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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Hot bloody buggering drink options ..... or lack thereof

90 replies

ScottOfTheArseAntics · 27/10/2011 13:59

For various tedious and irritating health reasons this year I have slowly had to wave goodbye to caffeine (sob), dairy (blub) and alcohol (gibber).

After several months I am slowly getting used to not having a morning caffeine hit and instead I am drinking caffeine free herbal teas which are all watery and insipid and boring and the liquid equivalent of eating a polystyrene ceiling tile.

Currently in my cupboard I have redbush, chammomile, fennel, nettle, jasmine, green, decaf Early Grey, a dozen different fruity Twinings teas which all taste the shagging same and peppermint, which I kind of like but can't tolerate on my stomach - oh the irony.

Anyway. AIBU for thinking there are no hot drinks which can hold a candle to a delicious bubbling hot, creamy, sugary cup of propert coffee Sad?

Can anybody recommend and alternative hot beverage. Has anybody actually tasted a herbal or fruit tea that really hit the spot?. Please, please let me know. I am desperate.

OP posts:
Original poster
ScottOfTheArseAntics · 27/10/2011 15:10

Miso!! That's a good idea.

So, Tea Pigs is going on the shopping list as are Yogi teas.

Yogi teas are getting a thumbs up.

Honey has a lower GL than refined sugar so I can have it now and then.

I have been very partial to sugary builders tea. Again going for decaf tea will be tough because I think I'll want to throw sugar in it but Will to Power and all that.

I have never had much will power and to be honest its taken ill-health and the prospect of pain to get me this far on cutting out the 'good stuff'.

ChippingIn - I'm glad your SIL is feeling better after the op. My biggest fear is feeling worse and going hypothyroid.

OP posts:
lucymr · 27/10/2011 15:11

Buggerlugs - there is a widely held view that artificial sweeteners like aspartame cause cancer. However the cancer research website states that there is no evidence of this. I believe there was an artificial sweetener that caused health problems but it has been banned for years and years and is not the same as aspartame.
I had a work colleague who, everytime I had a sugar free polo, helpfully told me I was going to get cancer. My dad died of cancer last year - a touchy subject!

lucymr · 27/10/2011 15:12

See here for asparthame facts

lucymr · 27/10/2011 15:12

Silly me, I didn't put the link on info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/cancernews/2006-05-09-eu-rules-out-aspartame-cancer-risk

Pakdooik · 27/10/2011 15:18

sorry - missed the "no dairy" bit

BikingViking · 27/10/2011 15:18

I live off caffeine and sugar so sadly no helpful suggestions from me, but I do have to say I like your nn Grin

chinateacup · 27/10/2011 15:23

Hot Ribena (again) and Bottle Green cordials are good hot.

Original poster
ScottOfTheArseAntics · 27/10/2011 15:24

I don't push the aspartame thing and I certainly wouldn't impose my choices on somebody else. My mum who was an uber-hippy wholefood freak and aspartame hater sadly died after developing stomach cancer 10 years ago, she was only 56. There is no rhyme or reason.

OP posts:
ladyintheradiator · 27/10/2011 15:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
ScottOfTheArseAntics · 27/10/2011 15:25

lucymr - sorry for your loss.

OP posts:
lucymr · 27/10/2011 15:27

I agree Scott - totally your choice to avoid it and I have to say I don't have it much because I prefer natural foods.

It just boils my blood sometimes when people (like my work colleague) spout ignorant "facts" which they have never researched. Cancer is such a big thing that people should know what they are talking about. My dad died of cancer after never drinking or smoking - he had a physical job in the countryside and was slim. There is no rhyme or reason sometimes.
Buggelugs - hope you found my link answerwed your question

lucymr · 27/10/2011 15:28

Thank you Scott. I am so sorry for your loss too - cancer is an evil thing :-(

BeyondLimitsOfTheLivingDead · 27/10/2011 15:30

Camp coffee (chicory essence) and hot soya milk?

Not a fan of green tea in general but ONE (I think it was tetleys regular one) tastes very much like sweet milky tea...?

EauRouge · 27/10/2011 15:31

Oolong tea is nice. I switched to it recently to cut down on caffeine. It's quite sweet so you don't need sugar or milk.

coastgirl · 27/10/2011 15:33

When I was pregnant I would sometimes have a cup-a-soup instead of a caffeinated drink in the afternoon - they're thick and satisfying like a lovely coffee. They are a bit fakey and you'd have to check for dairy, but I enjoyed them, especially the weird croutons.

jenfraggle · 27/10/2011 15:37

I'm sat here drinking a lovely cup of chicken gravy. That is all

FunnyBird · 27/10/2011 15:40

I think that blackcurrant infusions can actually taste fruit, rather than insipid like other fruit teas. Try London Tea company Blackcurrant Bracer:
www.healthstore.uk.com/p442395/london-fruit-herb-blackcurrant-bracer-20-tbags.html

Matronalia · 27/10/2011 15:44

Jasmine tea is nice, can't see if anyone suggested it.

I have made some nice drinks with fruit juices -apple juice diluted with hot water with cinnamon.

When we had a glut of strawberries (PYO craziness), I squished and strained some and added hot water to the juice with a tiny bit of honey. I have tasted fresh nettle leaf tea which is lovely but weird here

Beef Tea is something I was always reading about in historical novels etc. Think bovil is easier!

MercyDulbottle · 27/10/2011 15:44

Norfolk punch is gorgeous, kind of a hot, spiced cordial, a bit like mulled wine without wine.

Original poster
ScottOfTheArseAntics · 27/10/2011 15:45

Weird croutons and chicken gravy. What can I say except thank you.

Thanks FunnyBird and everybody else for all of the suggestions. I feel optimistic and almost inspired after that.

I have to shoot off now to do make up and costumes for kids am-dram show, I'll need a stiff chicken gravy after that and no mistake.

OP posts:
Nixea · 27/10/2011 15:46

You could always pick up some lemonbalm seeds or a small plant from a garden centre. It grows quickly, is fairly hard to kill, needs no special care and tastes delicious when brewed up with some hot water. Yummy and calming.

DogsBeastFiend · 27/10/2011 15:48

Another huge vote for hot Ribena.

Do not drink it cold... it will poison you! Cold Ribena is the devils work. As is sugar free or any other those other new-fangled Ribena concoctions. :o

On the subject of Ribena, have any (older) MNers noticed a change in it over recent years or is it just me? I swear it's far more watery now than it was when I was a child.

CauldronOfBrownJoy · 27/10/2011 15:51

sorry if no help/been said but PG Tips do a decaf version and I really can't tell the difference between that and their caff version...

CauldronOfBrownJoy · 27/10/2011 15:53

oh sorry, you can't have dairy so that was no use whatsoever Blush

afishcalledmummy · 27/10/2011 15:54

I get my herbal teas from Tea Palace who have a shop in Covent Garden but also do home delivery. I gave up caffeine in the summer and struggled at first to find herbal teas that didn't smell like jam and taste like water.

My current favourites are Morning After and Lemon and Ginger though I'm becoming increasingly fond of Blood Orange.

If you can't manage peppermint, can you manage spearmint? I think it's really refreshing and not as sharp as some peppermints.