Help - need tea with caffeine

[dahlia]

Before converting, I drank black tea the way other people drink coffee. I've tried the herbal teas, but they just aren't doing it. I drink diet Pepsi, but I don't want to drink it all day long. Plus, it's getting colder and I'm craving something hot to drink during the day.

 

Cocoa puts me to sleep, so that's no good for work. I've changed jobs and am literally falling asleep at my desk and in meetings. I'm sure some of it has to do with the new schedule, but dang. This can't go on.

 

Don't suggest hot water with lemon, I do that, but I really want the drink that has soothed me since I was a kid. I want some hot tea with caffeine. I am getting enough sleep.

.

Please - anyone have a suggestion for an herbal tea that will keep me awake?  No comments about the caffeine, either. You don't wanna drink it, you don't have to.

[jerome1232]

Perhaps you could get caffeine tablets that you can drop into an herbal tea?

[notquiteperfect]

If I'm not mistaken, peppermint is a remedy for alertness.  Aside from having it as herbal tea, find a good quality essential oil and either dab it on key points (wrists, etc), spray it, diffuse it or have a small bottle close by to smell as needed.  

 

I'm sure there are other options but that's what's coming to mind.  hth

[Dravin]

You could possibly look into the caffeinated holly teas such as guayusa or yerba mate.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Dravin

[Windseeker]

Hi Dahlia, 

 

The best stuff I have found is called Guayusa. It tastes great, not grassy or bitter. I purchase the 1 pound bags from Runa on Amazon and use a teas etc. travel mug to drink it. Basically I put a heaping spoonful of looseleaf into the mug poor in hot water put the filter lid on and drink it. 

 

I've tried Yerba Mate and it gives me nervous energy and it's bitter. Guayusa is a similar plant (both related to Holly) found in the Amazon. It's been used by native tribes for hundreds of years. It's caffeine content is supposedly higher, but it's energy release is super smooth. Almost too smooth, because you just don't notice it. It's really that smooth. It's more like you just don't get sleepy rather then have this big boost of energy.  

 

I have major energy problems and even took Modafinil for a while. That stuff was so bad it was almost comical. I've never experienced side effects from any medication before, until I took that and it was like plugging my anxiety into an amplifier and then sprinkling it with paranoia. I'm pretty much done with that. 

 

I usually have Guayusa twice during my work day then at night I have a sugarfree rockstar or monster. I know those can't be good, but it beats any wakefulness medication I've tried.

 

[PolarVortex]

Why not use the cold weather to your advantage?  When I find myself falling asleep at work (usually after a big lunch in a warm office) I go for a brisk 5-minute walk around the building, sometimes without a coat if it's not too cold.  That wakes me up better than a quart of Red Bull.  Best wishes on your drink search, though...

[Crypto]

My advice would like PolarVortex, Brief walk in the cold. Jerome1232 Also had a good idea, and adding a caffeine pill, to an herbal tea that you like.

The way you state this makes it sound like an addiction.

[Iggy]

I am a coffee drinker. I can no longer have soda pop. The carbonation does me in. There are only two brands that use splenda, the other sugar free stuff gives me the foaming, blasting runs!

 

I was fortunate that I had a full hour for lunch, and that my employer would let me eat at my desk. I would close my door, set my alarm to 5 minutes before the end of my lunch. Eat my lunch, then take a power nap for the remainder of the hour. 

 

Being hearing impaired, removing my hearing aids drastically reduced the outside office noise, but my alarm still came through. The power nap saved me from keeling over asleep at my desk, or worse yet, face down on the keyboard.

 

I drink Ice Tea - and luke warm and or iced coffee. All of you who drink Pepsi, Mt. Dew, Power drinks, etc. YOU are all drinking massive amounts of caffeine (and so much worthless and damaging to the body sugars) - more than what is in my Iced Tea and coffee. So don't go there, okay.

 

 

Dahlia, drink your coffee. Just don't drink it scalding hot. 

[Vort]

Iggy, I can't agree. Current Church teachings make it crystal clear that "hot drinks" refers to coffee and (tea leaf) tea, whatever the temperature. Individual exceptions might possibly be approved by a bishop or stake president, but in general that's the standard. As a general rule, iced coffee and iced tea, even decaffeinated versions, are prohibited by the Church's interpretation of Section 89.

[classylady]

Agree with what Vort says.  Plus, drinking coffee and tea can preclude you from getting a temple recommend. Caffeine consumption will not.

[Iggy]

Agree with what Vort says.  Plus, drinking coffee and tea can preclude you from getting a temple recommend. Caffeine consumption will not.

It hasn't and I have been honest with my Branch President AND Stake President.

 

I don't drink hot drinks at all. Let me ask all of you this -- how many of you drink Red Bull? Mt Dew? Pepsi? Coke? All of those drinks have way more caffeine than coffee and tea. 

 

And Vort, I respectively disagree with your post. The Hot Drink was later identified as Hot Coffee and Hot Tea. I don't drink Hot drinks of any kind. Not Hot Spiced Cider, Not Hot Cocoa. Not Hot Herbal infusions. Not Hot coffee or tea.  

[Leah]

 

I drink Ice Tea - and luke warm and or iced coffee. All of you who drink Pepsi, Mt. Dew, Power drinks, etc. YOU are all drinking massive amounts of caffeine (and so much worthless and damaging to the body sugars) - more than what is in my Iced Tea and coffee. So don't go there, okay.

 

Dahlia, drink your coffee. Just don't drink it scalding hot.

What do you mean by "don't go there"? You don't want anyone disagreeing with your misguided point of view? Is that what you say to your bishop, too?

Church leaders have made it VERY clear that coffee and tea (except for herbal tea) violate the WoW. The fact that that they may - or may not - contain less caffeine than pop is irrelevant. It's not abouth the caffeine.

Besides, you are simply wrong. And it's pretty common knowledge. There is 95-200 mg of caffeine in 8 oz of coffee and 25-35 mg in a 12 oz Coke.

But - again - it's not about the caffeine.

It is irresponsible and inappropriate for you to tell anyone that it is okay to drink coffe and your advice about the temperature doesn't make it magically okay. Or are you okay with someone jeopardizing their temple recommend based on your advice? You can make the choice to jeopardize your own, but to lead someone else astray is not cool.

Drinking coffee is not more important than attending the temple.

[Leah]

It hasn't and I have been honest with my Branch President AND Stake President.

 

I don't drink hot drinks at all. Let me ask all of you this -- how many of you drink Red Bull? Mt Dew? Pepsi? Coke? All of those drinks have way more caffeine than coffee and tea. 

 

And Vort, I respectively disagree with your post. The Hot Drink was later identified as Hot Coffee and Hot Tea. I don't drink Hot drinks of any kind. Not Hot Spiced Cider, Not Hot Cocoa. Not Hot Herbal infusions. Not Hot coffee or tea.

You need to research facts. Some of those drinks may contain more caffeine, but not all.

And I will say it for the last time because it seems clear you won't give up coffee and tea for any reason....it is not about the caffeine so that argument is meaningless and doesn't justify the consumption of coffee or tea.

[The Folk Prophet]

Dahlia, drink your coffee. 

 

Please don't listen to this advice.

[The Folk Prophet]

And Vort, I respectively disagree with your post. The Hot Drink was later identified as Hot Coffee and Hot Tea.

 

Wrong. They identification has been clearly stated time and time again. Coffee and tea. Any usage of these is justification and lying. Excuse yourself all you want. Please stop encouraging others to do so.

 

It hasn't and I have been honest with my Branch President AND Stake President.

 

You told your Branch President AND Stake President that you use coffee and tea and they let you keep your temple recommend?

 

I don't believe you.

[Vort]

You told your Branch President AND Stake President that you use coffee and tea and they let you keep your temple recommend?

 

I don't believe you.

 

I believe her. My grandparents drank coffee (Sanka, and hot, not cold) until they day each of them died -- in 1984 and in 1995 -- and they were both Seattle temple workers from the late 70s on. Some bishops and stake presidents grant exemptions as they see fit. So I think it's possible that Iggy's leaders know all about her coffee drinking and still give her a temple recommend.

 

But I agree that Iggy should not be generalizing her case to others. Drinking coffee and tea is prohibited by the Word of Wisdom, and one person's exemption from a commandment or interpretation for a personal situation should not be used to justify someone else's behaviors.

[Vort]

By the way, to this day I love the aroma of coffee. It reminds me of Grandma's and Grandpa's house. How funny.

[Dravin]

You need to research facts. Some of those drinks may contain more caffeine, but not all.

And I will say it for the last time because it seems clear you won't give up coffee and tea for any reason....it is not about the caffeine so that argument is meaningless and doesn't justify the consumption of coffee or tea.

 

Even if it was about the caffeine the fact that other beverages contain caffeine doesn't make coffee contain any less caffeine.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Dravin

[The Folk Prophet]

And here's me, all these years, never knowing that my bishop or stake president could grant exceptions to keeping the commandments. Just think of all the things I could have done. 

 

Dahlia - Please don't heed this thinking and drink coffee or tea based on internet forum babble!

[tubaloth]

I have been doing the nap thing for years now.   The problem is I probably have become "additive" to the nap.   But I know I don't get enough sleep so I'm causing my own problem.    I usually take about 10-15 mins nap.  I try to give myself 5 mins to wake up again.   

[Vort]

And here's me, all these years, never knowing that my bishop or stake president could grant exceptions to keeping the commandments. Just think of all the things I could have done. 

 

I don't really understand it myself. I gather that the Word of Wisdom has only been closely observed for a couple of generations. My grandfather worked at the Hanford plant, and he and my grandma felt the need to drink coffee in order to be able to do what they needed to do. Apparently, that was not particularly uncommon.

 

Anyway, I can't speak to the propriety of what their leaders did. I can't really tell you anything beyond the personal family history I already related. Just thought it was interesting, and probably worth pointing out that Iggy is likely being truthful when she says her bishop knows she drinks coffee and still gives her a temple recommend.

[Irishcolleen]

Just a thought, but if your fatigue is way put of the ordinary you might want to have a doctor check it out. Maybe it's not lack of tea.  It could be anemia, thyroid, vitamin d deficiency, dehydration, etc... 

[The Folk Prophet]

I gather that the Word of Wisdom has only been closely observed for a couple of generations. 

 

that Iggy is likely being truthful when she says her bishop knows she drinks coffee and still gives her a temple recommend.

 

^^^ these two thoughts seem in conflict, and I remain highly skeptical.

 

Of course, I wouldn't put it past local leadership to do such a thing somewhere in the world. But one would be hard pressed to convince me that the decision was appropriate, right, or inspired in any way in our current world. Moreover, it is irrelevant to the covenants we make.  My bishop giving me a temple recommend in spite of my disobedience does not mean my disobedience went away. I will still stand accountable before the Lord for the commitments I have made that I ignored, would not keep, or otherwise disregarded. I, and everyone who has gone to the temple, have made sacred covenants to obey the commandments. And where there was a time when the Word of Wisdom's "commandment" status was ambiguous, it is not ambiguous to any degree nowadays, at least not when it comes to the standard 4 (coffee, tea, alchohol, tobacco).

 

The commitment to the Word of Wisdom is one of the key tenets that is used to determine commitment to conversion and a willingness to put ourselves aside in favor of the Lord's will. If it is, indeed, viable that certain people can (nowadays) get a free pass on this particular commandment, it throws the whole system out of whack. I simply don't buy it. No way, no how.

 

John can only go to the temple if he is committed, worthy, willing to give up all his sins, but Bill can go to the temple in spite of not doing these things?

 

It is indeed a different age than it was a few generations ago. I have a pipe on my shelf for decoration purposes that belonged to one of my great grandfathers. As near as I understand, he smoked it his whole life, and was a worthy member. That is non-applicable to me. Were I to smoke said pipe I would not be worthy. No getting around it.

[classylady]

And here's me, all these years, never knowing that my bishop or stake president could grant exceptions to keeping the commandments. Just think of all the things I could have done. 

 

Dahlia - Please don't heed this thinking and drink coffee or tea based on internet forum babble!

 

 

I have heard of exemptions being made to the WofW for temple worthiness due to health issues. But, that doesn't excuse any of us that do not have those health issues. It is not for me to judge those who have had those exemptions made. That is between their leadership, them, and the Lord.

Edited November 22, 2014 by classylady

[paulsifer42]

Who knew drinking coffee could be such a can of worms? :)