[Landis]

Good morning attractive people,
 
I am in need of a good pick-me-up in the morning and can't have coffee any more due to my gallstones. I hadn't had coffee in two years until a few weeks ago where I decided to try a cup, which had a negative impact of the toilet kind (being the reason why I had to give it up in the first place), and I'm really starting to bum out as waking up is just not easy.
 
Tea seemed like a good alternative and some quick internet research showed that black teas seem to have the most caffeine content. I'm curious whether it will have the same impact on my body that coffee now has (nausea, diarrhea, indigestion etc.). Now then, I've found some hobby websites surrounding loose leaf tea, which seems like too much of a chore to make at the moment, so what would be a decent alternative in the bag form to ease me into this hobby? My experience of tea has only been very light teas with little or no caffeine (green, jasmine and some other stuff that tasted pretty) and I had not noticed a digestive distress signal.
 
If it helps the suggestions, I was more of a TIm Hortons double/double kind of guy before and would only stand for black when it was a nice flavourful and full-bodied roast of deliciousness.
 
Thanks for any input!

 

[mark2410]

well id think twinings web site would be a good start but personally im a huge fan of earl gray

 

[grokit]

Tea-Fi

 

[Omega]

Some coffees have quite high acid content.  It could be that was causing the irritable bowels as much or more than the caffeine.  When you start on the tea, try drinking it with some accompanying food, something with some fiber (whole fruit, toast, grains)!
 
Loose leaf tea is what you want...don't worry, it is easy!  Tea is graded by the quality of leaf, and valued by the quality and rarity.  When you buy a teabag, you are likely to get "dust" in the bag that is very low-quality crushed tea leftovers.  This dust tends to dissolve rather than extract, oxidizes/loses flavor quickly, and generally tastes different (in my opinion, not good).  Good loose leaf tea is sold by the ounce (or 2 oz.) and comes in a sealed (and maybe nitrogen-flushed) container to preserve freshness. When you steep it correctly, the flavor extracts into the hot water and leaves the unsavory bits behind, undissolved, in the leaf.
 
Steeping your own loose leaf tea need not be a chore.  We make at least 3-4 cups daily, using a Perfect Tea Maker from Teavana (any similar filter-bottom pot works, and there are cheaper/better than the Teavana one, or a french press works in a pinch!).  Easy: tea leaves go in, hot water goes in, wait 2-5 minutes, drain into cup, done!  You can even transfer it into a to-go mug without mess.  And you can easily get 2-3 steepings out of a batch of tea leaves.  Gourmet tea isn't expensive if you ignore all the "must use a fancy hand-painted tea pot from the tomb of the golden dragon" nonsense...an ounce of tea will make MANY cups.
 
Still, I have found when working "corporate" that having a filter-bottom Perfect Tea Maker is inconvenient when I have access to a coffee machine (for hot water) but not a sink (to rinse out the old leaves/residue from the filter).  In those cases, the better teabags work well: Two Leaves and a Bud and Mighty Leaf are both good IMO, but a little pricey.  Or you can always buy loose leaf and drop some leaves into a disposable filter bag.
 
I suggest you start with some decent Oolong...you can get a good robust, nutty flavor that might be more satisfying coming from the coffee world, while maintaining some caffeine content.  I find tea more interesting than coffee by far, but the flavors are more delicate.

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Some coffees have quite high acid content.  It could be that was causing the irritable bowels as much or more than the caffeine.  When you start on the tea, try drinking it with some accompanying food, something with some fiber (whole fruit, toast, grains)!
 
Loose leaf tea is what you want...don't worry, it is easy!  Tea is graded by the quality of leaf, and valued by the quality and rarity.  When you buy a teabag, you are likely to get "dust" in the bag that is very low-quality crushed tea leftovers.  This dust tends to dissolve rather than extract, oxidizes/loses flavor quickly, and generally tastes different (in my opinion, not good).  Good loose leaf tea is sold by the ounce (or 2 oz.) and comes in a sealed (and maybe nitrogen-flushed) container to preserve freshness. When you steep it correctly, the flavor extracts into the hot water and leaves the unsavory bits behind, undissolved, in the leaf.
 
Steeping your own loose leaf tea need not be a chore.  We make at least 3-4 cups daily, using a Perfect Tea Maker from Teavana (any similar filter-bottom pot works, and there are cheaper/better than the Teavana one, or a french press works in a pinch!).  Easy: tea leaves go in, hot water goes in, wait 2-5 minutes, drain into cup, done!  You can even transfer it into a to-go mug without mess.  And you can easily get 2-3 steepings out of a batch of tea leaves.  Gourmet tea isn't expensive if you ignore all the "must use a fancy hand-painted tea pot from the tomb of the golden dragon" nonsense...an ounce of tea will make MANY cups.
 
Still, I have found when working "corporate" that having a filter-bottom Perfect Tea Maker is inconvenient when I have access to a coffee machine (for hot water) but not a sink (to rinse out the old leaves/residue from the filter).  In those cases, the better teabags work well: Two Leaves and a Bud and Mighty Leaf are both good IMO, but a little pricey.  Or you can always buy loose leaf and drop some leaves into a disposable filter bag.
 
I suggest you start with some decent Oolong...you can get a good robust, nutty flavor that might be more satisfying coming from the coffee world, while maintaining some caffeine content.  I find tea more interesting than coffee by far, but the flavors are more delicate.

 

Aye, it was most likely the high acidity (I had ulcers around the same time as the gallstones were found).
 
By all means, loose leaf did sound like the way to go, but I'm going to start off bag as it requires less searching and less of a commitment until I find that I'm not negatively affected by the teas. Thanks for the input, very informative!


 
Quote:

Tea-Fi

Oooooo, thanks! I tried searching for a good tea thread, but the search feature let me know that it wasn't in a helping mood.

 

[moriez]

I'd recommend visiting a local shop or two. They have a grand variety and probably the shop-assisant can help you with your specific needs. You might want to try something organic/herbal perhaps.

 

[sanakaku]

Bad to hear that Landis,
 
 
Anyways just like Moriez added just visit some tea shop and check whats best for you, i get my tea supply in Don Mills In a Chinese Supermarket,from there i can give direction ping me!. and its great everything's there
 
Before i use and buy teabags but when i learned and started to visit the small tea shop i started to make my own herbal tea supply, there are lots too choose from different kind of herbs, spices and the best of all.. organic!.

 

[Landis]

I picked up some generic Earl Grey and some Red Rose Orange Pekoe. I liked the Orange Pekoe a bit more than the Earl Grey, but the Earl Grey was on sale for a box of ten thousand, so I'm going to have to go through that now.
 
I had the day off so I was experimenting a bit with the tea and after one cup of each teas I felt woken up, energetic and so far no stomach pains, diarrhea, but there was a moment of slight nausea.
 
I must say, I'm moderately more satisfied than I expected I would.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

I picked up some generic Earl Grey and some Red Rose Orange Pekoe. I liked the Orange Pekoe a bit more than the Earl Grey, but the Earl Grey was on sale for a box of ten thousand, so I'm going to have to go through that now.
 
I had the day off so I was experimenting a bit with the tea and after one cup of each teas I felt woken up, energetic and so far no stomach pains, diarrhea, but there was a moment of slight nausea.
 
I must say, I'm moderately more satisfied than I expected I would.

I get nauseous when I drink any tea containing tannins on an empty stomach, not just black varieties but green as well. I don't drink coffee as much as I used to either as it presents me with it's own set of digestive issues. But I have had very good luck with yerba mate tea, it's my go-to drink most mornings, and throughout the day as well sometimes. It actually has a variety of healing properties; I made a more detailed post about it here.

 

[MCC]

Visit your local Asian markets and tea stores. They should be able to help you choose the right variety. 

 

[KimChee]

Yerba mate, earl gray, I personally think a lot of Indian/Middle Eastern teas are quite strong, how about some ginger to soothe your stomach a bit?  I myself switched over from drinking diet sodas to tea a few years ago and feel a lot better in general.

 

[daigo]

If you can find an asian tea shop, they are usually more than willing to allow you to sample several teas for a reasonable fee.  Some lightly oxidized green teas are very easy on the stomach, unlike more oxidized varieties like oolong or black.  Most pu-erh teas are also not very acidic as well. 
 
I drink mostly Chinese teas nowadays after I forced myself to stop drinking coffee so often.  It was too much hassle to brew a good cup at work, and I do have digestion issues every now and then due to coffee. 

 

[grokit]

For me it's the tannins specifically that make me nauseous, it's a pretty unique sensitivity that only affects me when I have an empty stomach. As far as I can tell, tannins are prevalent in both black and green teas, but not in coffee or herbal teas. The acidity in coffee can present it's own set of problems, but nausea is not one of them.

 

[MCC]

Gyokuro is a green tea that's low in tannins. It's also a super-expensive compared to Sencha because of the extra labor involved. The cheapest Gyokuro is usually ~$25/100gm, Sencha is ~$15 for the same quantity.
 
Edit: Plus you usually need to use 2x as much of it...

 

[sanakaku]

My daily dose is a Red Hibiscus tea, quite sour and a pinch of jasmine herb