Wanna Brew?

[Lemming]

The British Empire was built on the good old cup of tea, often taken with cakes (ooh man! I love CAKE!) and biscuits in the afternoon. But nowadays coffee is the thing which keeps everybody awake and on their toes for the modern hectic lifestyle.

After the recent success of my left or right handed poll. I've decided to do a similar thing by asking whether the resident forum members prefer tea or coffee.

[Lemming]

In my honest opinion tea has got to be the drink of history, the one and only!

When I eat cereals I eat Cheerios for six months then suddenly I'm in Sainsbury's breakfast aisle, look at the Cheerios and feel sick. It's Coco Pops for me over the next six months! Then Corn Flakes, then something else etc. The same goes for sandwich fillings, pies, ice cream, chocolate bars, crisps. I rotate my preferences all the time.

But when it comes to tea, after fifteen years or so of hard drinking I never get bored. First thing everyday is a cuppa tea (I can't miss my breakfast cup of tea), and then usually 5-12 times more that day, it's a cuppa tea! The best drink ever I reckon!

I gave up coffee Christmas 2001 (enter round of applause here). It's the best thing I ever did, I slept better afterwards, got fewer headaches and generally had a clearer head. Coffee is spawn of satin, get rid guys. Tea is the only way forward.

[Beny]

I drink both... BTW you do realise that they both have caffiene??

[Victor Frankenstein]

Tea for victory, nice cup of tea with breakfast and a cup of tea when i get in from a hard days work

I like coffee flavoured things, but don't like coffee as a drink, although on my recent tour of the world i was introduced to the wonders of starbucks cappacino which did convert me for a while until i discovered the hot dark chocolate (chantico?) was even nicer.

[Occasional Fan]

I like a nice cup of tea with my dinner
And a nice cup of tea with my tea.
And round about eleven, my idea of Heaven
Is a nice cup of tea!

*****************

Way down among Brazilians
Coffee beans grow by the millions
So they have to find those extra cups to fill.
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil.

And they can keep it.

Tea, please, black, no sugar, any time you're ready, Lemming.

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Beny

...you do realise that they both have caffiene??

Yes, but I believe it is a common misconception that tea contains just as much caffeine as coffee. If it does it has little effect on me at all. In the days I was drinking 10 cups of coffee a day I could not sleep well, had headaches and felt generally bad. Now I drink only tea and can drink 15 cups in a day no problem. OK I may need the toilet more but I can sleep as if I'd drank water all day.

[Kirsty Harris]

I drink hugh quantity's of tea....milk with no sugar thank you very much!!

If I get a sip of tea with sugar in, however, I have to rinse my mouth out right away, as it makes me feel quite sick!!

I only drink fresh coffee, and can't stand the granulated stuff. Therefore coffee is mainly a day-off from work, lounging around the house kind of thing.

Sadly, I can't dip digestives in my tea, as I am a coeliac, and have to stick to a strictly gluten-free diet. Gluten-free biscuits just turn to mush as soon as they come in contact with the tea!!! I make great gluten-free blueberry muffins, however, which go very nicely with a pot of tea!!

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Kirsty Harris

I drink hugh quantity's of tea....milk with no sugar thank you very much!! If I get a sip of tea with sugar in, however, I have to rinse my mouth out right away, as it makes me feel quite sick!!

Exactly how I likemy tea, Kirsty. One of the best things I ever did (other than give up coffee) was to give up sugar in tea in the summer of 2002! I had always had 2-3 sugars in my tea and my teeth were not too good. So I thought enough is enough and reduced myself down gradually by 1/4 of a teaspoon at a time, over a period, of one month or so to no sugar!

Originally Posted by Kirsty Harris

I make great gluten-free blueberry muffins, however, which go very nicely with a pot of tea!!

Oooooh, I love Blueberry muffins, they sound really nice. With a pot of tea they'd be heaven. Muffins are one of those things I only eat occassionally. That's because I'm scared I will get bored of them even though I really like them.

When baking gluten-free cakes for example, Kirsty, how good are the replacement, gluten-free, ingredients?

[Kirsty Harris]

Originally Posted by Lemming

When baking gluten-free cakes for example, Kirsty, how good are the replacement, gluten-free, ingredients?

I tend to use rice flour, which gives the cakes a nice sweet flavour, however the difficulty can be in getting the cakes to rise nicely, I use plenty of baking poweder, which seems to do the trick.

It's getting better, as time goes by. Certianly, now most supermarkets stock a decent selection of gluten free products, which helps.

The real problem is getting decent bread - the shop-sold ones are just no good. I have my own bread maker, but I'm still trying to find the ideal recipe. It's very much trial and error, even though I have a couple of decent gluten-free cookery books.

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Kirsty Harris

The real problem is getting decent bread - the shop-sold ones are just no good.

I haven't done a great deal of research, but I'm sure I noticed that gluten-free bread was pretty expensive for only a few pieces of bread, maybe 2-3 times the price of usual bread.

If it tastes bad too then that's a bit rubbish. You should keep up with your bread-maker, you'll probably come up with something alot better at a cheaper price.