Like most college students, I have gotten way too used to coffee and consume it like water. I get it on my way to my class, after pulling a study session in the library or as a pick-me-up while working on projects before bed. As much as I love coffee, I know my growing dependence on it isn’t really the healthiest, which is why for seven days, I tried replacing coffee with tea. Here’s how that went. 

Day 1: Sunday

Good thing I didn’t have classes today and slept considerably early the night before. I decided to make an iced tea instead by brewing some regular black tea bags and adding some honey for sweetness. To be completely honest, I missed the taste of my iced latte a lot. Having coffee in the morning is just a different experience. 

Day 2: Monday

Not having my regular latte made it harder to wake up for my 8 a.m. Zoom lecture, especially since sipping my coffee helps me concentrate in class. To try and fight the habit of walking over to my AeroPress, I instead reached for some green tea from Trader Joe’s. While it finally worked as a morning pick-me-up and helped me feel much calmer, I didn’t feel that same energizing rush I usually get from coffee. 

Day 3: Tuesday

For my third day without coffee, I decided to switch it up and make my own Thai iced tea. I achieved this by brewing some Thai tea bags I got from an Asian grocery store and adding sweetened condensed milk. It was definitely interesting drinking this creamier and richer beverage as I tuned into my Zoom discussions. 

Day 4: Wednesday

Although I am still fighting the urge to head to Starbucks and get an iced mocha, I noticed that my break from coffee has really improved my sleep. I usually don’t sleep straight and wake up in the middle of the night, but ever since I started drinking tea instead, I haven’t suddenly woken up at 3 a.m. like I used to. 

Day 5: Thursday 

Ever since starting this challenge, I’ve been feeling tired in the morning, but my energy levels have been more consistent throughout the day. When drinking coffee, I would feel very awake right after and suddenly get sleepy a few hours later. Having tea has had me in a steady state of alertness the whole day without having a caffeine crash. 

Day 6: Friday

While I didn’t have tea in the morning, I went out to grab some milk tea after I finished my online classes. Having boba certainly isn’t a new experience for me, but it felt like a reward for both making it through the week and not consuming any coffee. 

Day 7: Saturday 

I’ve finally reached the end of the week! While I did have the strong urge to get Starbucks to celebrate, I’m proud to say I didn’t cave in. For my last day, I just prepared a cup of black tea with a touch of honey to drink as I completed my math homework. 

Switching from coffee to tea has made me realize that coffee makes my energy levels more erratic throughout the day and negatively affects my sleep schedule. Despite this, I still very much love coffee and will continue to get a cup before I head to campus. Instead, I’ll probably alternate coffee and tea throughout the day to keep a good balance to prevent a caffeine crash halfway through my day.