It’s St. Patrick’s Day and I think of my Irish heritage. I will make an assumption the family drank tea in Ireland since EVERYONE drinks tea in the British Isles. But when they came over to America? What happened? Did they make the switch to coffee at some point? Was it the first generation that turned their backs on their tea-drinking ancestors? It may seem like a silly question, but it’s worth analyzing the cultural habits of countries and why we eat/drink the things we do.
The Standard American Diet SAD is not healthy: high in bad fats, refined sugars, artificial add-ins, poor-quality meat, low in fiber, whole veggies and fruits, and fermented foods. Considering the crappy food diet of my culture, I question the cultural beverages as well. Soda? Not inherently bad if you brew your own lacto-fermented kind with fresh fruits. I have done this and it’s suuuuper easy and yummy and full of good probiotics. But the American version of canned soda is awful for you. Beer? Humans used to get a lot of good stuff from their bubbly alcoholic beverages, but the popular American brands are just calories. Coffee? An addiction. And considering the rise of the pre-packaged, single-cup at home machines, and sugar-laden throw-away cup lattes at Starbucks (and other cafes) the environmental impact is staggering.
Sigh…
Why don’t we celebrate this day with a nice cup of Black Irish Breakfast Tea. Yeah. Perfect. Here’s to you, great-grandma and great-grandpa Craig!
Comments
I take issue with your dis of coffee. It might be an addiction but it is also an art form, a culture, a ritual. Viva coffee!
I hear ya. Studies keep coming up on how coffee has lots of health benefits. It's the Americanization of drinks (three times more than you need, packaging waste, lots of sugar) in general that I dis.
I would rather that Black Irish Breakfast Tea, never tried before.