Choosing Between Tea & Coffee
What to have for your morning hot beverage, Coffee or Tea? There is an unspoken divide between Tea drinkers and Coffee drinkers, and maybe there shouldn’t be. Like everything else, there are assumptions about people who choose to drink coffee and those who choose to drink tea. Both have benefits. But which is better?
First, we need to define it better. If by better you mean containing more caffeine, that is one thing but if better means healthier, that is another.
Tea has been associated connotation of being consumed by a sedate middle-aged or older crowed. The stereotype of this group is that they can be a bit snobby. This is changing. Tea is becoming trendy, hipsters are now learning about tea and beginning to enjoy it. The coffeehouse was the place to be to chat over espresso now people are gathering over Darjeeling.
Coffee is more closely associated with a faced paced lifestyle. It is the go-to drink to perk people up. Coffee houses are places to go and socialize, they are not assumed to be sedate or quiet but lively and fun.
Coffee has gotten a bad health rap for years, but recent research has shown that moderate consumption of coffee has health benefits. Coffee consumption may be linked to reduced risk of Parkinson’s Disease, liver cancer, and Type II Diabetes.
Tea has been long been touted for its remarkable health benefits. From increased metabolism to antioxidant content, tea, especially green tea or white tea may be counted among ‘super foods’. A caveat- because tea is getting so much attention for its health benefits, beverage manufacturers are making things called ‘tea drinks’ that have small amounts of tea, but a lot of Sugar. Much like juice drinks are not juice, tea drinks, are not tea. So read the labels.
Both tea and coffee contain caffeine. Coffee has about three times as much caffeine as tea per cup. This can be problematic for some. Caffeine can cause wakefulness, jitters, anxiety, and increased blood pressure.
Both beverages have their places and there is no reason that someone should be a coffee drinker or a tea drinker- they are not mutually exclusive. Tea, though, has more health benefits associated with it.
