The recommended intake of coffee per day is one cup?! Seriously. That is far less than the recommended six or less of black tea. It is quite obvious that tea is better for us than coffee, but some people have a very big issue with changing from their grande white mocha no whip with soy routines. I will admit to being one of them. The hubs is a massive tea drinker and is helping me get off the coffee wagon with some great tea replacements that do a lot more for me than give me jitters and headaches.
If you are interested in getting of the coffee and onto the tea wagon, there are three places I recommend you go first. All are tea retailers, but they do more than sell teas. There are great recipes and how to's on these sites so you do not have to go it alone. Tea can taste amazing, or like the worst thing ever, these places will help you stick to the former and not the latter.
Adagio
Adagio is a great place for the tea novice to start their search and the enthusiast to refine their palette. All tea come with a 4 oz. option, great for those who do not know what they like quite yet, and there are recipes available online. Their site is also ridiculously easy to navigate- want oolong, click on the oolong tea cup.
This site is great for someone to go on and learn what types of teas they love, along with some of the benefits. Shipping is free after $50, so pick a few and have a week or two of tea sampling!
Samovar Tea
The picture above is, actually, from one of the Samovar tea lounges in San Francisco. If you are ever in the bay area, I highly suggest checking them out. The waiters really know their tea and will help you through any decision. Plus, they have vegan scones and honey combs (rime-y!), and what is better than that?
If you are not in the bay area, do not sulk, they have a fantastic online store for all your tea needs. The site goes into great detail of where the tea is from, pairings, caffeine levels, and other teas like it. Really fantastic for those wanting to get a bit more information from their tea supplier. Samovar takes it's tea quite seriously, so know that when you pay that price, you are getting high quality.
Try the organic Moorish Mint. So yummy and what I am drinking now!
Teavana
If you are a bit nervous about ordering teas online before sampling, Teavana may be the best place for you to start your quest. Teavana has stores throughout the US that offer information on teas and samplings. Like Samovar, they are a tea bar and shop, but there prices are a bit more novice friendly and there are one or to more locations...
This is a great place to start if you are wanting some higher quality and diversity than your grocery store, but wish to sample before handing out the cash. Teavana also has great tea related products. One of the best additions to our home was the Breville one-touch tea maker. It is magic and I love it. There are a few better priced tea infusers here and at Adagio and Samovar if you do not want to jump into the tea lifestyle head first.