9 Great Teas To Replace Your Morning Coffee

Even if you enjoy the taste of coffee, if you're downing a cup first thing in the morning, you're probably doing it for the caffeine. Coffee has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages.[related]

Coffee is a diuretic. This means, you will use the restroom more often than usual after drinking it, causing dehydration. It also stimulates the adrenals (the tiny glands on your kidneys), to release adrenaline, placing stress on them and wearing them out.

If you avid coffee drinkers are wondering how you're going get in your daily dose of caffeine without the beloved bean, don't panic. There's a natural, efficient, and tasty way to get your day started off on the right foot: tea.

If you're thinking, "coffee has much more caffeine than tea," you're not wrong. However, drinking caffeinated tea has the ability to give you a jolt of energy without health related issues. In fact, tea can actually help your body, not hurt it. It's the best of both worlds, so why wouldn't you try it?

Looking to cut down on coffee without sacrificing caffeine? Here are nine tea types and flavors to consider. These teas provide caffeine and healthy nutrients that coffee doesn't. (Keep in mind, your average cup of eoght-ounce coffee can contain up to 200 mg of caffeine!)

One tea bag of Lipton Green Tea contains 35 mg of caffeine. According to the American Cancer Society, the polyphenols and catechins in green tea are also said to decrease your risks of cancer by aiding the immune system in fighting cancer cells in the body.

Popular brands like Tazo Tea include around 35 mg of caffeine in a single bag of white tea. Along with waking you up in the morning, the antioxidant properties in white tea are also said to reduce cardiovascular disorder and improve oral health.

This flavorful twist on classic green tea, by Yogi, will give you all the same health benefits as coffee (such as speeding up your metabolism) along with a refreshing, fruity flavor. With 35 mg of caffeine per teabag, it's a healthy and delicious way to jump-start your day.

The younger the tea leaves, the more caffeine they contain. Oolong is usually made from mature leaves, giving it less caffeine than black tea — but it still has some! The Journal of Food and Science conducted a study on several brands of oolong tea, and the average amount of caffeine was 37 mg per eight-ounce cup. The combination of caffeine and theophylline in oolong will speed up your metabolism, aiding in weight loss as well.

Do you usually lean toward the classics? Your average, eight-ounce cup of popular brands such as Bigelow black tea contains about 45 mg of caffeine. Additionally, Mother Nature Network reports that research at Harvard University has found five cups of black tea a day can nearly enhances properties of the immune system such as cell memory and the ability to recognize antigens.

Here's another Celestial Seasonings offering — a tropical variation on your average cup of black tea.  With the addition of hibiscus and calendula, this unique blend will bring you all of the health benefits that black tea provides, along with a burst of fruity flavor. Each bag of this tea contains 50 mg of caffeine.  

What better way to enjoy breakfast than with a warming English Breakfast tea blend? With 60 mg of caffeine per teabag, this full-bodied, smooth blend of black teas, for instance that sold by Celestial Seasonings, will have you out the door and ready for your day minutes after breakfast.

If you're worried that the caffeine count in tea is just too low, be sure to try some matcha before you give up and go back to coffee. Matcha tea contains a higher amount of caffeine than most teas on our list, coming in hot at nearly 70 mg per eight ounces in brands like Kiss Me Organics.

In case you've never heard of yerba mate, it's a tea made from the dried leaves of an evergreen shrub called llex paraguariensis. Common brands like Guayaki will contain up to 85 mg of caffeine per eight-ounce cup, and the llex paraguariensis plant contains 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and a lengthy list of antioxidants. Try kicking your java addiction with this healthy tea