chaadster

So, although I’ve been a winter rider for nearly 3 decades, I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m just this winter getting into using a hot bottle (aka thermos, or insulated bottle). The sh*t’s nice, man, and adds a bit of comfort to freezing cold rides. Being new to this, though, I’m not sure what kind of hot liquid I should be drinking. I’ve been out a couple of times with tea, figuring the caffeine would be nice, but have discovered the drying tannins of black tea ain’t so great, and I’m wondering what you folks drink which might be better? Green tea? Tisane? Hot Gatorade? What’s your hot liquid of choice and what do you love about it?

Koyote

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/hot-toddy/

rumrunn6

just hot water w/ honey & a small squeeze of lemon. hasn't gotten cold enough on my rides for that yet, but it will

no dry mouth like from tea. a little sweetness to get my own saliva flowing. don't really need the lemon & I think last year I didn't use any

chaadster

Haha! A virgin toddy!

To your point though, maybe a bit of honey, maple syrup, sugar, or some other sweetner would be good both to take the dryness out of the black tea and to help boost energy levels.

I was thinking I don’t really need the calories for winter rides, but it’s not that much.

rumrunn6

yeah I only use a tablespoon of honey & in the cold, some extra calories won't hurt. didn't know that had a name! ha! I don't need the that tea, it would be one more thing, on a long list of stuff, to do before going out the door. I've got my boiling water down. now if I can only find that expensive new beanie I found 2 winters ago! ugh!

EDIT: found the beanie, it's too small for my head. time to donate

wolfchild

Black tea has always been my favorite hot drink when on the bike.

tankist

Herbal tea from Rooibos and dried blueberry, lemon squeeze and honey.

chaadster

Do you sweeten?

Litespud

I carry a stainless insulated flask of black coffee in one bottle cage during winter rides - I make a pot when I get up, have one cup pre-ride and pour the rest into the flask. The unpainted steel also matches nicely with the bright brushed Ti frame (shallow? Moi?). Other cage holds a water bottle, but I use almost no water even on a 50+ miler, since I'm not sweating at these temperatures.

GhostRider62

I drink silver needle tea steeped at 180F for 3 minutes and I add locally sourced clover honey. Too hot can mean too much tannin extracted on some teas.

wolfchild

No sugar , no milk in my tea...I like like my tea black and extra strong...

chaadster

I’m not into teas, but my daughter is, which is why I have any idea what rooibois is, and why last time I went out, I had a tisane of reishi mushroom, rooibois, and orange peel! Ok, so I actually have no idea what rooibois is, but I’ve had it apparently…!

SalsaShark

Cider & Whisky

Road Fan

proportions?

SalsaShark

I'm gonna say 80/20, roughly!

cjenrick

tea will require pit stops in the cold and rain which is a hassle.

bags of chicken noodle soup surrounded by electric socks is the way to go.

don't make a honey drink too far in advance if you are an alcoholic like me.

Tony Marley

I have used Earl Gray tea to good effect. A bit of flavor, a bit of caffeine, no sugar.

cjenrick

Twinnings Earl Grey is the best tea out there, drank it by the gallon, teeth changed color,

hard to find the tins nowadays.

JayKay3000

The issue with tea is that it's a diuretic which means it makes you pass water a lot more than just plain water.

I've thought about doing this this year and I'd probably go with green tea, although to be honest even just hot water would be enough on a freezing day.

Korina

Saturday of last week, I took a thermos of hot, plain, black tea on my bike to my trail work day, all prepared for the cold. It was warm. Tea was still good.

If tea's too astringent, you could do it like the Tibetans and add a dollop of yak butter. Mmm, butter.

PDKL45

Tea and coffee will result in urination, which isn't a huge issue for me, and I frequently take a thermos of black coffee. You can make cycling energy mix with broken up chocolate, crushed pretzels and salted mixed nuts (or peanuts/almonds) that goes nicely with coffee.

You can also get powdered sports drink mix and make it up with boiling water and carry that. Pocari Sweat works for me, but I think you can get powdered Gatorade. Hot sports drink sounds crazy, but it's just fine. You can make the same thing with those German fruit-flavored fructose tablets and table salt, it just doesn't taste as nice. If anyone is brave enough to dry hot pickle juice, I'd be interested to hear about it.

One really good one is Vietnamese instant Pho noodles, from Asian groceries, that you add boiling water to. They're fragile rice noodles that will fall apart if they're soaked for too long, which is a good thing. Crush the dry noodles and pour them into the thermos with the soup mix, then add boiling water. Like the chocolate pretzel mix above, it gives you carbohydrates and salt for electrolytes, as well as warming fluid straight into your body. Here in Korea ramen cup noodles are in every convenience store and there's always one within a fairly short distance, so you can get shin ramen or even cup of soup for the same effect, warming liquid with simple carbs, but the thermos version is good for lunch if you're up in the hills, away from shops. Plus, because the instant Pho noodles are incredibly fragile, they get all broken up and can basically be drunk straight; they'll just snap if you try to get them with a fork or chopsticks. It's much more like a drink than food.