coffee or tea?

my favorite beverage now

I started drinking coffee when I was in 4th year college. I needed it to be awake ‘till the wee hours of the morning for me to squeeze in everything that has to be done in a day (well, until 4am!) 24 hours seemed not enough for me to finish my school works, it was just so excruciating! But do I have any choice? Honestly, coffee helped me passed college (especially my thesis) with flying colors! *laughs*

Since then, I’ve been a coffee drinker. It keeps me going at work. Being in a fast-paced multinational company like HP, I needed something to make myself a key player to the team. Coffee and yosi, nice combination. Energy-booster. Then, it became a habit. Until this article caught my attention...

Listen up, coffee drinkers! This is an excerpt from the article of Lipton's ad. I have to agree with this. =)

You know that it’s all in your mind---small decisions here and there that multiply faster than you think, lifelong dreams that sometimes seem so real and yet in a split second seem to wander off completely. You know your mind can one day be a mine of ideas and suddenly a mountain of data. So what better way to begin any hurdle than having things clearer in your head? At the end of the day, it all boils down to having a clear mind.

There’s a world of difference between simply looking and truly seeing, between hearing and listening, between capturing information and crystallizing ideas. When your head is clear, it means you’re in place and everything around you falls in place as well. It means your feet are on the ground---you’re quiet but strong, you’re calm but collected. It also means you’re alert and ready to take on anything on your path.

And the secret to a clear mind is no rocket science, and follows no mind-boggling formula. It’s as simple as a cup of tea. Yup- it’s time to turn a new leaf and experience the power of tea. Like the rest of the world, you well know that Tea is good for your body- but are you aware of the wonders that tea can do to your mind?

Research has finally named the secret that has linked tea with mental vitality. It’s called Theanine and it’s found almost exclusively in the tea plant. Not a lot of people may know what it is but Theanine is certainly one of the big reasons why more and more are turning to tea nowadays as their beverage of choice.

Scientific research had validated the link between Theanine and a perfect state of calmness. Theanine is the very reason why you’re not a hyperactive when you drink tea as compared to when you drink coffee. But it’s also the reason why you don’t feel sleepy when drinking tea. In short, it’s the Theanine in your cup of tea that calms you in just the right way to put you in place and bring you to your “comfort zone”. And just as you’re perfectly settled, Theanine raises your level of mental alertness by stimulating your brain to increase its production of alpha brain waves. The effect is higher mental focus, better concentration and sharper memory. Studies have also pointed out how Theanine could effectively promote creativity. Now that’s when the miracle of Theanine unfolds. The unique combination of relaxation and alertness, of increasing mental sharpness while at your most comfortable state of mind and body, results in this renewed clarity of thought and mental vitality. Cup after cup after cup, the power of the leaf brings you to your natural groove.