Coming from the country that has been for a long time the highest consumer of tea per capita in the world (which goes along nicely with our "highest consumer of alcohol per capita in Europe" label) I was literally raised on the stuff.

Tea has been around for a long, long time and has even played its part in history. For example, the First Opium War in 1838 - 1842 started because Britain attempted to address the trade deficit caused by all the tea it was importing from China by exporting opium to them.

Like coffee, tea comes in many forms, though not quite so many. The tea most of us are used to drinking is black Indian tea, though you can get everything from green tea to white tea to tea with added flavors such as Earl Grey and Touareg tea.

Tea contains theophylline and caffeine as stimulants and herbal tea contains other things that stimulate to a certain degree, such as ginseng. It should be noted that tea is not the kick starter that coffee is, and while it is a stimulant, it's more a tool for getting yourself to your normal peak of concentration and productivity than a drink that will kick you straight into gear at 3am.

For the purpose of this test we're only going to look at the most widespread tea - black, or Indian tea, which is by far the most widespread and "vanilla" of the group.

The Tests

For the purpose of this test I put myself through the ordeal of drinking the tea black, that is to say, without any milk. (If you read that and thought to yourself, "milk?!" you must be American...) Ask most people if they'd drink water between 70 and 90 degrees Celsius (158 and 194 degrees Fahrenheit) and they may look at you a bit funny, but add tea leaves and its fine. Thankfully I don't drink sugar in my tea but... what... ohh bugger off. Right, well looks like I do now. So we'll test black tea on its own and black tea with two sugars.

Reaction Times

Results

Upon waking up: Both: Sluggish Snail
After drinking: No sugar: Ambling Armadillo, With Sugar: Bobbing Bobcat
15 minutes after drinking: No sugar: Ambling Armadillo, With Sugar: Bobbing Bobcat
30 minutes after drinking: Both: Ambling Armadillo
An hour after drinking: Both: Ambling Armadillo

As you can see, tea is no rocket booster, either with or without sugar. It is, however, consistent and keeps you alive. To gain the best results with tea though you have to drink it like an Irishman. Keep a toilet near...

The Buzz

I can safely say that apart from the urge to piss yourself there is no great buzz to tea.

The Crash

The great thing about tea is that since it keeps you awake without making you abnormally so, thus there is very little in the way of a crash. The worst you're gonna get is a craving for sugar if you're so inclined to take your tea with it (you sick, sick person...)

The Other Stuff

Having been raised on this stuff I'll probably be an addict for life simply by virtue of habit. Tea is, however, the best drink for those seeking to wake themselves up without getting abnormally high. Tea contains caffeine, but not much of it... certainly not enough to put you on the ceiling or cause withdrawal. The process of making a cup of tea and drinking it is almost half the benefit, and while herbal teas might provide a better buzz, they probably work on the same principle.