Even as a self-proclaimed tea aficionado, I’ll admit that I love a cup of coffee every now and then. At the end of the day, though, the benefits of tea always draw me back. Different kinds of tea have been proven to make skin brighter, reduce stress, curb appetite, prevent cancer and disease, help with weight loss, lower cholesterol and even prevent aging (#foreveryoung).
White Tea from Baked and Wired. Photo by Scott Harrington.
There are a variety of tea options around campus and in Georgetown that you can try out, and tons of reasons to try them. Drinking straight tea is tastier than drinking bitter black coffee, and you can save calories by not adding the sugar and cream coffee usually needs. Though tea generally has less caffeine than coffee, black tea packs a punch in the caffeine department. But our bodies don’t need that much caffeine on a daily basis anyways! Cutting back on caffeine actually lowers your body’s resistance to it, so when you really need that espresso it is all the more effective. Hot tea drinks, and even fancier teas like chai tea, also tend to be less expensive than their coffee counterparts across the board.
Here’s a handy chart from Choice Teas that explains how caffeine content changes with tea:
| Beverage | Caffeine Per 8 oz Cup |
| White Tea | 30-55 mg |
| Green Tea | 35-70 mg |
| Oolong Tea | 50-75 mg |
| Black Tea | 60-90 mg |
| Coffee |
150-200 mg
|
Check out what Spoon thinks you should be sipping on this spring!
With a Corp station only feet away from wherever you are on campus, these tea drinks are what you should be reaching for.
- Pygmalion (Earl Grey with steamed soy and vanilla. Tip: Not a fan of Earl Grey? Ask them to swap it for another flavor.)
- Rainbow Fish (raspberry iced jasmine green tea)
- Mango Ceylon (tea bag)
Courtesy of Fandhyeka
While Starbucks has become America’s trusted coffee resource, the popular chain has equally delectable teas.
- Chocolate Chai Tea Latte
- “Awaken” tea (for an extra caffeine boost)
- Shaken Iced Green Tea Lemonade
Try exploring off-campus hot spots too. When heading over for your morning Saxby’s oatmeal, try pairing it with one of these teas.
- Cinnamon Chai Tea Latte
- Saxby’s also serves up tea by the bag from Two Leaves. This company makes their tea bags out of whole leaves, giving each drink a fuller and more complex flavor.
- Cinnamon Chai Tea Latte from Saxby’s. Photo by Scott Harrington.
Baked and Wired has almost as many selections of tea as they do cupcakes, so you can’t go wrong with your tea choice here.
- Photo by Scott Harrington.