Decision time - Coffee or tea?

[Stephanie]

 Hey there caffeine connoisseurs!

Many of us enjoy drinking a nice cuppa tea or coffee from time to time. There are so many ways to drink your tea and coffee, not to mention all the different flavours and roasts.   

Personally, I’m more of a tea drinker and prefer mine with milk, and of course some biscuits so that I can dunk them in the tea! And of course, I have a fine selection of mugs to get the job done.

Milk? Sugar? What sort of biscuit and how long can you dunk it before it turns into a sloppy mess at the bottom of the cup?

What’s done and what’s totally not done?

This is all important information to me so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts :-).

[Alexandra316]

@StephanieGood question! Where to start?

Coffee is my daily beverage of choice. I drink it black, and the stronger and darker the better: yes please to espresso or Americanos, no thank you to flavours, whipped cream, etc. Up until about 2 weeks ago, I was probably drinking about a pot and a half a day. I've been trying to cut down, and I'm currently at about 2 cups. Any serving vessel is okay, but I prefer a sturdy mug. In terms of how it's brewed, a decent quality drip brewer (or an espresso machine) gets the job done. 

I also love tea, but it also needs to be black tea. It can have milk and sugar, but herbal need not apply. It's always best made with boiling water in a proper tea pot, and absolutely no squeezing of the bags! Milk needs to be fresh: no long life. Metal tea pots are also a hard no. 

Buscuit favourites are Hobnobs, preferably with milk chocolate, but their dunking potential is limited. All the choccy slides off and creates a sludge in the bottom of the cup. I really like Fox's ginger buscuits with the cream filling also. If you're just looking for robustness, bourbons or digestives get pretty good marks, but they're not really that good. But I guess on the plus side that means you don't eat a whole sleeve of them in one sitting... not that that's ever happened to me before :-). 

[Rachel0]

@Stephanie  I have a biscuit tin with the inscription "If you feel something is missing in your life it is almost always a biscuit" written on the lid.  That is quite an accurate observation and I make sure that it always has Hobnobs in it, plus M&S Cranberry and Orange biscuits.  Tea has to be Twinings English Breakfast tea with milk and a little sugar, coffee has to be black with brown sugar and drunk from my special china mug which nobody else is allowed to touch.  Dunking is a huge NO!  It reminds me of an aunt of mine when I was a small child, who had no teeth at all - well she had one but it was just a black stump - and she used  to drink her tea from a saucer and dunk a biscuit in it until it was a pappy mess.  I used to hide under the table when she came round in case she wanted to kiss me.... and that is what dunking brings back to me!  

[Cathie19]

Oh @Rachel0 , I want that tin! 😭

[Cathie19]

Geez, I’m not particularly special with my preferences because they vary. Depends on mood, location, activity and hour....

Always a black tea on a usual working morning with breakfast. I filter a Vietnamese coffee into my to go thermos, any cows milk with some sugar and that lands on my desk to start the working day, ready to pour into my work mug. Love the aroma.

As for teas: black & a little sugar, unless it’s lemon and ginger or a peppermint tea. I also like to grate or cut up ginger into a black tea sometimes. English breakfast or earl grey will do fine, but not fussy on the brand. Just hate it stewed where you feel you have to scrape the tannin from you teeth.

Coffee: However, if travelling, I usually start with a coffee, maybe because I often start my day later? I try to avoid instant coffee unless I’ desperate and there’s nothing else within 50kms.... 😆  Flat White, Americano or cappuccino for standards. I love a true, rich Vietnamese coffee with the condensed milk in the bottom, but preferably this is in Vietnam. One of those will keep you going for HOURS! Seriously! 

Biscuits: yes, a simple pleasure, but a pastry, a piece of banana cake or citrus tart, can also win my humble heart! 😍

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

I'm a coffee drinker.... strong & black. No sugar or milk....... but I do enjoy the occational cappuccino with a generous heaping of cinnamon.

At cafes I stick to americano with an extra shot. I've been trying to cut back so my last coffee is right after lunch and no later than 2 or 3pm.

I like either plain dry toast or a croissant or a cinnamon (or blueberry) bagel with my coffee in the morning or with a couple pieces of chocolate in the afternoon. But a huge NO to dunking anything in my coffee~~~~ Take a bite and then a sip.

For teas, I like hibiscus or cinnamon spice. I'm not a fan of chamomile or peppermint.......peppermint tea has always tasted like toothpaste....lol~ 

When I was little my mom always made me honey lemon tea, either hot or cold depending on the weather/season. And because I do a lot of talking I also consume a lot of ginger tea with honey or ballon flower root tea known as doraji tea when I'm at the office

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platycodon#Medicinal

I've never liked biscuits much........ but I do like saltine crackers. I prefer baked goods. 

[Lawrene0]

Black coffee, @Stephanie, because when I was a teenager my parents were on the Grapefruit Diet,* and had given up sugar and milk, so I thought black was the only way to drink the stuff. Same thing with tea. I sometimes forget to put sugar/honey and milk/cream on the table at all.

"Um, is there any sugar?" a poor guest will ask. 

 I was lucky to have tried, with a coupon, the one and only Airbnb Experience in my area (my area-ish -- it's 55 km away): coffee roasting/comparison tasting. Although we serve French pressed coffee here, when it is side by side with pour-over, I now think pour-over wins. 

Black tea in a pot for sure. American-style teabag-in-the-cup in a pinch, but steeped in ceramic whenever possible. Herbal tea from my garden in summer: bee balm, apple mint, chamomile. Guests are welcome to pick those to make their own. 

*The Grapefruit Diet, popular with the locals in approx 1975, works very well for your already-slim mom and not at all for your not-slim dad. Just FYI. 😉

[Julia1101]

I am a coffee drinker, cappuccino is my favorite. 

I usually have one cup each morning before goes to work and it definitely makes me feel fresh. 

[Gordon0]

It's cafetiere coffee (illy) at my desk (I've all but weaned myself off pricy coffee shops) before swapping over to tea in the afternoon. Ideally with a slice of home-made (not my home you'll underdstand) Vicky sponge.  

[Cathie19]

Yum! You’re  so lucky you can eat the cream in the sponge @Gordon0. I’ve just gained 3kgs just thinking about it! 😭 

[Julie143]

Coffee in the morning. Made in a French Press (cafetiere.). Usually Trader Joe’s or Costco Columbian Supremo. I like it with hot milk, no sugar.

In the afternoon, it’s tea. Something strong like Yorkshire Gold or PG Tips. Also with hot milk no sugar.

(nothing worse than lukewarm coffee or tea.)

[Susan1404]

I am  not a coffee drinker at all because the only way I like it is with way too much sugar and cream.  I opt for a diet soda with caffeine in the mornings.  Now tea - I love tea at night but it has to be decaf to help me relax for bed.  I'm okay with Earl Gray but in the last few years have fallen in love with a common grocery store variety called Good Earth.  It is black tea with a lot of spices added, but it is decaf.  As for additions to my tea - fresh squeezed lemon is a must-have.  A few packs of artificial sweetener and it is perfect for me.  I don't dunk anything in my tea - that's kind of a turn-off for me.

[Stephanie]

After a relaxing and sleepy bank holiday weekend, I may need more than my usual yorkie tea fix!

Any interesting mugs out there? (the container, not the face!)

[Olga774]

Coffee!

I can't imagine my life without drinking coffee every morning. I allow myself drinking one cup once a day (because drinking a lot of coffee is unhealthy). I like espresso and cappuccino. Now I'm using Lavazza Super Crema beans for espresso machines https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lavazza-Super-Crema-Coffee-Beans/dp/B000SDKDM4?th=1 - very tasty! I think it's perfect choice for semi-automatic Gaggia Classic Pro https://www.coffee-statistics.com/best-semi-automatic-espresso-machine/#product4.

P.S. not very interesting mug but I'll post it anyway