The biggest hit my quality of life has taken since adopting the Paleo Diet has been in the drinks department. I used to love my iced tea with artificial sweetener or coffee with sugar and cream. However, since I no longer use any sweeteners, sugar, or dairy, this greatly limits my drink options to unsweetened. While some are okay, none are just great; at least not to someone who used to really enjoy sweet coffee.

My go-to drinks are now coffee and tea. The coffee I drink is always black (without sweeteners or dairy) and the tea I drink is without any sweetener as well. For coffee, I drink light or medium roast as they are naturally sweeter. I always drank dark roasts, mistakenly thinking they tasted better. I have since learned that the lighter roasts yield a sweeter product, and since I don’t imbibe sweeteners anymore, I can taste the natural sweetness and flavor notes in the coffees better. I now know the difference between a fresh or not-so-fresh bag of coffee grounds, and I am much more sensitive to the flavored coffees (some are better, many are worse).

The same goes for tea. Since I drink it all without sweetener, I can taste much more of the tea itself. Some are naturally sweet and delicious (Very Blueberry; I’m looking at you!), while others that I loved really miss out on not having sweetener added to them (Constant Comment; you disappointed me). However, nothing compares to PG Tips with lemon in it. PG Tips tea is simply the best black tea on the planet, bar none. It’s simply perfect whether you drink it hot or cold. I prefer mine with lemon in it, and we keep pitchers of it in the refrigerator at all times. It’s a favorite in our house; there are riots when we run out of PG Tips.

Coffee and tea contain caffeine, and this is considered okay on both Whole30 and Paleo. That’s a good thing, because I drink quite a bit of coffee and tea throughout the day. Probably more than I should, but I can’t drink plain water.

I will be experimenting with water that has cucumber, lemon, and maybe even some other fruit to give a slight flavor to the water. I will be using natural additives; nothing powdered or commercially packaged. I am hoping that this helps, as I’d like to cut down a bit on the caffeine eventually. But for now, it’s coffee, tea, and me; best buds forever.