Introduction

If there is one thing bound to make coffee lovers and tea addicts face each other in arms is the question of which beverage is better than the other.

However, there have been avid coffee lovers who have converted to tea after years of drinking coffee. There are many reasons to love coffee, according to those who swear by this beverage. To tea drinkers, there are just as many reasons to love tea in all its forms.

So which is better, tea or coffee and why? It is certain they both contain caffeine, both taste delicious, both are aromatic and both offer a myriad of health benefits. However, deciding if one is really better than the other is not only down to what you enjoy the most but also the health benefits, among other factors.

Health benefits

First, though, let\’s explore the health benefits of tea vs. coffee. All teas are made from the Camellia sinensis plant and are chockful of antioxidants and caffeine touted to help prevent diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and improve your mood.

Of course, the type of tea affects the weakness or strength of these benefits, but the same goes for coffee. One thing accepted is that tea is great for any time of the day, whether before bed, afternoon or morning. On the other hand, however, taking coffee in the afternoon or before bed will disturb your sleep cycle because coffee, when not decaffeinated, contains more caffeine than tea.

In fact, if you want to cut down on your caffeine intake even further, then herbal teas are even better as they are caffeine-free. Therefore, while coffee takes 1st prize in the category of caffeine content, tea is better as it gives you an energy that has fewer side effects and is more balanced.

Which has the best flavor, tea or coffee?

If you want to base your selection on flavor, tea may win this round yet again. While coffee has great flavors and aroma, it is, however, rather bitter due to the caffeine. You will rarely find bitter teas, even when it comes to black teas, which have more caffeine and tannins than other types of teas.

If you want a less bitter drink, then your best bet is to go with tea.

What about acidity?

On the same note, this raises the question of which of the beverages has more acidity. Coffee is more acidic and bitter and hence has a more astringent and bitter flavor. This flavor and chemical profile results in coffee being harsher on your stomach, especially if you take a lot of it.

Real tea, which is a tea that is actually from the tea plant, including green tea, white tea, black tea and oolong tea, is different from herbal and fruit teas brewed from herbs and do not come from the actual tea plant. Of the real teas, black tea and oolong tea is the strongest, having earthy/nutty/fruity flavors, while white tea has a floral flavor and green tea a grassy/vegetal taste.

Therefore, tea offers a wider variety of flavors than coffee, which has a mainly rich malt flavor.

Is tea healthier than coffee?

Coffee is mainly loved for the stimulation effect it has. The high dose of caffeine will definitely wake you up – for a time. The crash from the high, though, can make you feel tired and lethargic and hence with coffee, you need cup after cup to keep you perky.

The main reason that many people choose to abandon coffee in favor of tea, however, is an intolerance to both the high caffeine content and the side-effects such as anxiety, jitters and insomnia. With tea, you can rest assured that there is a way lower chance of overdosing on caffeine and feeling more tired later as the effect of the caffeine wears out.

Tea contains an important amino acid called L-theanine, which balances out the caffeine effect providing more stable energy. There are more benefits associated with L-theanine as well, such as calmness and sleep benefits. Another health benefit associated with tea is the presence of the chlorophyll compound, which, according to research, helps find some forms of cancer as well as other diseases.

Coffee health benefits

• Drinking coffee often will help in preventing type 2 diseases because the caffeine in coffee has been shown to inhibit insulin resistance, according to some research. In fact, with each cup of coffee, you may see a 7% less chance of becoming diabetic..
• Coffee helps in increasing physical performance. This is achieved by raising the level of epinephrine in your blood, which gives you an energy boost and a faster response time regarding physical activity. This is especially beneficial if you want to work out using endurance exercises such as running. The boost in adrenaline levels will help you sustain your workout for a much longer time.
• Coffee is nutrient-dense. It contains B vitamins, manganese and potassium mineral compounds, the combination of which supports organ functions while also helping you fight off viruses and colds.

Health benefits of tea

Like coffee, tea also has some pretty awesome health benefits. Some are shared with coffee and others attributed to tea only. For example:

• Tea can help in preventing cancer. As mentioned earlier, one of the most potent benefits of tea is in preventing the development of certain types of cancers and even killing the cancer cells due to its ability to prevent oxidative damage, which is one of the causes of cancer. Due to the presence of antioxidants in tea, drinking it daily helps in eliminating free radicals, which leads to oxidative stress causing breast and liver cancer.
• Tea assists in weight loss. If you are on a diet or just a mission to lose weight, lower your caloric intake, or just overall maintain a healthy weight, then tea is the beverage for you. Green tea especially is well linked with the ability to enhance fat loss and speed up metabolism. The antioxidant EGCG found in green tea, as well as other teas, helps in weight loss by speeding up fat oxidation, which in turn allows the liver to burn fat more efficiently.
• Tea promotes healthy brain function. As earlier mentioned, regular drinking of tea will result in a lower risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\’s disease. In addition, regular consumption of teas such as green tea helps in boosting cognitive function as well as memory recall and retention due to numerous antioxidants such as catechins, flavonoids and polyphenols.
• Tea helps in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Drinking tea helps in lowering the levels of LDL cholesterol, one of the culprits behind serious heart disease. Tea can also help lower high blood pressure and also lower the chances of blood clots while also improving blood circulation.
• Tea helps in boosting your workout. About to work out? Research shows that the antioxidants in tea and especially in green tea, not only improve running endurance but also boost muscle capacity. Therefore, be sure to include tea as part of your diet before you go on that run.
• Tea aids in strengthening your bones. An Australian study showed that regular consumption of black tea resulted in a lower risk of fracture-related complications and hospitalizations for elderly women.
• Tea is also great for improving your mood. It is known to soothe your nervousness and is also used to reduce your stress, allowing you to focus on the tasks you have more easily.

Green tea is even better than coffee in this regard, as it contains one of the most beneficial compounds, EGCG, a catechin responsible for a myriad of potential health benefits. As a result, taking tea, furthermore green has more health benefits than coffee, such as promoting weight loss and fat oxidation.

According to research, unfiltered coffee can increase the levels of bad cholesterol in your body, while in contrast, green tea may decrease these levels significantly. However, to give due where it\’s owed, both coffee and tea have great health benefits such as decreasing mortality, protection against Parkinson\’s disease and Alzheimer\’s disease and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.

On the other hand, too much of either coffee or tea can result in a caffeine overdose, which, as mentioned earlier, can lead to issues such as nervousness, anxiety and sleep disorders. Therefore, when it comes down to it, both tea and coffee have great health outfits.

However, if you want something more hydrating, tea will do a better job. It is not only less bitter and with a more refreshing flavor profile but also will not leave you feeling parched. Neither will it leave you crashing as coffee will due to its high caffeine levels and lack of L-theanine. Therefore, it is great for a long day of studying because you won\’t tire as easily as with coffee.

Finally, tea is much gentler on the stomach, whether you take it on an empty stomach or a full one. On the other hand, taking coffee, especially on an empty stomach, will result in your stomach overproducing digestive acids due to the acidity of coffee and create stomach problems such as upset stomach or even mild ulcers.

What tea and coffee help with

Coffee and tea have been used to cure minor physical disorders such as constipation, headaches, fatigue, sore throats and even get rid of the effects of a night of bingeing on alcohol! However, which one fares better as a cure for the above ailments?

Well, in some cases, high caffeine levels will be the culprit as well as a cure, while in others, the soothing effect of tea works better. Without further ado, let\’s answer a few of those burning tea vs. coffee questions!

Should you drink tea or coffee for headache?

Some people use coffee while other tea to treat headaches. According to research, caffeine has been associated with curing tension headaches and migraines while also reducing the pain from these particular headaches. This is because it has vaso-constrictive properties that will prevent the dilation of blood vessels, thereby reducing the headache pain.

As such, a cup of coffee, green tea or black tea can help in soothing your headache.

Unfortunately, while caffeine can act as a cure for headaches, it can also cause these headaches through dehydration, overdose or withdrawals.

Tea or coffee for a sore throat?

If you have a sore or scratchy throat, many home remedies can offer instant relief. A sore throat can be caused by the body\’s response to a viral or a bacterial infection or due to allergies, dryness, muscle strain, pollutants, etc. This can make it painful for you to talk and swallow. Home remedies can be your first line of defense against a sore throat. However, in case it persists, then seek medical attention.

When it comes to curing a sore throat, caffeine is really not your best bet because at high levels, especially, it can increase the dryness or make you feel more parched, which does nothing for your sore throat. However, herbal teas come out to shine in this case.

According to studies as well as traditional medicine, herbal teas such as ginger tea contain anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory compounds that aid in throat pain relief. You can grate ginger and add to boiling water, then add honey and take this to help fight your sore throat.

On the other hand, try peppermint tea, which can have a slightly numbing effect on your throat, relieving the scratchiness and pain. To sleep better, too, try the soothing chamomile tea as sleep is important in fighting any infection. Chamomile also has some anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties that will help your body fight the infection that is causing your sore throat, hence reducing the pain.

Tea or coffee for hangover?

For as long as one can remember, caffeine has been used as a go-to cure for hangovers. It is alluded to even in movies. But how effective is tea or coffee in helping rid that hangover?

Unfortunately, neither of these beverages will prevent the effects of alcohol. In fact, taking tea or coffee with the aim of sobering up is an exercise in futility. Well then, how does it help? Caffeine boosts your energy levels and adrenaline, which increases your alertness. You will be more awake and alert but not sober enough to drive.

If we have dashed your hopes that tea or coffee can cancel out the effect of alcohol, there is a silver lining – caffeine can help you avoid a hangover headache. However, while combating a hangover, remember high levels of caffeine combined with the alcohol effect can cause dehydration. Therefore, it is much better to try tea, which has less caffeine. In addition, also drink a lot of water. The tea will wake you up and staying hydrated with water as well will help you cure that hangover.

Tea or coffee for constipation?

If you are having issues with your gut and want to clear it out with coffee or tea to attend to the call of nature properly, then you\’re in luck, for science has shown that caffeine can help with constipation. Caffeine helps in increasing blood circulation as well as blood flow to the brain. This stimulates activity and helps in easing your bowel movement.

Also, tea or coffee are vasodilators and can help widen the digestive system\’s blood vessels and hence this relaxes your gut well enough to handle restrictions.

Tea vs Coffee: The Timeline

Have you ever been curious about which came first: coffee or tea? Well, for now, it is tea! Coffee is a relatively new beverage and is dated back to the 9th century AD, when the first mentions of coffee can be traced. On the other hand, however, tea relics that have been discovered recently have been determined to be about 3000 years older than the first of the Egyptian pyramids!

In fact, according to Chinese mythology, tea was discovered in the era of emperor Sin Nong dating back to the third millennium BC. The coffee plant enters history books mentions through the writings of a ninth-century Arab physician and is said to have first been grown in Yemen and afterward in South India\’s mountains of Mysore.

Is tea or coffee more popular?

It is only natural to be curious, when most people in the world start their mornings with a hot beverage, as to which is more popular between coffee and tea.

Tea is the most popular beverage in England and Commonwealth countries as well as in Asia, Argentina and Chile. In Asia, over 4.4 billion people prefer tea. In these regions, therefore, tea consumption is way above coffee consumption. On the other hand, coffee is preferred in continental Europe, parts of South America, as well as in North America.

Globally, however, tea is much more popular than coffee, coming second only to packaged water. Tea has a larger base, which can also be due to the wide variety of teas on the market, ease of brewing, how hydrating and refreshing it is and also less expensive than buying coffee.

Tea can also be drunk all year round and is also a more traditional drink than coffee; hence has a much richer culture.

Can Tea or coffee replace water?

Coffee, as we have seen throughout this article, contains much higher levels of caffeine than tea. Therefore, it is bound to cause more dehydration than tea and hence cannot replace water, which is a hydrating drink and vital for the body\’s efficient functioning.

Also, tea cannot replace water. While tea has less caffeine is more refreshing and hydrating than coffee, it nevertheless cannot replace water over a long period of time.

You can get away with drinking tea instead of water for a day, maybe, but still, we don\’t recommend slacking on drinking water in favor of either of these beverages and more so, coffee.

Tea for coffee drinkers

It is hard to fathom an avid coffee drinker dropping coffee for tea. However, if you aim for a less calorie-dense beverage and aim to reduce your caffeine intake, then making the switch to tea drinking is a great idea.

The thing with coffee consumption is that due to its crashing effect, it can lead to you drinking more cups of coffee daily, resulting in an addiction to caffeine and an inability to function at your normal level without a dose of your regular caffeine. This also results in caffeine withdrawal symptoms whenever you miss your daily coffee intake. Symptoms can range from irritability to headaches, afternoon slumps and struggling to concentrate.

If you want to cut out caffeine, it is worth replacing your coffee with tea instead. You might experience some caffeine withdrawal symptoms after first making the switch, but these should clear up within a week at least.

However, here are some great benefits you will notice after making the switch:

• Better sleep. Since tea contains much less caffeine than the same amount of coffee, you can drink it even close to bedtime and not disrupt your sleep. Compared to coffee, whose effect on adrenaline and energy lasts for 4 hours to 6 hours, drinking it in the afternoons will cause sleep disturbance.
• You will save money. Rather than buy coffee every week, brewing tea at home will save you that cash. Besides, brewing tea is easy and since the energy boost lasts longer without the crashing effect, you will rarely find yourself buying a second or third cup of tea once you leave the house for work.
• Better skin. Too much caffeine can have a dehydrating effect, which does not bode well for your skin. However, tea is more hydrating and with less caffeine, this can have a positive impact on your skin. Tea also does not require as much sweetener as coffee does and this is a plus as sugar can have a negative effect on your skin as well.

Final words

So, yeah, there are many benefits of switching from coffee to tea. However, even if you don\’t plan on cutting out coffee completely, taking tea can help you cut back your consumption and drinking coffee will feel more like a treat rather than a necessity.