# Do you drink hot tea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777 "2012-02-23T23:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/61 "2012-02-24T17:47:21Z")
I drink hot tea when I’m feeling a little bit sick (respiratory or digestive), or I’ve had my coffee already for that day and still want a hot drink. Happens more often when it’s cold. Usually I don’t sweeten it, but occasionally I have hot tea as dessert and then I do sweeten it a little bit, about half a packet of sweetener. I like the “raw” sugar sweetener the best. Hot tea always makes me feel better if I’m a little bit sick, it gets rid of mild cramps, or rough breathing, or slight nausea for me. I drink iced tea if I feel like an astringent flavored drink. I don’t like it sweetened unless it’s also flavored, and then it’s more like tea flavored punch than actual tea. Sometimes with breakfast I mix unsweetened iced tea with juice and water to make a light tea punch. It seems to go well with grits or with oatmeal, or eggs and sausage. Probably I have each about 3-4 times a month, often all in the same week as I get in the mood for it and then out again. I drink coffee every day, with milk and no sugar usually. If it’s dessert, it gets the same half packet of sweetener as tea would. I live in the “sweet tea/unsweet tea” part of the USA, but I didn’t grow up here. I find the oversweetened ice tea really unpalatable. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/62 "2012-02-24T17:59:10Z")
You know, I WANT to drink hot tea, but I must confess after taking a big swig, it makes me nauseous. It’s better if I put milk and sugar in it, but I read that milk destroys the healthful properties, whatever they are. I like green tea, though, and camomile. (I can’t stand anything fruity, and a lot of the herbal teas have some nasty berry/plum/hibiscus extract). Iced tea? In restaurants in the summer, but at home I stick to cold water, or seltzer water. There’s way too much sugar in most iced tea mixes and I just don’t bother brewing up unsweetened iced tea. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/63 "2012-02-24T18:59:00Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I don’t think you’re really understanding the situation. […] > There isn’t anyplace where you would ask for “earl grey” and get something cold. Well, when you are planet-side maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/64 "2012-02-24T19:55:08Z")
I drink hot tea when I’m in the mood for it. Usually in the afternoons/evenings when I want something hot. Tea is good for that. I love iced tea in the summer or other times when I want a cold drink with no calories that isn’t laden with chemicals. If I ordered “tea” in a restaurant, I would expect hot tea, not iced. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/65 "2012-02-25T00:56:07Z")
I love tea!! I like it hot - black or with milk or cream. With sugar or honey or nothing. I like black and white and green and herbal. I like it iced - black or with milk or cream. With sugar or honey or Sweet or nothing. I like black and white and green and herbal. My absolute favorite is chai with a splash of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. My favorite for when I’m sick is black tea with a teaspoon of ground ginger. Get the feeling I like tea? I like coffee too though. I do NOT like Earl Grey from Starbucks. They somehow manage to make it taste like weak coffee in a dirty cup and that’s just gross. ---
**Author:** ![Razrak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/razrak/32/5888_2.png) [@Razrak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razrak)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/66 "2012-02-25T02:05:32Z")
I like hot tea. I mainly drink Red Tea but will drink green tea at asian restuarants. My red tea of choice is Cestial Seasonings’s Madagascar Vanilla African Roobis. It’s caffine free, which I guess is an added bonus. I never drink iced tea or coffe. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/67 "2012-02-25T03:37:06Z")
I drink hot tea sometimes, and iced tea sometimes. For me, they are two very different beverages, which I drink at different times for different reasons. There’s never a time when I think “I’d like some tea…do I want hot or cold?” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/68 "2012-02-25T05:11:31Z")
I do drink some hot tea at Asian restaurants, where it’s part of the experience. Ditto for my one trip to England. Other than that, I don’t. When I was young and had bronchitis, my mother would make me drink it, so I came to dislike it. But one of the best things in the world is iced tea on a hot summer day. ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/69 "2012-02-25T09:27:48Z")
Hot tea, please, and preferably one of the traditional Asian ones. I don’t mind cold though, especially in the form of chilled bottles of Oi Ocha Japanese green tea. What I find particularly nasty is sweetened tea. Ugh, disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/70 "2012-02-25T13:41:33Z")
Hot tea. Lipton Quality 1. With sugar and milk, there is no better way to start the day! When people arrive at my house I immediately put the kettle on and offer them tea. After dinner, every evening we have a cup of tea. I can drink iced tea, but even in hot summer, I enjoy hot tea more. I never got into coffee, I’m an all tea girl. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/71 "2012-02-25T14:29:18Z")
I love coffee, but it does not love me. Every now and then I succumb to the smell, and have a cup, and I visit Heartburn City for a while. I particularly love iced coffee. I wish I could drink it. Oh, and I love some of the herbal teas, especially the ones put out by Celestial Seasonings. Their Sleepytime Tea is great for an upset tummy, and it’s wonderful if I have a cold, too. Any hot liquid will help unclog the sinuses, but the Sleepytime Tea seems to work particularly well. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/72 "2012-02-25T15:33:10Z")
I recently gave up caffeinated coffee and soft drinks, but I still drink hot tea. And that’s tea, with tea in it, that is leaves of the tea plant, not “herbs.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/73 "2012-02-25T15:42:25Z")
I drink tea all the time. Hot, usually Earl Grey but always some sort of black tea. The thought of drinking hot milk gives me the willies so I drink it black. If I wanted sugar I would get a Coke. A squeeze of lemon or nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/74 "2012-02-25T15:49:29Z")
Ok two posts because my phone decided to post the last one and I couldn’t edit it quick enough. I also drink iced tea. The unsweetened stuff in restaurants is passable but homemade is the way to go. First boil a full tea kettle. Pour the water in a bowl. Add 6 Tetley tea bags. Let it cool to room temperature. That allows the water to get as black as a cave on the bottom of the ocean. Place the tea in a pitcher and squeeze in one whole lemon. Refrigerate for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. Don’t let sugar get anywhere near it. Perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/75 "2012-02-25T16:06:33Z")
Always hot tea - the hotter, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/76 "2012-02-27T01:38:47Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > Always hot tea - the hotter, the better. You know there’s probably a McDonald’s law suit I could bring up ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Rosetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Green\_Rosetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Rosetta)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/77 "2012-02-28T18:57:45Z")
I drink three cups of hot tea a day, after each meal. Green tea in the morning or night, and I adore Good Earth sweet & spicy tea with a packet of Truvia. Yum yum! I find it keeps me full and gives me a happy feeling. And nothing beats a cup of Throat Coat when you’re feeling poorly. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/78 "2012-02-28T19:01:47Z")
Haha! I was taking my first sip of my morning hot tea when I read the title of this post. American female here, and I love hot tea. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/79 "2012-02-28T20:39:29Z")
I drink hot tea and avoid iced tea like the plague. I didn’t know I liked hot tea (aka _tea_) until I visited England. Cream and sweetener (liquid Splenda) as I am on a low carb diet. Probably drink six cups a day, switching to decaf after 7 PM. I hate ordering tea in restaurants though. A little pot of lukewarm water and a teabag does not and cannot make tea. Instead, it makes a tannin-flavored brown liquid. Not to be a tea snob, but seriously - water cooler than boiling is an insult to tea. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777/80 "2012-02-28T21:02:02Z")
For years I’ve been drinking my tea hot and steeped for minutes. Now, because I wanted to limit my caffiene, I tried steeping it for as little as possible that it will still have a tea-like color. It tastes better. As in, you can actually taste something other than pure astringency if you don’t steep it to all hell and back. I don’t even need to add milk and sugar that way. That said, when I order hot tea in restaurants, I steep it for a bit more than I normally do and add milk and sugar because I want to get my money’s worth 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drink-hot-tea/613777.md?page=5)