This might not sound like that big of a deal, but a few home-brewed cups of coffee in the morning followed by a latte in the afternoon is my daily caffeine M.O. I rarely go a day without any sort of coffee. But over the course a few weeks, I found myself in multiple conversations with people about why they made the switch to tea—my mom, who said it helped her sleep better, and also a few coworkers who had temporarily given up coffee because it made them feel anxious during the day. Since I spend a lot of my day poring over studies about health and nutrition, I’m well aware of the health benefits of green tea. So I decided to switch from coffee to great tea for a week and see how it went.

First, I consulted Brigitte Zeitlin, R.D., C.D.N, and owner of BZ Nutrition, for some facts and tips. She warned me that coffee has a lot more caffeine than green tea (about 100 milligrams in an eight-ounce cup compared to about 30 milligrams you’d get in green tea). However, Zeitlin added, green tea also has an amino acid, I-theanine, that has been linked to improved alertness, which can help with productivity and focus, minus the jitters. I was curious to see if that were the case for me.