Good Morning! This week, we wanted to run a little experiment to see which teas are the best to drink if you want to feel awake and alert. Finals are coming up and that means business. I (Vivian), personally don't like coffee for my caffeine fix because it gives me headaches and makes me 10 times crazier than I am on a normal basis, and no one wants to see that. Instead, I turn to tea, to keep my energy at a normal and socially acceptable level.

Every day this week (Monday - Friday) I will try a different tea and rate my energy levels at different times. This is the plan (let's hope I wake up early enough to stick to it): Drink tea by 9:30am. Rate my energy at 10am, noon, and 2pm (hopefully avoiding lunch food coma time). Easy, right? Here we go!

Today I drank: A mix of 3 Teavana teas (Caramel Almond Amaretti, My Morning Mate, and Matevana, 2oz each in this tin). I discovered this tea when I asked the Teavana saleswoman to make me whatever was her favorite blend. She told me this tasted like Thai Iced Tea. While this is mildly true when the tea is on its own, you can add sugar and milk to make that taste come through more. 
10am energy: I feel much more alert than this morning! Getting up out of bed was a struggle, but this tea gave me the energy to get started on studying
Noon energy: While I did feel a little tired after an hour, as soon as I got up and started making lunch, I woke right up. The saleswoman told me that this tea would keep you awake as long as you kept moving and so far that seems true! Now back to studying.
2pm energy: I'll definitely need an afternoon pick-me-up tea. It may be because I've been sitting all day, reading a textbook.

All in all, this tea worked pretty well. I had minimal food coma and spurts of will power to keep working. It is dehydrating though, so make sure to drink a lot of water, too!