A college student’s winter tea guide

Piping hot cup o’ tea. Photo by Hannah Barone.

SILAS OWENS | OPINION COLUMNIST | szowens@butler.edu 

The holidays are over and the cheer is gone. The thankless grind of the spring semester is just beginning. And the weather f*cking sucks.

At this time of year — characterized by gray slush on the sidewalks and a sense of impending doom — finding ways to be relaxed, warm and perhaps happy if you’re ambitious, isn’t easy. 

For me, warm beverages have been vital. The process of making a warm drink is itself an opportunity to relax your mind on a busy day, and it makes the actual beverage more rewarding. There are many fantastic options: morning coffee is imperative and cocoa is a great way to warm up after a long day, but I have found tea to be particularly meritorious. 

Sophomore psychology major Tessa Slabaugh listed some of the logical benefits of tea. 

“I can drink it at any time, like at night, which is nice as opposed to coffee because of the caffeine,” Slabaugh said. “Tea is also not calorically dense because it’s just leaves in water. There are other decaffeinated warm drinks … like hot chocolate, but I can’t drink gallons of that at night if I want to, so tea is a pretty good option. There are a lot of flavors too depending on if you want something deep and smoky versus bright and floral.”

This brief, intuitive list has a lot to unpack. Coffee is delicious, and — as indicated by the 10:00 a.m. Starbucks line — can help students power through a cold dreary school day. I’m drinking a cortado as I write this article. At the end of the day though, when it’s time to relax or finish up some homework, a cup of coffee isn’t what you need. 

The lack of calories or caffeine in tea means that you can put on a kettle, grab your mug and knock it back like water because it is. You can hang out with friends, binge-watch a show or study organic chemistry without ever having to be sad when the kettle runs dry. Just make more.

It isn’t at all a financial burden like a daily iced latte might be. At Target, most boxes of 20 tea bags cost between three and six dollars. That means 15 to 30 cents per tea bag.

The variety and customization of the experience are some of the biggest calling cards of tea. It can be enjoyed at any level, and there are types and flavors that can fit anyone’s preferences. 

Junior music major Grady Locke described two of his favorite teas and what they involve.

“There are a couple varieties of teas that I’ll look for, and you can find different ones, like lapsang tea, which is a type of oolong tea,” Locke said. “I’m pretty sure it comes from the Qing Dynasty in 1646. It’s smoked over a pine fire … so it has this really heavy campfire scent to it and taste … I’m a big matcha fan as well. Matcha is crazy because it’s grown in the shade — usually indoors — and it’s a really delicate process.”

Although the techniques of how different teas are created are really interesting and create more distinct differences than something like different coffees, the knowledge is not at all necessary to enjoy a cup. My personal experience usually involves an electric kettle and no more than a couple of minutes of deliberation in the tea aisle at Target. 

The following definitive analysis of different kinds of tea is the culmination of my knowledge and experience. 

Black teas

Usually with about half as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, a black tea is a great option for a coffee substitute or for a small kick later in the day. They can be enjoyed with or without cream and sugar, and they are easy to make and bring with you to sip throughout the day.

English Breakfast is a popular morning black tea, but I prefer Earl Grey, which is similar, but with a slight citrusy kick from bergamot oil.

Bigelow is one of my go-to brands for an easy black tea. Their original “Constant Comment” flavor tastes of orange and cinnamon, but also has the kick provided by a black tea rather than a purely fruity herbal tea. Their lemon, cinnamon and raspberry varieties are similarly good.

Chai

Chai is one of the most popular teas for good reason. The warm blend of spices in this black tea is like a hug from someone you haven’t seen in years. 

Starbucks chai is one of their most popular menu items, but I find it to be a bit too sweet, designed for the sugary iced lattes Starbucks is known for. There the chai is a sugary concentrate measured in pumps, just like any of their other flavored syrups, and is often combined with other flavors like gingerbread. 

A better chai has a spicier kick to it that spreads warmth throughout your body with every sip. The best chai I’ve had at an Indianapolis coffee shop, MOTW Coffee, had a perfect blend of smooth, sweet and spicy for a cold day.

Despite my preferences, I’ll still order a Starbucks chai on a cold sleepy school day, because it’s still much better than no chai at all.

A dirty chai is a whole different beverage that adds earthy espresso to the spice of the chai to create a rich, pleasant blend of flavors. You can debate about whether a dirty or clean chai is better, but they are both delicious drinks with different flavors. Dirty chai has the advantage of glorious caffeine. 

Herbal tea

Herbal teas, which don’t have caffeine, are the perfect nighttime tea. 

Locke, who makes his own Chai blends, still enjoys a simple cup of herbal tea at night.

“I usually end the day with a cup of herbal tea,” Locke said. “They’re not dehydrating like caffeinated teas are, and they’re super chill and forgiving as well. If I’m exhausted and don’t want to think about messing up my cup of tea and making it too bitter, a herbal tea is super forgiving.”

Another benefit of herbal tea is the variety of flavors. If I’m sick or tired and want something soothing, a lemon or chamomile tea is perfect. There are also herbal teas made with spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves that bring a similar warm kick to chai, but without the caffeine. Fruitier or floral flavors, like a peach or plum hibiscus tea are also simple and delicious. A peppermint herbal tea can be a perfect blend of mellow and refreshing. 

Iced tea

After growing up in North Carolina with southern sweet tea and Pittsburgh, home of Turner’s, iced tea holds a special place in my heart. It may not hit as hard in the depths of winter as the other teas on this list, but once summer rolls around iced tea is about as refreshing as it gets. Often iced teas are quite sweet, but can really be just as good without all the added sugar or sweetener if you don’t want it.

Even in the winter though, cold teas have their place. Try a peach Snapple instead of a cold brew while doing homework in the afternoon, or crack open an Arnold Palmer during a Butler Basketball game and then tell me it’s too cold out for iced tea. And then have a hot tea later.

Junior religious leadership major Dane Bulteier enjoys the accessibility of tea and thinks people should drink whatever they like, but also described how a casual tea drinker can get a bit more serious if they want to.

“There is a Vietnamese market on 96th Street … called Viet Hua,” Bultemeier said. “They have a decent tea selection … I walked through different spots like the tea aisles at that Vietnamese market and said ‘Oh what’s this, let me Google it.’ That’s the other thing. Google. Ask questions.”

Whether you want your tea to be a well-researched, personally curated experience or simply a hot beverage with a soothing flavor to wind down with, making a cup can be a cheap, relaxing way to experience coziness and peace in the winter. To make the experience even better you can make a second cup for a friend, and maybe a third and fourth for yourself.

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