Ah yes, the chillier months are upon us. Sweaters are emerging from the closets. The neighbor’s dead leaves have invaded your yard. Memorial Day has passed and many more holidays are coming. It’s now the perfect time to drink something warm. 

Now the question is: Which hot drink to enjoy?  There’s a ridiculous amount of choices such as hot chocolate, coffee, and more. Everybody loves coffee. But does it really deserve all the love? Does it deserve the status of ‘best hot drink’? No, it doesn’t. Tea obviously does. 

First off, tea has so many flavors including fruity flavors, bitter flavors, flowery flavors… with tea, you can get stuff like bengal spice, chai, and wildflower honey citrus. You can even adjust the sweetness by adding more or less sweetener. Can you get that from coffee? No, you cannot. At best, you can get varying degrees of burnt. If there are ‘true flavors’, it’s just syrups filled with an unhealthy amount of sugar. Tea also has so many health benefits. Some include constipation relief, sleep improvement, antioxidants, weight loss, and gastrointestinal relief. It also doesn’t kill your esophagus. Tea is brewed at around 175 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s 30 less degrees than coffee is brewed at. 30 less degrees that don’t ruin your gastrointestinal system. 205 degrees Fahrenheit will kill your esophagus. Besides, the tea cools down as it gains flavor.

Tea can also help calm you down. I have a friend who referred to coffee as ‘anxiety juice.’ . Coffee’s energy-boosting properties agitate you and cause insomnia. Tea, on the other hand, can remove anxiety and aids with sleep–the complete reverse of coffee.  Part of that is that you can choose if you can have caffeine or not. Even with decaffeinated coffee, you are still getting the energy boost. With tea, there’s a guarantee that you’re getting a miniscule to none amount of caffeine. 

Lastly, tea is the best because of its smell. Once you start brewing coffee, it’s impossible to forget. Many people hate the smell of coffee. I am one of them. On the other hand, tea has no smell. Therefore, tea can be universally loved, with no obnoxious scent.

Is there any contest for the best hot drink here? If you doubt me, I invite you to make a fresh cup of tea and find out.