There’s more to mornings than coffee. Whether you crave flavor or an energy boost, tea is a real eye opener!
It’s definitely worth the time and effort to experiment with different teas in search of a favorite that will make a good morning even better.
As a tea enthusiast, I have tried dozens, if not hundreds, of teas and included my top picks in this guide.
From brisk breakfast blends to relaxing caffeine-free herbal teas, the choices are distinct as you are.
An intriguing and healthy alternative to the usual cup of joe, make one of these 10 breakfast teas your new morning pick-me-up.
Why I Like to Have Tea for Breakfast
Drinking tea in the morning has many benefits. I especially like the feeling of having a calm moment while preparing and enjoying a morning cup before starting a busy day.
Morning tea is also a great way to improve your mood and awaken your body and mind to have a productive day.
But it’s important to choose the right kind of tea depending on what effect you’re looking for. Some teas are great for increasing focus and burning fat, while others are more calming and have benefits from improving digestion to having strong detoxifying effects.
So let’s take a closer look at my 10 favorite morning teas that each have a unique flavor and some interesting benefits.
Best Caffeinated Morning Teas for Energy
If you are looking for something energizing that will enhance your focus, then start your day with one of these teas:
1. Black Tea
More people wake up with black tea than any other brew. Bold enough to stimulate your senses yet mellow enough to serve with food, it’s a perennial favorite on breakfast tables worldwide.
With less caffeine than coffee but enough to give you a boost, black tea has health benefits too good to ignore. It’s scientifically proven to enhance cognitive performance and memory.
Considered medicinal in some cultures, it’s good for your cardiovascular system — a lengthy study showed a 16% reduction in stroke risk among regular black tea drinkers. When consumed without sweeteners, it may also help keep your blood sugar in check.
But black tea comes in many forms that vary in taste and caffeine content.
Here are some popular types of black teas to get started with:
- English Breakfast Teas are full-bodied blends of black teas to kickstart your morning.
- Earl Grey Tea is a blend of black teas flavored with oil of the Bergamot orange.
- Assam Teas are lowland teas coming from India’s Assam Province and usually have a high caffeine content.
- Darjeeling Tea comes from West Bengal in India and has a lighter taste compared to other black teas.
2. Green Tea and Matcha Tea
Green tea packs a punch of caffeine and flavor. Made from the same Camellia sinensis plant as black tea, wellness enthusiasts swear by its benefits.
Ounce for ounce, green tea contains more antioxidants than black tea and more than most vegetables.
Hot or iced, it’s a dieter delight. As part of a healthy lifestyle, the combination of caffeine and polyphenols helps with weight loss and burning belly fat.
Matcha, a powdered form of green tea, is a powerful brain booster. A 2017 review of more than 60 studies suggests that a single cup increases mental clarity and promotes relaxation despite its caffeine content.
3. White Tea
Don’t let the color of white tea fool you. The least processed, it’s brimming with antioxidants that repair tissue damage at the cellular level.
Preliminary studies suggest white tea has anti-inflammatory properties that may help control arthritic conditions and heart disease. It may also lower your risk of osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease.
Caffeine content varies widely among different varieties, yet it’s nonetheless invigorating without giving you the jitters.
I really like to have some silver needle white tea as the first thing in the morning. This special white tea made with pure young buds tastes amazing, has just the right amount of caffeine, and is packed with antioxidants.
4. Yerba Mate Tea
If you’re bored with coffee but fond of caffeine, give yerba mate a try!
Grown in South America, it’s popular with performance athletes looking for an edge. The caffeine level varies based on how it’s brewed — tea bags contain less, but an 8-ounce cup made with loose-leaf boasts as much as premium coffee.
The taste isn’t for everyone, but the energy boost alone makes it worth a try. If you like green tea, you’ll love yerba mate’s flavor and fat-burning benefits.
This herbal tea can also be a great help in weight management. In a double-blind study, subjects taking yerba mate supplements for 12 weeks experienced an average of 3.0 % decrease in body fat percentage.
5. Chai
A staple in India, Chai is an aromatic blend of black tea and spices served with sweetener and milk.
It’s not calorie-free, but it’s hearty. With a few carbs from sugar and some protein from milk, it’s particularly satisfying if you need a little something in the morning but prefer not to eat too early.
Considered a natural remedy for gastrointestinal issues, the blend of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. Soothing, it tames the symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and eases nausea including morning sickness.
Best Caffeine-Free Herbal Teas to Drink in the Morning
If you prefer to avoid caffeine but still need a cup of something warm in the morning, these herbal options will leave you relaxed but refreshed.
1. Ginger Tea
Ginger tea offers the benefits of powerful antioxidants such as gingerol without stimulants.
A perennial herb, it’s widely consumed as a digestive tonic. Ginger is recognized by FDA as safe for human consumption and its medicinal use is long established.
Recommended by doctors as a non-pharmacological treatment for nausea, it relieves morning sickness without dangerous side effects.
Brewed from the ginger root, the tea is spicy but light and easy to sip on when you have an upset stomach. A little goes a long way.
2. Peppermint Tea
Caffeine isn’t the only choice for enhancing your morning mood and energy level. Researchers at the UK’s Northumbria University discovered that peppermint may be just what the doctor ordered.
Compared to volunteers who drank only water, people who sipped on peppermint tea felt more alert and had better scores on cognition and memory tests. Yet it also gave them a sense of calm, improving mental focus and clarity without the nervousness associated with caffeine.
A favorite during cold and flu season, a comforting cup of peppermint tea also serves as a natural decongestant.
3. Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus flowers are more than beautiful — they’re super healthy!
If you have hypertension, the calyces of the hibiscus are a rich source of anthocyanins. Studies show that three cups per day may significantly lower your systolic blood pressure and heart disease risk.
Packed with polyphenols, this mild, fruity tea may also inhibit the growth of mouth, prostate, and cancer cells.
4. Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea is an age-old folk remedy for insomnia. But does it really work?
There’s little research to suggest this light, floral tea improves sleep, but studies show it relaxes both body and mind.
A cup or two daily increases levels of glycine — an amino acid shown to relieve muscle spasms.
Drinking chamomile tea regularly helps control menstrual cramps by relaxing the uterine muscles. The anti-estrogenic effects may also limit bone loss leading to osteoporosis in women.
5. Rooibos Tea
Rooibos tea is made from the leaves of the South African red bush plant. Flavorful and familiar-tasting, it’s a good caffeine-free alternative to black and green teas.
Human research on rooibos health effects is limited but promising.
Rich in antioxidants, one study in mice found that it reduced blood sugar spikes and insulin resistance. It also appears to hike good cholesterol and reduce bad cholesterol in overweight adults.
Combined, these effects are beneficial for anyone at risk for diabetes or heart disease.
Native South Africans use it as an appetite suppressant, so it may help you win the battle of the bulge.
A Few More Tips for Morning Tea Time
Mix Them Up!
One great option is to mix several types of teas for a combination of flavors and and benefits.
Want something fresh and herbal with caffeine?
Why not mix black tea with peppermint to create your own perfect blend. Or come up with a super combo of as many as five different ingredients!
With Food or on an Empty Stomach?
I often drink a cup of tea first thing in the morning without eating anything first.
There are a few reasons why I do this:
- I often exercise early in the morning before eating breakfast, and tea gives a nice energy boost for this.
- Drinking tea on an empty stomach makes the uplifting effect faster and stronger.
- I simply don’t feel hungry early in the morning.
A morning detox tea is also good for cleansing your body from harmful toxins and losing some weight. However, for some people drinking tea on an empty stomach might cause some irritation making it an unpleasant option.
And if you enjoy your morning cup best with some tasty breakfast foods then go ahead and have a bite with it!
Coffee and Tea Together
Starting a habit of enjoying tea in the morning doesn’t mean that you have to give up drinking coffee. Just be aware that having a cup of coffee and a cup of strong black tea will give you a large dose of caffeine that can make you jittery.
So if you want to have both coffee and tea, it might be best to choose a caffeine-free herbal tea.
Final Thoughts on Best Morning Teas
Morning habits are hard to break. But if you’re exhausted with the same old lattes, you’ll never get tired of tea.
With more varieties than you can try in a lifetime, you can still have caffeine, but the flavors stay fresh. Make tomorrow morning’s cuppa the start of a new tradition!
