Ethanol optional. My favorite beverage in the world is a two-shot long espresso with a bit of sugar. It's like a super-rich, more intense coffee. Hackers seem to have interesting tastes, so let's hear them.
Tea is cheap, lasts for months or years, and can be made in the office kitchen. Black and oolong tea in the morning and midday, white tea in the afternoon. Make it loose leaf in a sufficiently large infuser.
You can buy some of the most delicious stuff you've ever tasted for less than a dollar a cup, and often the leaves can be reused. People in my office express skepticism that I'm willing to spend so much on tea, then go down to Starbucks for their bland-tasting $4 daily latte. Right now I have a tin of carmely Yunnan tea with a powerful pepper flavor that really wakes you up. Also, caffeine.
Other things I like: Three Floyds beer, North Shore gin, rye manhattans, dark red wine, Intelligentsia coffee, Dr. Pepper. And lots of water.
Perhaps it's because I was just reading some very lyrical poetry to my daughter, but up until the "Other things I like:..." bit, the first two paragraphs read like a lovely poem dedicated to tea :)
Water. I used to drink an unhealthy amount of Pepsi One, but recognized that it was never making me any less thirsty.
It may be boring, but it's cheap (free), plentiful, and effective. The only downside is that I have to rely on willpower for late-night hacking rather than caffeine.
I always have water next to me. I go through liters/day, more on gym days.
I enjoy good coffee. Straight espresso is my favorite, although I will drink regular coffee with just some milk in it. Maybe I'm odd, but enjoy savory/bitter flavors much more than sweet.
Diet sodas. The regular versions are just too sweet. I probably have 1 diet soda/day. The fizz and little bit of sweetness seems to go well with lunch.
Good beers. I love pale ales, but have been experimenting more with darker stouts. A local bar makes a great coffee stout that is very tasty. I also like wine and tend to bounce back and forth between wine and beer with dinner depending on my mood and current weather.
Liquor drink of choice is vodka rocks or vodka tonic.
Vesper Martinis. I am a Martini nut, and the vesper, whilst an acquired taste is incredible stuff. If you're not able to make this and are in London, go to the Dukes Hotel Bar in Mayfair and ask for one there. They will only serve you two of them, on account of the strength.
You will need:
1 bottle of Berry Brothers No. 3 Dry London Gin (Tanqueray 10 will do as an alternative, do not use Gordons)
1 bottle of Potocki vodka (a neutral vodka is great, Belvedere or Ketel one will do, Finlandia is ok-ish, Smirnoff is not)
1 Bottle of orange Angostura Bitters
1 Bottle of Lillet Blanc - Do not use Martini Bianco, Noilly Prat can be used but will change the taste substantially. Cocchi Americano can be used instead (in which case don't use Angostura Bitters).
An Amalfi Lemon
To make the vesper, pour two splashes of Angostura Bitters into a classic cocktail glass or Champagne goblet if you have one. Take a shaker, fill with ice and add 85ml of the Gin, 15 ml of Vodka and 25ml of Lillet. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds or stir for 30 (stirring will result in a weaker drink from the melting of the ice, shaking oxygenates the gin and gives it a sharper taste) and strain the resulting drink out into the glass. Take the zest of the lemon, twist it, pass it gently over the rim of the glass and let it settle in the centre. Serve.
At the moment I'm drinking mostly water as I'm trying to shift a bit of weight, although I do love Dr Pepper Zero, or a great Latte. In Reading the best Latte I've had can be found at the Workhouse Cafe near the Oracle.
Nothing wrong with vodka drinks, I'm a big fan of Belvedere Black, but you will get some funny looks from bartenders if you're being that precise with your specifications yet using the wrong liquor for your drink.
Particular the Vesper, whose recipe is very well known.
The reason there's so many substitutes is that the original contents are no longer available in their original recipes. The original vesper called for Gordons and didn't specify which vodka, so you have to improvise.
As for drinking 'actual Martinis' there's no such thing as an actual Martini. There's plenty of stories as to the origin, ranging from the Mexican gold digger in Martinez to the bar in New York that put gin in with Martini Rosso in the late 19th century. I tend to follow the Knickerbocker Hotel 1911 recipe for classic Martinis, which I make often but a well mixed Vesper is an incredible drink, and something most of the people here are unlikely to have tried. It's the closest I can imagine to an actual pan-galactic gargleblaster.
To be fair, the first sip of a great Vesper tastes a little like Jet Fuel, and I'd never drink one at anything approaching room temperature, but a badly mixed Vesper is pretty much undrinkable.
Wait, you go to the UK and drink Budweiser? Are you mad, sir? There's beautiful fine British ales to be had, not to mention the congregation of the world's finest lagers. Next time you're in the UK, please try a Peroni, a Staropramen or a Schneider Weisse if you're used to Bud and get the opportunity.
This depends on whenever it's american "budweiser" or original Budweiser (Budvar). With original Budweiser being certainly better that anything Staropramen, but you are probably in for a hangover, as it has particularly high sugar content for light beer (the brewery had even financed scientific study few years ago into what caused this).
Budweiser Budvar is a fantastic beer, but Busch Budweiser actually came before it. The original Budweiser is apparently sold as "Burgerbrau" in the US, something I've never heard of.
When talking about specific companies, yes, Busch was first. However, in this case, this is "regional trademark", the beer with this name was brewed in Budweis (Budejovice) long before the company was established. It is a name of the town, after all.
The same way for Pilsner. "Pilsner Urquell" (Plzensky Prazdroj) is brewed in Pilsen (Plzen).
The article you've linked to says it's the other way around. The Burgerbrau Budweiser beer came before the Busch one and was exported to the US a year before Busch started marketing their version of Budweiser.
I lived in the UK for a bit and was amazed that brits actually aren't beer snobs. In fact, all of my coworkers seemed to enjoy Stella, which is worse than american macro beers. Not to mentioned Budweiser is all they serve in football stadiums.
Also according to my Italian friend Peroni is the pabst blue ribbon of european macrobrews.
Single malt whisky, usually Laphroaig. Neat with a few drops of distilled water. In a proper glass that enhances the aroma and flavour, not a "rocks glass":
Yes. You're right for serious enjoyment of course but I really enjoy drinking whisky from a cut crystal tumbler for some reason. I like savouring the good ones from a proper glass, but there's something about the weight of a good tumbler...
Premium single malt Scotch whiskey. Some of my best ideas have come to me while drinking Scotch.
Nota bene, some of my worst ideas have come to me when drinking Scotch.
+1 if by myself or w/ a buddy. But beers if it's a group hacking session. A group of us meet every Wednesday night and we rotate who comes up with the challenge of the night.
Ah yes my favorite topic. During the day it's just water and 2 cups of coffee (morning and post-lunch).
For adult beverages I enjoy beer and various distilled spirits.
Beer: lately I've been really getting into Belgian and Belgian-style beers. Trappist ales (Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle), lambic and gueuze (my favorite style of beer), most things from Russian River Brewing Company, New Belgium La Folie, etc
Booze: I'm a big fan of scotch, generally peaty ones. Laphroaig quarter cask, Talisker, etc. I also like aged rums (Ron Zacapa 23) and rye.
Almost 100% matching my drinking habits. Except the booze.
My favorite one is Martini Bianco with the same amount of pure lemon juice. Most people hate it.
* Coffee - short Italian espresso (always when out) or Turkish
* Red Bull - too much, a lot less than previously
* Beers - again a lot less alcohol than previously, because I prefer being in a productive mode, but Guinness, London Pride and English Ale (Rose n' Crown in Palo Alto, 21st amendment & Gordon Biersch in SF, The Porterhouse in Covent Garden, London & The Dove in Fulham)
* Scotch - as many different types as I can. Usually a compulsory purchase when going through duty-free at airpots. Macallan, JW, Famous Grouse
I agree it's quite good, you just have to mind the sludge at the bottom. I also really like Cafe Sua Da, which can be found in Vietnamese restaurants, which is coffee with sweetened condensed milk poured over ice.
I narrowly missed some Cafe Sua Da yesterday at the Bloomsbury Festival in London. I would've been up for it but had just had a latte. Doh!
I'm quite fortunate on the Turkish coffee front, my wife usually makes it on the weekend. If you ever want to scare little kids, suck some of the sludge in through your teeth, spit it back out in the coffee, look at the kid then smile at them. Guaranteed screams and tears :)
I actually had been sticking with Macallan for a while, but went to a JW tasting with friends a few weeks ago, and discovered that I like their Gold about as much as Macallan's single malt.
Ah, quite possibly. I haven't had anything in Macallan but 12 year old. In spite of nearing 40, I only started drinking, really, this year. So I have much study, yet. ;)
I really like bottled iced green tea (available throughout Asia, and often in the US). I used to be addicted to Diet Coke (2-8L/day), but now that I have easy access to bottled green tea for $1/ea, that and water are pretty much all I drink.
When I'm at home, I usually brew green tea and then drink it hot or iced, but for travel, something you can buy on the street in vending machines, 7-11, etc. is definitely worthwhile. I wish a fast food chain in the US would sell it.
Funny you mention JWB. I was at my local liquor shop on friday night grabbing a bottle of JW Black, my normal "non special occasion" scotch. The guy in front of me bought four bottles of Blue, all the stock the shop had.
I felt so jealous of being able to just casually drop a grand on scotch that I spent all weekend working on my startup.
Strangely enough, I've also identified Macallan and Glenlivet as two scotches that are less pleasant than they "should" be, given their price. This must be characteristic of having an Islay gene.
Whenever I'm home, I usually drink milk: Something about milk makes it way better than water when I'm home.
At times when I'm hacking up something during nighttime, a large cup of black tea and milk. Not the usual hacker-coke/coffee, but it has the same effect.
I usually drink water during studies. Whenever it's getting late or I'm getting tired, we have this espresso-machine not far away which gets quite tempting.
I used to guzzle milk until I realized the calorific content of what I was chugging. But Tea with milk gives you caffeine, antioxidants and calcium, and hydrates you quite well according to research funded by the tea industry.
I'm a pathetic caffeine addict so the mornings start with a large cup of strong coffee.
Whenever I feel thirsty I make myself a nice pitcher of ice water with a little lemon juice added to it.
At night, for beer I like hoppy West Coast style IPAs. If for some reason I'm trying to get drunk as fast as possible, fill a glass partway with cheap vodka and the rest with cheap beer (a strong beer cocktail, basically).
From my time at essentially an internship, we've invented a new drink. We call it the quad, which is 2 2*espessos from the coffee machine. It has a real kick to it and is good to start off those slow mornings.
Other than that, pretty much tea (Generic black tea). I never drank tea before starting, now I have a couple a day. I like the comfort of sipping a hot drink while coding.
Water definitely, unless I feel so sick of the taste(lessness) of water I'd get an ice lemon tea. By the way I hate energy drinks but at times they can be life savers...
3) Pull a ristretto [1] shot from a Rancilio Silvia* .
4) Enjoy!
I highly recommend home-roasting. It's fun to geek out about it and completely control the process, experiment with different roast levels and curves, etc. You get the freshest coffee in the world. If you drink coffee with any regularity, the roaster pays for itself quickly and then you're saving money on coffee [2].
* Of course other equipment can be used; I mention what I use because after a lot of research, I found these items to be the best bang-for-your-buck for beginners, and I'm quite happy with them after several years.
For those of you that don't want to drop the money on a roaster, you can buy an old popcorn popper and use it. Beware - once you start down the path of roasting your own coffee, you won't want coffee any other way.
That's some of the best advice for anyone getting into espresso. Good grind consistency is really key to an even extraction. A good rule of thumb to follow is up to $400, spend as much on the grinder as you did on the espresso machine.
Water, milk, green tea, orange juice. Coffee, occasionally. Soda and energy drinks, I go by an "only if it's free" rule.
Alcoholic: Yuengling is my go-to beer, I'm not exactly picky and I'll drink just about anything if I'm looking to get drunk, which is usually. I love good Scotch and always drink it straight.
Smoothies! I bought a blender (after I quit drinking, go figure) and get frozen blueberries/strawberries, go to the farmer's market and get papaya, mango, pineapple, dates, whatever. With or without ice cream, raw eggs, ground nuts, protein. Eating/drinking fruit seems to bouy me up mentally, emotionally and physically.
Cafe Bustello or Cafe Pilon -- bottom shelf grocery store, 1lb vacuum sealed fine-ground espresso roast for $5. I think it's really good. Makes two mugs in two minutes in a $12 Mr. Coffee.
Then I have about half an hour of kickstarted clarity, and an hour of weird chemical jitters. I guess I drink it for the flavor.
Gallons of Brita filtered water from the fridge--tap water here is warm in the summer. I would drink Fiji water, but with the amount I consume I could buy a plane ticket to the South Pacific.
I also love to drink fruit smoothies in the mornings. I used to work at a Jamba Juice so I replicate some recipes as best as I can remember.
Try getting a plain yogurt to blend in, if you like the taste of dairy. Also, using a fruit juice as a base to blend into makes a huge difference. My favorite is apple juice because it is just sweet and not overpowering/citrus-y.
Mostly water, with some original formula Gatoraid, made from powder from cans (and a bit more concentrated that per the recipe).
Caffeine is a bad idea for me, although if I could find some decaffeinated Earl Gray that didn't taste like mud I'd drink that too.
Back when I could drink alcohol (interacts poorly with some drugs I must take now), Sam Adams Boston Lager was my favorite (and allowed me to say "Even my beer is political!" :-). I was in the Boston area at the time and was lucky to have a friend who appreciated good beer introduce it to me a couple of years after it came out (up to then I was singularly unimpressed with generic American wimpy downstream beer and couldn't understand why my parents drank it ... and now my father drinks Sam Adams).
I'm a big fan of Coffee from Starbucks, going with a venti vanilla latte or a venti iced caramel latte (frappuccino) depending on the weather. When making my own hot drinks, I'll switch hapilly between tea and coffee.
Cold drinks, I do like coke but rarely drink it (except if I'm eating out and don't want to drink anything alcoholic), absolutely love orange juice (with real bits in it, freshly squeezed), the occasional vanilla milkshake goes down a treat, too.
Alcoholic, I'm a big fan of Corona (with lime, of course) when drinking out, and when not trying to get drunk (e.g. while working) I greatly enjoy a good scotch, or a glass of wine.
Oh, and what I drink most: water, all day, every day.
I drink a good deal of diet coke, though less than I used to. As I get healthier, I don't need and cannot tolerate as much caffeine. I also keep an assortment of fruit juice in the house. These days, I frequently mix fruit juice with diet coke. I have even begun taking a small bottle of fruit juice to work and mixing with diet coke bought on site (from a vending machine or the cafeteria).
As for alcohol, I don't tolerate most alcoholic beverages well. I do okay with Kahlua but still don't like the taste. I tend towards frozen drinks, like a Mud Slide or Kahlua Cappuccino. If my tongue is numb enough, I can hardly taste the alcohol. :-/
6pm-9pm Wine, sake, or a few Manhattans (beer when I was in my 20's, but no longer)
Hangover hack: set a time cutoff and NEVER drink past that time, no matter what. That time can be > midnight when you're young, but move it back by an hour every few years.
Usually during the day, I try to drink cups of hot water, rather than coffee. It's a little strange at first, but satisfies my need for a hot drink while keeping me away from the caffeine monster. Just lately, I've been having the odd coffee to keep me going, as my wife and I have a new born baby and sleep doesn't come as easy as it used to.
Cherry coke with lots of ice. I'm addicted to this stuff, but I know it's really really bad for me, so I try to keep my consumption to a minimum (I still usually get through a couple of 2 litre bottles each week).
I don't really drink much anymore but when I do, I like a long Jack Daniels and coke with ice.
I prepared this morning two liters of fruit and vegetable juice. It is made of (in descending order) Carrots, Apples, Fennel and Cabbage. It took me a little more than half an hour to prepare. I drank one glass right out of the juicer and took the rest to work in some reused water bottles. (reuse is much better than recycle)
I also took with me three large ripe bananas - ones with spots on their peel.
I don't do this every day, but sometimes I summon enough will power to do it.
I once managed to drink vegetable and fruit juice for 10 days straight, maybe I will do a 90 day juice feast someday.
In the morning I usually have AeroPressed coffee, sometimes with milk, sometimes not. And then during the day I just drink water or teas (green, white, black). I tend to forget juices in the fridge so I rarely get any.
As for alcoholic beverages, I discovered a cucumber variant of the Moscow Mule to be my absolute favorite drink. Smash 2-3 slices of cucumber in a glass, add 3 parts ginger ale/beer (beer is better, but hard to get), 1 part good vodka and a little lime juice, decorate with some more cucumber. The cucumber adds a fantastic fresh taste to the cocktail and makes the ginger ale sparkle even more.
One of the best meals I've had in a long time was in Singapore. I stayed in "Little India" which is chock full of tiny little Indian restaurants. The best dish was the mutton masala. Absolutely delicious, but the finishing touch that made it amazing was the simple ginger beer. I want to go back to Singapore, just to eat some mutton masala and drink ginger beer...
I used to drink 3 cups of coffee a day. I've now brought it down to twice a week, and it's stayed that way for almost a year. I'm very happy about that.
When I do drink coffee, I prefer french press coffee. I live in Seattle and there are plenty of great coffee shops within a couple of blocks of where I live.
I've also started running quite a bit recently, and I drink Nuun when I crave salt/electrolytes. It's refreshing (I pick lemon-lime flavor) and super low-calorie drink.
I've learnt to drink water (instead of carbonated drinks) when I'm thirsty at work.
And finally, I love port wine and have a glass of really good port once or so a month.
I was pretty much addicted to Mountain Dew for the better part of 12 years. In early 2009 I finally switched to Diet Dew and then late 2009 I switched over to Diet Coke. Not sure if that's any better for me than Diet Dew, probably not. I try to incorporate water as much as I can and Iced Tea as well. I tend to drink Chocolate Milk in spurts as well, such as getting it 3 or 4 times a week in the mornings for a couple months and then not getting it again for another couple months. I just get tired of it after a while because it's so heavy?
About two months ago I started adding as less sugar as possible to coffee and tea and one month ago I drink tea and coffee without sugar at all. I have a feeling that digestive system started working much better after this change.
I always keep my water bottle with me, and refill it as soon as it's empty. I completely stopped drinking soda (except for social purposes) about 5 years ago for health reasons.
Morning: Normal Coffee with cream - The bolder the better.
Meals: Sparkling water- I am completely off of soda now. Usually flavored but sometimes not.
I don't like the taste of drinking flat water so this was a middle ground that let me have a drink with lunch that didn't feel/taste odd. I usually drink this : http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0217240_sc7
Sparkling flavored water. Reminds me of a marketing idea I had - sell Crystal Pepsi as "cola-flavored spring water, lightly sweetened" in an eco-themed bottle.
I cringed when I read that. A splash of water is ok, but scotch is only drank on the rocks if it's mixed. If you really want to have it cold put a glass in the fridge serve your ambient temp scotch in it and let it stand for a minute or two.
I really never agreed with the whole philosophy that you are never to drink scotch with ice. It brings out an interesting flavor that you cannot get when drinking it neat.
I meant mixed as in blended. Sorry or the confusion. Blended scotch is ok to drink on the rocks... sometimes it's the only way actually. Single malt is in a whole different class though.
I should have clarified- Not ice, but whiskey stones. Just didnt want to confuse people here not familiar with the stuff. I like it cold, dont know what to say :)
But the guy above was talking about drinking single malt scotch on the rocks. It's not the temperature.
Single malt is enjoyed because of its taste and character, but if it gets mixed with enough water, from melting ice for example, it breaks and loses its appealing qualities.
Single Malt + Water = Former Delicious Whiskey. But in an emergency, you can use ice to make some awful blended whiskey potable.
I meant mixed as in blended, but I understand I could have been talking about mixing whisky with redbull so sorry for using that word. You do realize I was agreeing with you though? Single malt whisky should not be watered down by ice, but if you like it cold, use a cold glass to bring its temperature down (not my cup of tea but its a sensible choice). In contrast blended whisky (read Chivas, or Johnny black) while the flavor is ok they have very little "character" and sometimes taste better on the rocks.
Edit: OK, maybe you confused me twice, first by seemingly cringing at me, and then by talking about "mixed" whiskey. I guess you may have meant that the post I was replying to made you cringe.
Coffee (home-ground, moka pot) in the morning and throughout the day, Tea (herbal and/or earl gray) in the evening. Water every now and then (but not enough).
Rarely I drink a glass of orange juice with my breakfast. If I get the chance (i.e. come close to an organic store) I'll get a large pack of coconut water and drink it all up.
I used to drink a lot of beer, but lately I've been switching to red wine and at the same time lowering my overall alcohol intake.
I like your style. I don't know of anyone else personally who drinks Hendricks, but I'm pretty confident in saying it's the best gin in the world. When we're feeling frisky and just happen to have all of the ingredients, we make G&Ts with a little pomegranate syrup and a slices kumquat. As you might imagine, the stars don't align like that too often. :)
If I'm traveling I'll drink whatever local beverages I can find (teas, coffees, beers, wines, liquors, juices), but at home it's mostly water, one cup of coffee (half-decaf) in the morning, and lots of herbal/green/white teas in the cooler months.
I like Hendricks but it's very expensive here, so I might only get one or two bottles a year. I tend it drink it straight on ice - it's the only gin that I do that with.
I too enjoy Hendericks over all other gins. Next time you are drinking your hendricks on the rocks, try muddling a slice of cucumber first and then add your ice and gin. It's great and refreshing!
Lately I've been making a big smoothie 2-3 times a week in the blender and just keeping it in the fridge.
yoghurt/milk/2 apples/2 oranges/2 bananas/cinnamon and vanilla extract.
The trick is that the bananas and oranges cancel out as base and acid while the apples are neutral. So you can substitute pineapple for the oranges or grapes for the apples for example. But I always keep that base and acid balance.
If you like Butterfingers, try 2-3 scoops vanilla ice-cream some carrot juice, and some peanut butter, it tastes very very similar to the inside layer of a Butterfinger candy bar, but is much healthier. I don't know exactly how much I add of carrot juice or peanut butter, I add to taste and consistency, after you make it 1-2 times it's really easy.
Lots of tea (mostly english breakfast), lots of water, and I buy the odwalla super food (or similar) things in the big jug and drink one a week or so.
For booze, I like a good beer, paler in the summer, darker in the winter.
I fucking love bourbon, knob creek especially. Saphire martini (up), knob creek manhattan, easy on the vermouth, extra bitters (also up), or a shitty gibson martini on ice with lots of vermouth and lime.
No-one talking about tequila? A good tequila is next on my purchase list for my spirits cupboard.
Generally, I'm a whisky man. Islay and Speyside particularly (Ardbeg or Caol Ila would probably be the desert island whiskies, though my guilty pleasure is a 12 y.o. Glenlivet).
Obviously, I mainly drink water. Whisky isn't what you go for when you need refreshing.
Also, is there a correlation between black coffee drinkers and whisky drinkers?
Lots of water. I have two containers of lemonade mix that I never use because I'm usually too lazy to mix it up. Water is cheap and I'm on a budget!
As for alcohol, I usually have rum with coke, or scotch if I'm not paying. Beer and wine are both awful. But I rarely ever drink as I'm the driver 99% of the time I might otherwise have the opportunity. I don't mess around with that.
First thing in the morning, two squeezed oranges, then some tea (two mugs or more, black, no sugar, no milk). Sparkling water at lunch, usually. One espresso after lunch (black, no sugar, no milk). Some more tea at 5 o'clock. Water at dinner, maybe some wine, and soup in winter. Herbal tea at night. Total liquid consumption: between 2 and 4 liters, every day.
Until the last few months, it would have been Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew, and Mountain Dew. But I've given up the HFCS for now. 1 cup of coffee in the morning, not particular about what kind, but only drink it black. Ridiculous amounts of water.
Alcohol- 7 & 7 is my cocktail when out. I go through phases of wine. Sauvignon Blancs at the moment.
Intelligentsia coffee when I can get it. These days we've been using the "toddy" for cold brewed coffee. It results in a quite nice cup of hot or cold coffee and takes about as much time to make a single serving as instant would, but doesn't taste foul. In the past I've used a moka pot on the stove and still do on occasion.
White tea. Clears the mind and raises energy smoother & better than coffee, without later energy drop. Remember that as for any tea you cannot pour it for more than 3 minutes, otherwise it will make you more sleepy, not less.
Czech & Slovak beer.
White vodka - the healthiest of alcohols, if you know when to stop and don't mix with other booze.
I apologize for mistake, for a moment I thought 'pour' has a different meaning. English is not my native language and I lack some vocabulary esp. in non-tech area.
I meant: steep tea leafs in hot water for at most 3 minutes then take the leafs out.
This applies to tea bags as well, but better and more tasteful tea is when you buy a bigger bag of loose tea leafs
and use a metal tea-strainer. There are shops with specially crafted sets of leafs mixed together with some flavors from other herbs or flowers.
I thought that, but ideal steeping time varies greatly on the tea. He may be referring to white tea specifically? And why will it make you more sleepy, not less?
Tea contains tannin as well as caffeine, the tannin is a relaxant the caffeine a stimulant, the caffeine comes out first. According to fmltea[1] the caffeine will all be drawn out in the 1st 2mins and the tannin in 5mins. I have previously heard that the greatest caffeine hit is obtained by leaving the teabag in for 30 seconds, I imagine it will depend greatly on the type of tea and how you brew it.
It does however tell you that with tea unlike coffee, stronger flavor does not mean stronger caffeine.
I was referring to all kinds of tea. After about three minutes of steeping the tannin, which neutralizes the effect of caffeine, gets into the liquid. Apart from that there are other substances, I don't know English translation atm, which also get into the liquid over time and they have more calming effect. Last but not least, the taste gets bitter over time. So it's best to steep at most that X minutes.
The preferred steeping times vary indeed for different kinds of tea. Wikipedia says 5-7 minutes for a white tea, well my experience is rather shorter, but it's also a matter of taste.
Interesting I had no idea tannin had that affect. That may also explain the effects after red wine drinking. Thank you.
However, speaking of white tea (and really most herbal tea), my understanding is that it does not contain tannin, and very low levels of caffeine (none when speaking of most herbal). If I wanted a caffeine high I would drink something else. So with white tea, I agree it's a matter of taste, but other than that, would you think steeping time matters?
Water, Tea and Coffee, no particular order, just get up from the chair every hour or so and make myself a cup of hot beverage (Tea or Coffee) and a cup or two of water.
At home, water only.
On Weekends, (evening standard):
I treat myself with a double shot of single malt (Glenmorangie) or cognac (Remy Martin), and/or very few beers on the after noons.
No, hot water. Plus Honey if you need a sweetener. Milk works too. Also if you'd rather eat cocoa than drink it, I would order bulk organic cocoa nibs rather than processed sugarified chocolate bars.
[ If you want to get fancy I'm sure you could order raw cocoa beans and roast them like you do coffee beans ]
I have a french press on my desk at work. Without coffee, how can you save the world?
Other times: OJ and water. I average less than 1 alcoholic drink per month: I don't like the taste of most alcohol and I intensely dislike being drunk. I do like a glass of cabernet now and then.
When I made my own coffee I used an AeroPress: http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm. Incredibly smooth coffee, no bite at all to it. Buying fresh beans and grinding them became too much of a hassle and expense eventually though.
1.) Water
2.) Black Tea with Mint instead of morning coffe
3.) Red wines (semi dry)
4.) White wines (dry and sweet)
5.) Occasional beer
6.) Coffee
7.) occasional liquor
I'm actually drinking less and less coffee and beer. Both are being substituted by tea and wine respectively.
I like peach juice. Or even peach/white cranberry.
I also like Tea, though I don't drink it regularly. Except when I'm eating at an oriental type restaurant. I have a stash of English breakfast tea for mornings when I am really tired.
7 litres of water a day. I started drinking more and more, and now I just sit there constantly sipping water all day (well, when I'm not in the bathroom....)
Also green tea, coffee if I'm real tired, V if I'm even more tired, and Vodka/Scotch on weekends.
Ya, why are you trying to drink so much water. There's no health benefit to it, and potential problems if you actually force yourself to drink in excess of your food intake (though that tends to be hard to do).
I see. I guess your original post made it sound like it was purposeful. If you aren't doing it intentionally, then it could raise a question of an underlying medial disorder.
7L is a lot of fluid. Well above normal. If you aren't purposefully drinking that much fluid, you may be urinating in excess which results in your excess thirst. You could have a mild form of Diabetes Insipidus, for example:
A relatively rare disorder. Uncontrolled regular diabetes can also cause excess urination/thirst. Anyhow, it may be something to bring up with your primary care physician. (I'm a former nephrologist)
the question is how much is too much? I don't try to drink 7 litres, I just become thirsty and drink throughout the day.
All research I've done seems to point to the only issue being if I don't get enough electrolytes, and my food intake (I eat at least the equivalent of 6-8 slices of bread - on sandwhiches - throughout the day) seems to negate that.
All other effects are related to having a ridiculous amount in a short time.
Water (Probably about 1.5 liters a day)
Beer (Cases of Stone IPA from costco are nice)
Kombucha and Ginger beer that I brew myself
Mexican Coke (Sometimes with whiskey)
I try to get iced tea at restaurants (with lemonade if they have it)
Good thread. I don't have much dot add, but: water water water. I've got a weak spot for a big glass of orange juice in the morning and go through phases of making yogurt/banana/frozen berry smoothies. Favorite drink is a gin tonic.
Club Mate when in German speaking lands is a favorite. My other favorite non standard staples are tap water + a few tablespoons of juice, microbrew beers, soy chai with a double shot of espresso, coffee made with Moka pots, and gin.
In no particular order, what I drink day to day I vary with no set routine. For personal health reasons I've cut out fats/simple sugars/alcohol/carbs from my diet so this list is much smaller then it used to be.
i'm in the imperial IPA capital of california, san diego, so i tend to fill a lot of growlers. ballast sculpin (2010 world beer cup winner), port brewery's swami (first imperial ipa in the california style) and booya steez, alesmith's wee-heavy and speedway stout, and we must not forget green flash and all their wares...their imperial ipa probably being the best.
when i'm not drinking that, i drink lots of water. a moderate amount of coffee, some laphroaig or lagavulin (i like the peaty stuff), some noah's mill micro-batch bourbon, and lots of mugicha.
Chai, chai and some more chai. It is kind of milked tea but uniquely special to North Indians. In India, coffee is almost non-existent -- tea / chai rules the day.
Beer or vodka, mostly on weekends only (with friends).
Ethanol: A home concoction I dubbed "Blood of the Kraken"- two parts Old Monk rum, one part Teacher's scotch, a full lemon squeezed in. Never, ever, more than a double peg.
I started juicing (organic) about 6 months ago and love it! My current fav juice is carrot & apple. If you want the freshest and most natural juice try juicing your own.
Coffee (Higher Ground at the office),
Green Tea,
Beer (Great Divide DPA or IPA; Paulaner Hefeweizen; Sam Adams)
& 10-12 glasses of water throughout the day. No soda or juice.
And a Diet soda or two a day. Whatever is deeply discounted at Safeway I get. My favorite drink of all time is Diet Cream Soda, but that doesn't seem to be sold in the Bay Area.
Outside of California it's $2.99 a bottle, but still often called "Two Buck Chuck". It is of comparable quality to wines in the $8-$10 range. Almost any $15 bottle of wine will be better than Charles Shaw, IMHO. Still, for $2-$3, it's a good value.
But to answer the question:
virgin: water
ethyl alcohol: ...I guess whiskey (bourbon or irish). Maybe a nice red wine [Not $2 Chuck]
Water, diet coke, coke. Beer: standards are fat tire and heinekens. If a recent trip was made to wisconsin, spotted cow beer(I'm in Illinois so it's not available here)
Water and Coffee. Occasionally a diet coke. I used to be quite anti-coffee, but it really does make me sharper and more productive. That, and it tastes delicious.
I like the Earl Grey Bravo from Adagio Teas: http://www.adagio.com/black/earl_grey_bravo.html. It's definitely the most perfumey and citrusey Earl Grey I've had, which may not be to every person's liking.
in order of frequency:
* water
* green tea, preferably 'tie guan ying' (chinese green)
* juice
i've outgrown alcohol but my taste for beer never left me, so in bars i now drink alc.-free beer when available.
i don't drink coffee. i sometimes grab a redbull to keep me awake at nights, interesting how well caffeine helps with that if you have barely any tolerance to it.
Another good rum for the price is Flor De Caña from Nicaragua. Usually around $20 a bottle for the 4 year aged rum, but the 5 yr, and 7 yr are affordable as well.
as i am surprised that no one has mentioned it: when ever i am in the uk or ireland i get a nice cold pear cider (bulmers, magners...). just love to drink it instead of a beer!
water, diet Dr. Pepper, trying to replace that with lemonade because it's cheaper/healthier and I still get the sweet taste.. but I do love soda. (: Also Yuengling, PBR.
You can buy some of the most delicious stuff you've ever tasted for less than a dollar a cup, and often the leaves can be reused. People in my office express skepticism that I'm willing to spend so much on tea, then go down to Starbucks for their bland-tasting $4 daily latte. Right now I have a tin of carmely Yunnan tea with a powerful pepper flavor that really wakes you up. Also, caffeine.
Other things I like: Three Floyds beer, North Shore gin, rye manhattans, dark red wine, Intelligentsia coffee, Dr. Pepper. And lots of water.