Considering my past as a coffee (Peets) junkie, I’m almost embarrassed to write this post…alas, age (or something) has caught up with me, and I can no longer drink coffee without getting horrible jitters or feeling as if I’m going to die of a heart attack.  It took only one episode to get me to head directly for the decaf, but eventually, I started to drink more tea instead (check out my profile on steepster.com).

Every once in a while, the smell of coffee lures me in, and I somehow magically end up with a Peets’ decaf soy latte in my hands.  However, once I reduced the amount of coffee I was consuming, I began to realize that even decaf didn’t seem to sit well with me. I loved the comfort of a warm cup and the coffee flavour, but afterwards, my stomach didn’t digest the coffee well.

A few months ago, I was looking for a mild detox tea and came across Chartreuse Organic Dandelion Tea – dandelion greens are known to detoxify and strengthen your liver and this tea has a wonderful earthy flavour.  Don’t expect overnight results, but after a few weeks of drinking this tea, I did begin to feel that my meals were digesting better and my skin had cleared up quit significantly.  This tea is full of vitamins and minerals and has a great cleansing affect on your body – check out this list for a great summary.

Additional research on dandelion tea led me to find Dandy Blend – everyone, take a moment and cheer, because this may be one of the most fantastic things I have ever discovered.  It is made out of roasted dandelion, chicory and beet roots – all respected ingredients.  I ordered a sample from their website (you can do this as well here) and tried it black with a spot of almond milk – it tasted just like coffee and was delicious! Coffee without any side effects and some actual health benefits (although they don’t make any claims on their website) – score!  Even if the health benefits aren’t proven, at least you’re not drinking excessive amounts of caffeine…not to mention how acidic coffee can be (that’s a blog post unto itself).  I can’t wait to try out different warm beverages throughout the winter!

Three cheers for Dandy Blend! If you get a chance to try it out, I’d love to hear your thoughts.