea trivia! Caffeine is one of the first things to steep. To turn a caffeinated tea into decaf, steep it for about a minute, throw out that tea-water, and then make your tea for reals).
Today I’m drinking lemon-ginger green tea.
Mostly I drink it because it’s warm. In the summer, I will steep a bunch of bags in a big glass container, let it cool enough that I can put it into a plastic pitcher, and then keep it in the fridge. I sometimes keep a few of the teabags in there so I can get some super-bitter iced green tea, which is my favorite. It’s super refreshing.
I’m not a caffeine person, and coffee irritates my acid reflux like whoa (seriously, I will be in pain all day if I drink it), so tea is perfect.
Hot cocoa is also awesome.
This was a long and rambly reply.
I don’t do coffee or tea, but I drink Diet Coke all day. It’s kind of a problem.
This is my roommate, too! There’s an ongoing supply at all times.
Yep, I always have a 24 pack at home and a 12 pack at work. We have a vending machine in my office but it only has Diet Pepsi and Cherry Coke Zero. Not the same, but will do in an emergency.
I make coffee at home every morning, though I do agree that in large part I think I like it because I love flavored creamer. I occasionally buy a coffee when I’m out but not often (if I’m going to buy a drink, I like to get frozen chai).
If frozen chai the same as iced chai? Or is it like chai ice cream? And if they don’t make chai ice cream, I think I will invent it and make my millions.
Frozen chai is like a frappucino – it’s all blended up with ice so that it’s smooth and thick and yummy; iced chai is chai over ice.
And I’ve seen chai gelato (and have lusted after it but never bought it because it’s kind of expensive), but I have never seen chai ice cream and would be your #1 customer if/when you invent it. :)
Team neither. Actually, in my office we have packets of hot chocolate that are very nice for cold winter mornings! From what I hear about how dependent people get on coffee, I’m pretty okay having never started. If I need a pickmeup, I go for the Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke instead.
That’s why I avoided coffee so long I didn’t want to become dependent on it(I’m a bit of a control freak). I don’t drink it everyday maybe a couple times a month unless it was finals week.
Team coffee! I have a cup every morning. I have a little stovetop Moka, and I buy either Cafe Bustelo or Melitta to go in it. I prefer Melitta- as it’s less harsh. Most drip coffee makes me really sad0 I like the robust, rich flavor of my stove espresso with sugar and a little vitamin D whole milk.
I really only began drinking iced coffee as a means to stay alert enough to write term papers. I admit I prefer “coffee flavored cream” as my dad calls it to straight up coffee. I’ve also been told I have no taste when it comes coffee since my absolute fav is a vanilla iced coffee from McDs. Starbucks coffee lets too much of that pesky coffee taste get in the way :) I only drink tea once in a while but orange-spice is my go to flavor.
Team Both!
I only really have one cup of coffee in the morning, and even then it is often decaf. It’s more about the ritual for me.
Tea is more of a winter thing for me, and can be at any time of day.
I didn’t drink coffee in college. It wasn’t until late nights and early mornings working for the Democratic Party that I started drinking it. It got really bad for a while, though. I was up to a full pot or more by myself in a day. Eventually, I had to cut it out entirely. When I went grad school, I started drinking it again, but much more moderately. Now, I usually have a cup in the morning when I get to the office, but that’s it. Maybe one later in the day, or a few if I’m writing at a coffeeshop with free refills. (Although, I did that on Monday and could not sleep on Monday night. I am getting old.)
That said, I do enjoy tea. The Mister and I often have a cup of tea in the evening. I like mint teas. Right now, we’re working our way through some Chinese peppermint, whatever that is. It’s not bad. One of my favorites is the Republic of Tea’s orange ginger mint. OM NOM NOM.