I drink a lot of tea, but some of it probably falls into this category, because I like some fruit "teas". But in my defence, I have proper tea leaves/whatever instead of those bags with leftover quality, and prepare it in an infuser or whatever it's called.

Think I find peppermint tea a little relaxing. Don't often drink chamomile, but it too is a little relaxing I'd say. Have never bought boxes of chamomile though, so that's from teabags, which again, doesn't have the best quality.

I drink a chamomile infusion, usually with rooibos for taste, every night to help me sleep. It's part of my overall "sleep hygiene" routine. I'd say it has a slight effect, but by itself it won't do much for you.

Don't know how international this company is, but it's where I bought an infuser (in a local shop). If they don't operate in the US, where it looks like you are from, I'm sure there must be similar things out there.
https://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/l-infuseur.html?capacity=110

I find it excellent. You put some tea leaves in the infuser, then add hot water (or cold if you want iced tea I suppose). Let it steep for a few minutes. Place the infuser on top of a mug. Due to the design the prepared tea will drain into the cup or mug. A part of the bottom will 'click' up and the tea comes out. When you are done you simply remove it, and if there is tea left, the bottom will close so there is no spillover. I've never gotten any remains into the mug itself.

Pretty easy to clean too. I'm lazy and just put water into it and pour it into the sink, and later remove the remains from there.

Putting loose leaf tea into bags is less hassle really, but then you need those bags, and they come in many different designs. Not all are great. Lately I've mostly just used this infuser. The taste is supposed to be a little better than when you put the looseleafs into bags, but not sure I can really tell the difference. I definitely can tell the difference from regular teabags and such, though, which is why I don't buy those any more.

I'm heavy coffee drinker and I often drink 4 - 5 coffees a day. It's not causing any problems with my sleep or anything else, if anything I feel energetic whole day without too much fuss in the evening, I don't know why people complain about crashing after drinking it, maybe I'm just used to it at this point, I don't know. I also prepare it simply by pouring boiling water over it, I definitely should invest into coffee machine when I get the chance.

I read somewhere that coffee drinking is actually a healthy habit as it helps with blood pressure and overall heart condition, and I even read that the more you drink, the bigger are those health benefits. I guess it's left to everyone's discretion to decide how much of it is actually true.

I did try switching to tea at some point and I drank 4 - 5 teas instead. The effects were just like coffee, only less noticeable and more spread out throughout the day. I just love the taste of coffee too much though and I switched back.

it made me less thirsty?

I'm actually not adverse to mixing things a bit. Those fruit "teas" would blend well with green tea.

Aye. I only have one tea type that is pretty much 100% herbal, and a few others that are something like 95-96% green tea, with a little bit of herbal types mixed in. I like all of them. Earlier I also read that peppermint isn't truly tea either by those most strict of qualifications, which I also like. It's mildly relaxing, and is supposed to help against migraine. At the end of the day it doesn't matter too much, as long as you like the taste or have other health benefits. And herbal "tea" goes back to something like 2500-3000 BC, so is hardly a new invention anyway.

I personally enjoy drinking chamomile tea before I go to sleep just because it doesn't have any caffeine in it and it has a soothing and mild flavor.

Interesting. The description mentions a filter. Is it disposable and you have to keep buying more, or is it permanent?

You say you definitely notice a difference between your loose leaf and teabags? It's been a long time since I drank looseleaf... I'm really partial to the brand of teabags I drink. Maybe I'll see if they sell loose. Thank you for your suggestions!

Neither tea nor coffee give me energy. I grew up with tea with milk and honey, so I've drunk that all my life. Never tried coffee until my...30s? Sometimes I do have a crash after drinking tea/coffee, even falling asleep, which may be due to my age, or health, or the honey, or something else. While my roommate uses a coffeemaker (and has a k-cup machine), my brother uses a french press, which I think enhances the coffee.

I've heard rumors of health benefits for both tea and coffee. Tea is supposed to have antioxidants I believe, while coffee is supposed to help with depression. Don't know how drinking caffeinated drinks would help with heart health, but I'm no expert.

Ooh! Ooh ooh!! What a great idea! I have a bunch of those, and the fruits would add some flavor to the greens I think. Nice!

No problem, hope you find those brands you like in looseleaf too. The filter in the infuser is part of the infuser itself, so there is no need to buy more. It's part of the "lid" of sorts in the bottom that clicks up a little when you place it on top of a mug. All the leaves therefore stay inside the infuser. Very practical.

Interesting. Though I admit at this point the case may simply be that I don't feel energetic without caffeine, not that it makes me feel energetic.

I love tea with milk. Actually I think I might start mixing it a bit, maybe drink coffee at the start of the day and switch to tea in the afternoon.

I've read somewhere that milk "kills" the antioxidants in tea, making it less of a benefit to health though again, I'd leave it to everyone to decide how much of it is actually true.


French press does seem interesting, for some reason I've never heard of it before. I'll definitely take a closer look as an alternative to coffee machine.

I've found with chamomile tea that its effect depends on your state, and that it is usually quite mild when it does have an effect.

For instance, if you aren't weary or tired or likely to be any time soon after having the tea, then it is unlikely to have an affect. On the other hand if you are tired or weary, it will likely just enhance that, and perhaps give you a better sleep. It may also help to relax you a bit if you are agitated.

Tea or Coffee on their own don't give you energy, but what you put in them or have with them may do ... honey or sugar especially.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, Ice Coffee an exception. And I find it best to have in the afternoon or early evening when I do have it or I may suffer a negative effect.

I usually have a cup of tea once a day, sometimes twice, especially not long after wakening. Too close to bed time and it impacts how settled my stomach will be during sleep.

Both tea and coffee in my experience are best taken in moderation, to avoid any side effects.

Generally I am an Earl Grey tea drinker, though I quite like English Breakfast. I don't mind most average teas really. I also indulge in a few tea alternatives from time to time, usually something fruity, though sometimes it will be Green tea or Chamomile or a particular favorite of mine is Rooibos (a Bush Tea), which I tend to have the Twinings variant of with Cinnamon and Orange. With regular teas I have a dash of milk but no sweetener, same with coffee. Milk is not too bad with Rooibos tea either.

In what way do they bother you? Coffee often goes right through me, which is a problem when you drive for a living. Finding a bathroom is always a pain when you URGENTLY have to take a dump, and this was especially bad during the height of covid. For those who don't know, the US doesn't have public bathrooms. If you have to go, you have to go into a business which usually only lets customers use the bathroom, meaning you have to buy something. When all the businesses were closed, finding a bathroom was... challenging.

People keep mentioning Rooibos. I may look into that. What does it taste similar to?

I'm not sure how to describe it, or what to compare it to. it does not taste like tea. it has a very warm, earhly taste, it is not bitter (like tea or coffee). it has kinda sweet undertones, but it is not sweet either. if needing to compare with something, i would say it reminds me of nuts or wood.

I quite like it.

Well apart from Coffee stimulating you when instead you want to go to sleep, which Tea can somewhat do as well, there is it's digestion effect, where I find they can give me the gurgles or my stomach just feels unsettled. It depends though on whether you eat anything after, which can help stop or reduce that.

Bad luck, that sounds quite worrying. Like many folk I don't really like public toilets, but boy have I often been glad of them, so I am glad I live where I do. Having such a system as you suffer, sounds like a good recipe for bowel etc problems, where people have to put off their ablutions too much or too long ... must also be plenty of embarrassments or close calls or dashes for home etc to clean up the mess and avoid notice meanwhile ... especially with older folk. It doesn't bear thinking about.

Nothing else really, though you may get a sense of similarity, but nothing specific ... at least for me.