What? Mission Tea personalised box, from £38.40
What is it? A selection of teas designed to keep you energised without the caffeine slump, made from natural, sustainable ingredients.
The verdict: “I am in a long-term, committed relationship with my coffee machine. It’s the first thing I head for in the morning and the pick-me-up I need in the afternoon. When I’m feeling particularly tired, I’ll even have a rogue cup in the evening. But I inevitably pay the price with caffeine crashes and the occasional restless night.
So I was keen to try Mission, a tea brand that promises a natural, slow-release energy boost in place of coffee or traditional energy drinks. I tried three of their top sellers: Energise, made with green tea, cocoa and ginger; Perform, a yerba mate tea with lemongrass and mint; and Recover, roobois with berry and ashwagandha.
They all taste great – each plastic-free bag is full of flavour and packs a punch whether you drink it hot or infuse it to fill up your water bottle. A cup of Energise every morning made me feel fresh and alert until lunchtime – with only 10-20mg of caffeine compared to coffee’s 300mg, it doesn’t give you that instant hit, but equally there’s no slump as you feel the effects wear off, either.
I interspersed my days with the Perform and Recover teas, depending on whether I planned to work out that day, and noticed that overall I felt less lethargic in the evenings without the usual yoyo-ing of my caffeine levels. If you want a gentle nudge during a busy day, rather than random bursts of acceleration, choosing a cleverly formulated tea like Mission is a good idea. It won’t completely replace coffee for me, but I’m convinced that a mix of the two will be far better for my body and mind.”