Saturday, January 17, 2015

How to change the COFFEE habit to a GREEN TEA one!

I used to be a BIG coffee & tea drinker, to the point that I thought my brain wouldn't function without a cuppa every few hours a day. I needed that warm liquid flowing down my throat and that jolt to keep alert!

I wanted to change the habit and drink fewer cups, since too much caffeine seemed to have no numb the "alertness" and also to keep a check on sugar & creamer. And here's what helped: Charles Duhigg's Habit Loop of Cue ---> Routine ---> Reward


First comes the Cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode & which habit to use. Then comes the Routine, which can be physical, mental or emotional. Finally there is a Reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.

With the coffee habit, the cue was needing a piping hot drink. The routine was drinking the coffee and he reward was feeling warm and fuzzy in my insides!


The only way to change a habit is to keep the old cue, deliver the old reward but insert a new routine.

I.e. When I needed a hot drink, I simply drank green tea instead of coffee. And like coffee did, even green tea made me feel warm and fuzzy in my insides!


Having fewer cups of coffee meant increased effectiveness of caffeine and more cups of green tea mean more antioxidants being pumped into the body! An overall healthy solution!

This was of course BEFORE I quit sugar for good. I still have two cups of coffee today, but with no sugar.


My absolute all time favorite is Chamomile, which I have in the evenings. It's excellent for getting a good sleep and reducing anxiety. In fact if you're a first time drinker this is a great beginners green tea, as it is very mild.

Close second is Camellia Sinensis Chinese green tea. The pack I have is loose tea so I boil it over slow flame for two minutes before pouring out a cuppa. It's almost fruity, with a hint of sweetness.


I love Jasmine tea after having my fruit and nuts for breakfast. It's again mild and delicious!

Mango is not so popular so I'm always looking out for it, (still haven't found a pack on months!). I am not so fond of citrus or lemony flavours.

Soursop and Peppermint are strong flavours. I like having them once in a while.


Sometimes when I'm under the weather, I pluck a few leaves from my potted herbs and brew a lemongrass or ajowan or tulsi and ginger tea.

Like I thought I couldn't live without coffee or tea, I now cannot live without my green tea! Which are your favorite flovours?

My Related Pinterest Board:

3 comments:

  1. I, too, enjoy green tea: warmed and iced. Ginger green tea is great for the tummy so sometimes I drink that one. However, I still drink decaf Earl Grey as iced tea at least once a day. That is my favorite every day black tea. And since caffeine doesn't affect me like it does others, I am okay to drink it every now and then. I just prefer decaf as a better choice. Thank you for sharing your healthy habit at Monday's Musings.

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    1. Caffeine doesn't have any effect on me too! This I realised after quitting sugar, so I figured maybe it was the sugar rush doing the trick instead of caffeine!

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  2. I don't drink coffee, but I drink too much Diet Coke. Green tea is good and I need to drink more. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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