The selection of cream for coffee is like candy — there’s an endless variety of flavors to pick from. Most flavored creams, however, have trace amounts of sugar and fat that add up when you don’t pay attention to how much you pour.
When you can’t stop the cream bottle from tipping, opt for a healthier caffeine substitute: tea.
The staple drink of the Eastern world, tea has the caffeine needed to jump-start your day and is often less expensive than coffee. There are as many flavors of tea as there are flowers, leaves and plant parts.
Some teas have medicinal effects, ranging from being antioxidant-rich to weight management. In many cases, the effects of the plants are preserved in the tea.
Dressing your tea can be as deadly as coffee, unfortunately. It all comes down to self-restraint, and the versatility tea offers. Most teas have light, versatile flavors that are easily influenced by other plant products, like honey and fruits.
However, some teas, like the South Asian masala chai, are steeped in hot milk and then doused in copious amounts of sugar — again, you might need some self-restraint to keep your tea healthy.
However, if you’re trying to trim off those extra doses of sugar and fat that sneak up on you, switching from coffee to tea just might do the trick. Keep it simple with light flavors like chamomile, or drink the perfumed water of jasmine tea.
It’s all up to you.