Tea Blog

When you’re out and about and feel the need for your fave tea but can’t get it, don’t fall into the trap of having a soft drink (soda, pop, coke, soda pop, fizzy drink, tonic, seltzer, mineral water, sparkling water, carbonated beverage, or whatever you call it). You will be tempted. After all, soft drinks are thirst-quenching, caffeinated (most of them), and come in both sugared and diet versions. What’s not to like? In a word, “carbonation.”

According to Wikipedia:

Carbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which causes the solution to become effervescent, or “fizz”. An example of carbonation is the dissolving of carbon dioxide in water, resulting in carbonated water. Carbonated water is a a [sic] primary component of soft drinks.

Carbonation raises the pH level of the liquid it’s in, making it acidic. That can be a problem for those with sensitive tummies. Of course, tea can cause that same kind of upset, especially many green teas. But carbonation and the accompanying acidity seems to be more of a problem, affecting teeth, bones, and other areas, at least that’s the claim being made in articles like this one but refuted in articles such as this. The sugar in the non-diet versions is also quite a problem, as is the caffeine that can be rather high in some soft drinks such as Red Bull.

For me, though, the consideration isn’t any of the health risk claims. As you can see, what one source says another refutes. Sigh! No, the real issue here is chugging something that makes me start burping or hiccupping, and that makes problems later on (I’m too lady-like to go into details here). The taste often distorts the flavor of foods eaten along with that burpee, hiccuppee beverage. And when any ends up being snorted out your nose if you happen to laugh while having a mouthful, the effect will not be as delicate as when the same thing happens with tea. In fact, it can be rather harsh, at least that’s been my experience.

Maybe someday I’ll learn not to take big gulps of any type of beverage around humorous people (such as my hubby) or when on Web sites like Facebook where some very guffaw-inducing photos (mostly of cats doing what they do best, that is, annoy their humans). Or I’ll just stick with tea. Yeah, good plan!

See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.

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