Coffee and tea are the two most popular beverages on the planet. Both contain caffeine. While some people can’t imagine their day without a coffee, others consider coffee bad and drink tea claiming that it has more benefits for health. What is the truth? Whose side are you on?

We asked the question: which is better – coffee or tea?

Here are some situations that can help you prove that your favorite beverage is better than your friend's favorite beverage!

Photo by Katrin Hauf on Unsplash

In the morning - tea

It is very difficult to say whether it is better to drink coffee or tea in the morning. Basically, it all depends on the person. Many people can’t even imagine their mornings without coffee. For others, a cup of coffee is an essential part of breakfast or the first thing they drink before work. And it's not just a matter of habit. Many people need caffeine to kick start their day and be prepared to work.

Still, drinking coffee early in the morning is not the right time for it. Caffeine is known for causing anxiety. On the other side, the morning is the time when our body has the highest levels of cortisol – which causes anxiety. Caffeine may increase the levels of cortisone and make you more anxious and stressed.

This is why tea may be the best beverage for mornings. Tea has less caffeine than coffee, but still enough to prepare you for the day and make you feel relaxed.

Photo by William Moreland on Unsplash

After lunch - coffee

What is the right beverage after lunch? It’s coffee! Many people love to have a coffee right after lunch to see them through the afternoon hours at work or to keep them energized. Other people just enjoy drinking coffee after lunch.

While espresso may be the best beverage in the morning, after lunch, people tend to drink something more mellow such as cappuccino. In fact, drinking coffee after any meal is good because caffeine stimulates digestion. Besides, after drinking coffee, you’ll be more focused on work. 

Better memory – coffee

Coffee can help you focus on a task for a while and have a better memory. It may also protect your memory and brain function according to Johns Hopkins University research.

The research has shown that caffeine has cognitive-enhancing effects, but its particular effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting have never been examined in detail in humans. Another study has shown that drinking up to three cups of coffee daily was associated with a 65 percent decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Amazing health benefits – tea

Although one cup of coffee per day can make you feel more energized, burn fat, and lower your risk of several conditions, too much coffee can cause health issues, especially in the digestive tract. On the other side, tea both caffeinated and decaffeinated is known for its amazing health benefits such as the reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis.

Tea ingredients - antioxidants and polyphenols, can help to lower blood pressure and stroke risk and reduce cognitive decline. It’s known that tea has anti-inflammatory properties and everyone loves to drink it when they have a cold.

If you want to be relaxed, drink green tea. Green tea contains the amino acid L-theanine, which triggers the release of GABA neurotransmitter and helps people enter a relaxed state of mind, according to Ashley Amaral, cardiovascular ICU registered dietitian at Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix.

Better for studying – coffee

What is the best drink for studying? Coffee? Tea, maybe? Let’s take a look at the amount of caffeine in these beverages. 

• coffee has between 95 and 200 milligrams of caffeine
• black tea has between 14 and 70 milligrams of caffeine
• green tea has between 24 and 45 milligrams of caffeine 

Looking at the percentage of caffeine, we notice that coffee has an advantage. Why is the amount of caffeine important? Caffeine has been said to improve performance on a range of different tasks, including processing, focusing, and studying. It also promotes alertness and helps to reduce fatigue.

But consider whether you should drink coffee the night before the exam. If you want to sleep well, do not drink coffee after 3 pm because it takes about 8 hours for caffeine to leave your system. 

Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash

Better sleep quality – tea

It is very well known that tea has a calming effect on our body, unlike coffee. If you drink coffee in the afternoon, you will have difficulty falling asleep. Unlike coffee, tea can actually help you to fall asleep. 

According to research done by the University of Surrey in the UK, people who drink the same volume of tea in a single day have longer and more restful slumbers than people who drink the same amount of coffee per day. 

Whiter teeth - coffee

You’ve probably heard stories that your teeth will turn yellow if you drink a lot of coffee. Well, many will be very surprised to hear that tea will have a worse effect on your teeth than coffee!

Most dentists agree that tea’s natural pigments are more likely to adhere to dental enamel than coffee’s especially if you are using a mouthwash containing the common antiseptic chlorhexidine, which seems to attract and bind to the microscopic particles. 

According to Mark S. Wolff, DDS, PhD, professor at the New York University College of Dentistry, tea causes teeth to stain much worse than coffee, and it doesn’t matter if it’s iced or brewed tea.

Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash

Which is the more popular beverage? – coffee 

When it comes to popularity, we must say that coffee is the most popular beverage in the Americas and Europe, while tea is more popular in Asia. However, looking at the popularity in general, we notice that coffee is a winner. Young people, especially students and employees, adore coffee shops (not to mention celebrities).

Therefore, it’s not strange that one of the biggest companies in the world is also about coffee products. Starbucks the world's largest coffeehouse chain and the main representation of the United States' second wave of coffee culture. Did you know that there are over 87,000 possible drink combinations at Starbucks?

Besides, the most loyal coffee drinkers visit Starbucks every other day! Can you compare these coffee statistics and facts to tea? Probably not.