An interesting post on the survival benefits of making a cup of tea... Survival is all about a good cup of tea

a) not suprised this comes from the UK forum <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
b) from reading a lot of books about SAS (UK SF) it's all about tea when you are tired, exhausted and cold...
c) it works... I'm very fond of earl gray tea and in the winter times I have a small nissa thermos is always ith me on the ambulance or backcoutry trips... Warms me up without dehydrating effects that coffee has on me.
d) it is tasty... and easy to carry... easier to make than coffee...
e) from survival point of view remember how we always say that instead of freaking out and running in circles you need to sit down and think? Well what's better thinking with a cup of tea?

In Nepal last May after climbing or trekking for a day nothing better than tea and biscuits...

I agree. It adds a bit of normalcy when confronted by a abnormal/stressful situation.

interesting. i love tea. i always bring some irish breakfast and maybe some really good green tea when backpacking. but this philosophy of the calming and stimulating effects of tea has deep roots i think. in the East isn't tea near an art form there? from the types of tea and even to the way its prepared and consumed? i know i always feel more relaxed and thoughful when i have a good cup of tea. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Yerba Matte is great and more people in the USA need to give it a try <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
One of my new favorite teas.

> easier to make than coffee...

Do you think so? With instant coffee granules you just add hot water. With tea you have to let it stew a while, then either strain it (with real tea) or else fish the teabags out.

Either way I prefer tea and coffee with milk, and I've not yet found a good milk substitute I would take by choice. I sometimes carry Oxo beef stock cubes instead.

Since I was 14, a black cup of joe in the morning is always the way to go. It still is my preferred choice. But I can get by on hot tea. When off the pavement, an unsweetend brew-up of Earl Grey is the way I go now if coffee is unavailable or if it is hot weather. I have gotten accustomed to this over the years now. Reason for no sweetener? I was raised to drink unsweetened iced tea. Just an aquired taste.

When out on a hike and I feel drowsy and want a nap: I break out my esbit-type stove and brew a mug of Earl Grey. I'm reinvigorated to continue instead of snoozing. I actually had a great uncle who put milk in his iced tea. Never met him, just heard the stories. Rural TN farmer, you never can tell what will pop up in habits.......*spits tobacco juice on wall and grins*

That yerba mate stuff is very potent, it give me quite a kick in the pants! I think it has more caffeine that coffe does per cup. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Not sure where that's headed YoDuh, but it gave me a smile...

Those poufs or poofs are essentially plastic netting that has been bunched up and the cord is tied to cinch it all together in a ball (the poof). One could strip the cord off and turn it into a decent fishing net, insect barrier (if the holes are small), improvised ho-bo type sack, and maybe even strip off strips to make cordage of a sort. It's very flexible and stretchy stuff usually, so you would have to prestretch it. OOH! I edited this because I realized the title of the thread... One could also conceivably make their own tea strainer (or strainer period!) out of the stuff.

Speaking of strainers, I bought a metal tea ball over a year ago and figured I might experiment with it sometime to see if it earns a place in a larger survival kit. Never got around to it. Anyone tried this or have any thoughts?

I've been looking for one of those tea ball things! I want to add it to my stay-in-place, long term stuff. What if I need to boil various leaves to make a substitute tea or coffee? Or just because it is a neat way to keep anything contained as you cook, clean, soak, and/or boil it. Probably lots of other good uses, I bet.

I found it at Target - (kitchen supplies of course)

Phooey! My Target and Walmart didn't have one. Williams and Sonoma want $$$ for a "Professional Grade" but I passed on that one! I will keep looking...

Look here: Infusers

The larger on can have multiple uses !

How about a "tactical" tea tea infuser ?

Unfortunately, they have been ?temporally out of stock? for several months <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />, as I have checked quite a few times over the summer. The price at $3.95 looks to be a bargain <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Pete

Thanks for all the replies...everything from cammo, Xtreme to girly-girl latte-sippin'. Now I know I am looking for an "infuser" not a tea ball thingy. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I would get the "tactical infuser" but I have never seem it not "out of stock" for about a year or so.

Been using one of these everyday for about 9 months now. Works great at home on the river bank. I claim to my family and friends that hot tea has kept me from any type of sickness in the last two years. That and garlic!!

Brangdon, the whole idea is: Slow Them Down, Calm Them Down. Rather than use instant coffee, how about a coffee bag? Of the sort used in a filter. Add suger to taste. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

> Brangdon, the whole idea is: Slow Them Down, Calm Them Down.

Making a fire and boiling water is going to take a while regardless. As will drinking it when it is hot. I don't think the difference between tea and coffee will matter for this. For a calming effect it will be more important to have whatever it is you normally drink. "Normal" is good. I don't normally drink black filter coffee.

That aside, I wasn't so much commenting on whether quicker was better, but over whether tea was in fact quicker than coffee. I also doubt it is less dehydrating.

Before reading this, remember it comes from someone who loves to drink hot black coffee: Tea quenches your thirst, but coffee does not. Sure caffiene is a diuretic, but normal coffee as a drink is considered to be one too.

PS - If for some reason you don't know what a diuretic is -- it's a substance that removes water from the body by promoting urine formation and the loss of sodium..

A couple of years ago I put two decaff coffee bags in my outdoors PSK. I know that many guys are relying on the jolt of caffeine from regular coffee or even tea. Is it really that important though? I'm thinking that it's the inner warmth that a hot drink provides rather than the caffeine that matters. BTW I also have some boullion cubes in there as well. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Edit: I'm not sure you have them in Britain, but what I call a "coffee bag" is like a teabag, except it has a 50/50 mix of ground coffee and instant coffee. It is packed individually in it's own little baggie. Tastes better than freeze-dried but not as good as fresh brewed.

As I recall, part of the recommended first aid for carbon monoxide exposure, after the fresh air, is a mild stimulant. Such as caffine.

Or has it changed?

Good idea on the aluminum cigar tube. We'll have to dub it the "Infuser Yoduh Tactical." Project Dremel maybe me think.another so.

> Tea quenches your thirst, but coffee does not.

That's not my experience.

>Sure caffiene is a diuretic, but normal coffee as a drink is considered to be one too.

So is water. The diuretic effects of drinking moderate amounts of coffee are no worse than that of water, if you drink it regularly. See, for example http://nordicgroup.us/bikecoff/coffeesexhealth.html for some references. It makes sense if you think about it - some people drink coffee day in and day out, and don't dry up, so it can't be as bad as the urban myth would have you believe.

Must be the weak coffee you drink. Plus you're a Brit and probably have to add things to it. How strong the coffee is brewed makes all the difference. Strong coffee NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER, quenches my thirst. It never has. Take a poll of strong black coffee drinkers and you'll more than likely find the majority will say the same. I sometimes have to have an alternative drink to go along with a meal if coffee is served, depending on whether I'm thirsty. I guess that is where the myth originates if it has indeed proven to be one. Why can I drink strong coffee all day comfortably indoors and still be dehydrated? I drank enough along with water to stay hydrated.

Oh, when it comes to urban myths --- I reside rurally and lots of myths are rural also.

> Must be the weak coffee you drink.

That sounds likely. I normally drink instant, a spoonful of granules in a 160ml cup with sugar and 50% milk. I know other people drink filter, which I think is stronger, and some people drink thick black tar out of a thimble. Which is surely a different proposition.

In the same vein, but not necessarily for the same purpose, MRE's now come with a hot beverage bag for heating up water for the drink mixes that come in MREs (they now have mocha and vanilla cappacino along with the old coffee and hot chocolate). It's just a heavy duty ziploc bag you fill with water and put inside an MRE heater. It might be something worth keeping in your pocket in cold weather: an MRE heater, hot beverage bag, tea bag/hot cocoa/instant coffee, and an aqua blox or foil pouch or just pre-fill the hot beverage bag with water. Then, if you lost your pack and got a soaking you could set off the MRE heater, brew a hot drink and use the heater as a hand/body warmer. That would knock off the immediate effects of hypothermia and allow you to function enough to properly help yourself, and it seems like it might be easier and quicker then lighting a fire. The actions involved are all pretty simple: tear open the MRE heater, pour in water,and add the hot beverage bag. The heat from the heater alone should give you enough dexterity to add the tea bag/cocoa mix/instant coffee. And drinking the hot beverage should make you functional again. The only down side I really see is the possibility of scalding yourself, but you also run that risk anyway you try to warm yourself up.