Coffee Alternatives

Black Tea like it cousin green tea, it’s also made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis. It is however more oxidized than oolong, green and white teas. Generally, black tea has a stronger flavor and contains more caffeine. The flavor remains for several years whereas Green tea generally turns bland within a year.

Black tea can be served with milk, cream, sugar and honey. It can also be mixed with citrus fruits such as lemon or orange, their rinds and spices such as cinnamon. Even though these concoctions can appear to be herbal teas, they are not. Herbal teas do not contain caffeine.

Many blends have been concocted to alter the taste. Some include:

• English Breakfast – being full-bodied and rich in flavor, this blend is best suited with milk and sugar or honey
• Earl Grey – blended with bergamot oil. Begamot is a citrus fruit with a pleasant fragrance with a slightly sour yet bitter taste.
• Irish Breakfast – containing a blend of several black teas. It’s a strong, full bodied and malty brew. Can be consumed straight, blended with milk, lemon or sugar.
• Chai or Masala Chai – a combination of black tea with spices, milk and sugar or honey.
• Ceylon – has a crisp citrusy aroma.

Benefits of black tea:

• In patients with coronary artery disease, it reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction.
• Decrease in cardiovascular disease events

Disadvantages of black tea:

• Adding milk inhibits vascular protective effects of black tea.