How I make my morning collagen tea latte
I don’t know about you, but I wake up and look forward to my morning beverage — a collagen tea latte — every single day. And I thought it would be fun to share the exact drink with you. Now, remember, I am NOT a food blogger, so this isn’t going to be pretty. But I hope it will be functional, especially if your morning beverage is only average, and you need some inspiration to spice it up …
How I make my morning collagen tea latte
Why do you add collagen?
First up, let’s talk about collagen. I’ve been taking a collagen peptide supplement for about five years, and when I first started taking it regularly, I really noticed a difference in the strength and growth of my nails and hair. While I don’t notice any major growth any longer, I do know that collagen supports my joints, skin and even gut health in some ways — so I stick with it. I never have joint pain, and I have no complaints with my skin or nails (hair is a different story, but that’s something I’m hoping is fixing itself, after a stress-filled year). Collagen is not a magic pill, but it can help in little ways, and I’m cool with that.
Now, you don’t have to have a collagen supplement in your routine, but I really don’t think it can hurt. (As long as you aren’t taking too much.)
Collagen peptides also have protein, but it’s important to note that collagen is not a complete protein, so it can’t be your only protein source. I find that adding collagen peptides to my morning tea latte makes the drink more of a filling drink too, which goes along with what I eat for breakfast to keep me full until I have my post-workout protein shake a few hours later. So to me, there are many reasons to add that scoop of collagen, you see.
I’ve used many different types of collagen over the years, and my favorites include Vital Proteins, Garden of Life and Bulletproof, currently. By the way, if you choose the unflavored options, you can’t taste it, and it dissolves nicely. Here are my top choices:
- Vital Proteins collagen peptides
- Bulletproof collagen peptides
- Garden of Life collagen peptides (I particularly like this one, because it’s from grass-fed sources)
I use the plain versions, because I get enough flavor in my morning collagen tea latte from the honey, cinnamon and oat milk. But if you really like things sweet, you can also try the vanilla versions of the collagen peptides. There are also versions that are formulated more like a creamer, and these are tasty too, but once again, I already put enough stuff in my morning collagen tea latte and don’t need the extra taste or fluff.
When I did use the flavored creamer, these were my favorites:
Why do you add honey?
First of all, I like the taste of honey. And I like the taste of sweet. So those are big reasons to use honey as my sweetener (and sometimes I add a little stevia too, if I’m in the mood for super sweet).
But second of all, good-quality local and raw honey has some great benefits. It can be an antioxidant to support your cells and help protect them from damage. And it can be a antimicrobial too, which can boost your immune system. These benefits come mostly from raw honey, and you lose a little bit of them in processing, so that’s why I choose raw, specifically. I try to get locally (or regionally) grown too, which can assist in relieving allergies, but I haven’t noticed that benefit since being in Charlotte. I had bad allergies in the spring being my first season here, and we’ll see how next spring goes.
Why do you use oat milk?
Oat milk is the creamiest milk, hands down. I prefer it to all other varieties, and it makes the latte nice and thick. Yes, it has more calories than some other alternative milks, but I’m all about the consistency. My favorite brand is Califia Farms original oat milk. Mmmmmm.
Why do you use green tea?
I used to be a coffee drinker every morning for many years. But when we first moved to San Francisco from Orlando, our stuff was about four weeks delayed, and we didn’t have a coffee maker. I was buying my coffee every morning and quickly got sick of that and decided to get a tea kettle. I tried out drinking green tea, and I loved the taste and minimal caffeine content and never looked back. I’ve been drinking green tea instead of coffee in the morning ever since. But, I use two green tea bags to spice it up a little.
Also, green tea is full of beneficial nutrients. It also has polyphenols, which is an anti-inflammatory, and I do not like to be inflamed. Anyone else?
Morning collagen tea latte ingredients
Let’s get down to the specifics. What exactly do you need for this tasty morning beverage?
- Organic green tea bags
- Local organic raw honey (as much or as little as you’d like)
- Oat milk (at least half a cup, but usually a full cup)
- Collagen peptides
- Cinnamon
And that’s it.
Optional:
- You can add an extra dash of stevia, if you like things sweet. I do this sometimes.
- And you can also try using a dash of this Sown oat milk creamer as well, which I sometimes do, because it tastes amazing. And if I were to have coffee at home, this would be my creamer of choice.
How to make the collagen tea latte
Here’s how you do it …
- Boil water in a tea kettle or pan. I use this tea kettle.
- Put two tea bags in a big mug. Yes, I double up my tea bags, and this helps with flavor. And the bigger the mug, the better.
- Pour about a cup of oat milk in a separate mug, and heat this oat milk in the microwave for one minute.
- Once the tea kettle water boils, pour it over the two tea bags in your big mug, and let it steep for about three or four minutes — leaving about an inch-and-a-half of space for more ingredients. By the way, if you let the tea bags sit too long, the tea can get bitter, so check your time. After the tea bags have steeped for about three or four minutes, remove them.
- Add a scoop of collagen peptides.
- Add a dash of cinnamon.
- Add a big drop of raw honey.
- Optional step: Use a handheld frother to froth the warmed-up oat milk in the second mug. And the best way to froth is with an up-and-down motion in the liquid. Frothing is life.
- Pour the warmed-up (and maybe frothed) oat milk into the main mug.
- Add that optional stevia, if you’d like, or skip it.
- Mix everything together.
- Sip and enjoy!
I know this seems like such a big production, but it’s really not. And it sure is nice to have a filling and tasty hot mug of goodness every single morning to start my day. I have this same drink every single morning and have for years. It’s delish. And the caffeine from the two green tea bags is just enough — not too much and not too little.
Thanks for stopping by to check out this extremely simple post on my favorite staple morning beverage — the collagen tea latte. Have a great day!
*I used some Amazon affiliate links in this post. If you purchase through my links, you support me. Thank you for that.
Other posts you may like …
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- The creamiest warm almond butter oatmeal breakfast bowl
- Six new food finds I’ve been loving lately
Questions of the day
Are you a coffee or tea drinker?
What’s something you have to drink or eat every single day?