I am not a coffee person, at least not most of the time (I do enjoy an espresso after a big meal, but that's just about as far as my coffee love goes). Especially early in the morning coffee tastes harsh to me and I like to wake up gently and ease myself into the day. And no, I'm not an herbal tea kind of a person, barely even a green tea person. Those don't have enough oomph for me. I like my tea black and strong, forget the teabags. Assam, English or Irish Breakfast and such, Earl Grey, too, but more in the afternoon or evening than earlier in the day. I buy my tea in bulk and hang a special canvas tea brewing bag with a generous amount of tea into my pot and let it steep to a deep dark color that looks almost like coffee. Tea is a comfort beverage for me. I drink it all day long, always with milk, no sugar. In the morning I make a big pot full and warm up cup after cup throughout the day. When we go away to someplace with a kitchen I bring my whole tea paraphernalia with me, and I miss it dearly when we go on vacation and I can only get teabag tea. When we moved recently the tea supplies went into a carton marked "Open First," like a first aid kit.

Although this post is more about the emotional benefits of having a "nice cup of tea," black tea incidentally has all sorts of health benefits, such as promoting heart health, lessening type 2 diabetes risk, and its potent antioxidants are anti-inflammatory and supposedly counter visible aging effects. A good cup of strong tea makes everything "all better" for me. But most of all tea for me is about slowing down, while coffee is for speeding up.