I’ve felt incredibly inspired and introspective in every way from my trip to Sri Lanka, including thinking deeply about tea versus coffee. Coffee seems to be more popular in the Western world, but in reality, tea dominates worldwide, with about three cups of tea for every one cup of coffee.
Sri Lankan, or Ceylon, tea is a huge part of the culture over there, so I drank tea daily. I had to ask for very weak, super watered-down pots of tea (yes, even more water, tsuthi! (thank you!!)), as they traditionally drink a very strong black tea, which my very weak caffeine tolerance could not even come close to handling!
Tea fields around Ella, Sri Lanka
Then I came back to the States and went into Starbucks for a meeting (where I get organic tea), and saw this off-putting sign (more on this further along), which prompted this discussion further.
In Sri Lanka I was blessed to visit the stunning tea plantations around Ella, mountains of beautiful tea crops dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see, interrupted only with bursts of gorgeously bright skirts and blouses from the many Tamil women working to pick the leaves. It’s only when you get out of the car (or train) that you can hear an additional layer of beauty: the buzz-like, constant chatter of all the women conversing with each other.
Imagine if you were with a bunch of girlfriends picking tea leaves (which I imagine they could pretty much do in their sleep after a while) all day…wouldn’t you chat also?! They didn’t even look up for a second as we were stopping and looking around- they were in their own little world, completely immersed in their picking and chatting away in Tamil.
I’ve always been fascinated with tea, and it is seems naturally obvious as a beauty beverage. Think about it- you steep dried leaves and parts of plants into hot water and the essence brews in the water, which you then sip. It sounds magical right?
It is. Everything from flavonoid antioxidants (which have been shown to reduce heart disease as well as cancer
Sipping hot tea is soothing and amazing for your health and beauty. I am a huge fan of tea, and would encourage you to bring it into your life, whether it’s sipping it in the afternoon or in the evening to wind down, or mid-morning. Whenever! You can even sip a little of your hot tea while eating meals, which is said to help promote good digestion, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.
This sign was posted in the tea factory I visited in Sri Lanka.
Everywhere I’ve been around the world- from Mongolia to Rwanda to Nepal to India to Peru and beyond has their own unique types of tea with different attributes (Okay except for maybe Italy and some other Western countries where coffee seems to dominate; it wasn’t always that easy to get great tea over there, I have to say!).
It was amazing to learn about the tea process at this factory in Ella. From picking to shipping out, including everything in between – the drying, breaking down into different grades and cleaning, etc. it is only 24 hours!
Now coffee on the other hand, has never felt intuitively to me as a beauty food. Sure, I know many of you (as well as my clients) love it and prefer it, and I’m not saying that you have to fully stop. But I want to give you my perspective.
First of all, coffee is so…well dark and murky looking! Many people can’t even stomach it without adding in cream and sugar (which have their own issues of course). It’s just so, well, dense looking. It reminds me of motor oil. It doesn’t impart a sense of lightness and support to a youthful complexion, at least from a visible sense, though coffee beans too of course come from nature.
Furthermore, coffee is super acidic. About 30 types of acids have been identified in coffee beans
Everything that you eat, and of course drink, has an effect on your overall pH, so you want to be cognizant of your overall balance. You don’t need to eat all alkaline foods, but you want to pick and choose your acid “battles” or foods/drinks wisely, knowing they all have an effect. So if one cup of coffee is that important to you, then great. But if you can easily swap it for an antioxidant-containing, less acidic cup of say green tea, even better I say.
So quick digression back to the green coffee beans, which some time ago were all the rage as a purported weight loss supplement. These not yet roasted beans are said to have higher levels of the chemical chlorogenic acid, which some believe positively affects how your body handles blood sugar and metabolism
My general, overall take is to avoid weight loss supplements in a pill form. I just think if you eat in a balanced way made up largely of plant-based, fiber-filled foods that supports your digestion, you don’t need to roll the dice with an overabundance of pills that may or may not work, but either way your body has to metabolize.
Conventional coffee is one of the most pesticide-sprayed crops in the world. Not only may some levels of the toxic residues end up in your cup of coffee (which may vary), but it implicates how our choices affect the greater whole: the pesticides end up in the environment and the locals farmers are exposed to these toxins. It’s a truth we have to be conscious of.
If you walk into a Starbucks, you will see the sign I reference above, which states: “Proposition 65 Warning. Chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity, including acrylamide, are present in coffee, baked goods and other foods or beverages sold here….”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a consumer warning on acrylamide, a naturally a chemical found in cooked foods and beverages, including coffee, which has been shown in research to cause cancer in animals
Coffee beans are roasted, and it is in this roasting process that that leads to the browning of the beans, and the chemical creation of acrylamide. Though the further roasting of the beans may reduce the acrylamide levels, the fact remains that some may remain in the cup of brewed coffee that you drink.
In reality it may not be as scary as it might appear. There may be in fact very little of this naturally occurring compound in your coffee. But to be on the very safe side, Starbucks is putting up this sign to appease this law. By the way this warning can also appear on natural and organic products that may contain naturally occurring and safe levels of certain compounds, to avoid potential legal issues. It’s off-putting, but these Prop 65 signs appear in apartment buildings and various products everywhere, so you have to decide for yourself if the potential risks against the actual amount you consume (which may be negligible) is worth avoiding, versus the legality issues of these companies/buildings trying to play it as safe as possible with these warnings.
There’s a lot of issues you have to weigh for yourself around coffee, as you can see. I personally, cold turkey gave up coffee well over a decade ago when I learned about some of its potential negative health and beauty implications. While there is always ups and downs put out in the media about one study or another that some aspect of coffee is purported to be good for you, to me it just doesn’t intuitively feel like a good beauty choice. I’d rather get my acid load from dark chocolate treats, and I am more than happy with tea (I do LOVE drinking hot things).
If you do want to drink coffee, try these tips:
Hope you enjoyed our little discussion!
What are your favorite types of tea? Do you think given all the health and beauty benefits, that you will start drinking tea more ??
Resources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/20/chart-of-the-week-coffee-and-tea-around-the-world/
