Ever since I graduated college, I drank tea in the morning upon waking up. It’s not that during college I was a coffee drinker, because that wasn’t the case either. I just never really enjoyed coffee. It wasn’t until I started working and got involved with theater once again that I would drink coffee and even then it’s only certain flavors. It’s still extremely rare for me to down a cup of coffee.

I guess I’m just not a coffee person, no matter how hard I want to be.

My love of tea has been a steady one. It is now part of my routine. I wake up and immediately fill the teapot with water and bring it to a boil. While it’s heating, I reach for my mug in the cabinet, place a teabag inside it, and wait for teapot to whirl with steam. Once it’s calling to me, I pour the hot liquid over the tea bag, cover it with my cup lid, and let the black tea steep for six or seven minutes. Yes, that long! I like it strong.

Depending on my mood, I’ll add some stevia or some honey, especially if I have a sore throat. But most mornings, I drink it black. Adding sweeteners to my tea is even more of a rare occurrence since last summer. That’s when I started cutting out excess sugar and processed foods.

On a related note, I do sometimes drink herbal tea as well. But this is rarely done in the morning. I tend to save the herbals for the evenings or in the afternoon on a snowy or rainy day. My herbal tea choices often coincide with the season: fruitier flavors in the summer; warmer, spice-flavored (like apple cinnamon) ones in the fall. Peppermint in the winter. These are almost never consumed with milk or an added sweetener. I find that adding to these teas overpowers the natural flavor of the herbals or the overall flavor it is trying to convey. Lately I’ve found that I’m drinking more dessert flavored teas at night. Red Rose makes some amazing teas that taste just like a blueberry muffin or a slice of lemon cake. They may quell your “need” for something sweet after dinner. You can find them on Amazon here.

Anyway, I digress…

What is your drink of choice in the morning? Are you more of a coffee person?