Are you more of a coffee or tea person? Both coffee and tea have amazing natural benefits, but coffee often gets a bad reputation while tea is known for being healthier. But is tea really better for you?
Why People Think Tea Is the Healthier Choice
Tea’s reputation is pretty spotless. For decades, even mainstream health organizations have been touting water as one of the healthiest drinks around.
Coffee’s reputation is messier. This is similar to how many nutritionists used to think eggs were bad for you, but later changed their mind. One decade, coffee’s “bad.” The next, it’s “good.”
This is understandable if you believe that tea is much healthier than coffee. This health showdown is not as one-sided as many people would expect. Coffee has been underestimated as a potential health drink.
Coffee and tea both have benefits that you may have heard about. It can be overwhelming trying to sift through all the information and studies.
It is easiest to break down different aspects of these drinks and how they affect your health. We will compare one element at a time so that you can have a clearer understanding of how they compare.
Tea vs Coffee – Which Is Best?
TEA
Tea and coffee are two of the most popular hot drinks consumed around the world. While green tea is generally more popular in the east, black tea is the more popular tea type in the west.
Let’s explore!
FLAVOR:
We recommend drinking black tea for people who like coffee because it has a similar taste. Black tea is rich, malty, smooth, and bold. The most prominent flavor in black tea is from the tannins. Tannins are a type of flavoring that can make food or drink taste quite dry. If you’ve never drunk tea before, you might not be able to describe the taste, but it’s similar to the tannin taste of red wine.
Tannins are the sharp-tasting, astringent molecules in wine and tea that can give them a slightly bitter aftertaste Similarly to wine, black tea can have a low or high concentration of tannins. Tannins are molecules in wine and tea that can make them taste slightly bitter. The flavor of tea can vary greatly depending on the region where it was grown and the type of tea plant used, as well as how it was processed.
CAFFEINE:
Standard black tea contains between 35 and 55mg of caffeine per 8oz serving. This range is due to variation in brands. How you brew your tea affects the caffeine content in your cup. The longer and hotter you brew, the higher the caffeine content in your cup. This is the same for tea and coffee.
The level of caffeine in Zest Tea has been measured so that it can be more precise. Zest black tea contains up to 150mg of caffeine. In order to make our tea leaves more potent, we can add extra tea extract. This tea extract is non-GMO, natural, and completely plant-powered.
HEALTH BENEFITS:
Black tea comes with a range of health benefits. You will more likely see benefits from these perks if you regularly drink black tea, but it is not a miracle drink! You won’t feel or see any immediate effects from the calm from amino acid L-Theanine and energy from caffeine.
Nonetheless, tea drinkers may benefit from:
- Enhanced antioxidants found in tea. These can combat free radical damage and negate the risks of many chronic diseases.
- Flavonoids in black tea are great for your heart health and may lower the risks of high blood pressure and heart disease.
- Theaflavins in black tea may also lower LDL cholesterol compared to coffee.
- As a device for weight loss, black tea can boost healthy gut bacteria. And don’t forget the caffeine in black tea (especially Zest energy tea) gives you the energy boost you need to workout harder.
- Like most foods and drinks, tea comes with negative properties as well as positive ones. If you have high caffeine sensitivity, you may want to try a tea that’s lower in caffeine – see green tea below. Furthermore, black tea inhibits iron absorption if consumed during or shortly after a meal. Thankfully, this can be mitigated by consuming foods that are iron absorption enhancers like ascorbic acid, meat, fish, and poultry.
Black tea’s biggest health benefit comes from the amino acid L-Theanine, which can promote relaxation, and from caffeine.
COFFEE
If you’re used to drinking coffee, you’ll be familiar with the huge increase in energy you get after consuming a hot cup of brewed coffee. Eventually, the effects of the coffee will wear off, leading to a “crash” for those who are dependent on caffeine.
Tea has less caffeine than coffee, but it provides more stable energy levels. This makes it more conducive to productivity.
It is interesting to compare black tea with coffee.
FLAVOR:
Both black tea and coffee have a rich, intense flavor that warms you up. Coffee can sometimes have a bitter or strong taste, which is why many people add cream, sugar, or sweetener to it.
Coffee has a high caffeine content, especially espresso. . One more reason to add milk or water to your coffee.
Coffee beans can produce various flavors depending on where they are grown and how they are roasted. Some of these flavors include fruity, chocolatey, nutty, and even floral. Compared to tea, however, it is very limited. Although you can find sweet and light green teas, as well as rich and malty black teas, nearly all coffees have a similar flavor profile.
CAFFEINE:
If you want to up your caffeine intake, coffee is a better choice than tea. However, coffee has less caffeine than tea. Here’s how they compare:
- Brewed coffee – 96mg of caffeine,.
- 1 shot of espresso – 64mg of caffeine.
- Instant coffee – 62mg of caffeine.
- Standard black tea – 47mg of caffeine.
FDA states that 400mg a day is the safe limit for caffeine intake. The issue with coffee is that it causes you to feel tired soon after drinking it, leading you to want more coffee to stay awake – this makes it difficult to stay focused for long periods of time. Many coffee lovers drink multiple cups per day to stay awake.
Tea doesn’t hit like that. The L-Theanine in tea lowers the caffeine levels, returning you to your normal afternoon energy levels. Even high-caffeine teas have a smooth, gentle come down.
HEALTH BENEFITS:
Coffee possesses many of the same health benefits as tea because they both contain caffeine. For instance, both beverages can help with weight loss and burning fat cells. Other health benefits associated with a cup of coffee include:
- Coffee is good for your liver health and evidence suggests that coffee supplementation can prevent and protect against thioacetamide induced liver cirrhosis.
- Habitually consuming coffee is linked to a lower risk of heart disease and may have a cardioprotective effect that’s good for general heart health. However, this study also notes that the effects of coffee on blood pressure, particularly hypertension, are neutral.
- Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, which is good for feeling awake and energized. However, studies on the impact of coffee on brain health are mixed. One study found that consuming coffee leads to improved cognitive function, while another found that both tea and coffee can protect neurons against dysfunction and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Conversely, another study found that high coffee consumption is linked to a higher risk of dementia
It is important to consume a balanced diet and moderate your caffeine intake for optimum human health and a strong immune system!
Tea vs Coffee: Which Gives the Better Energy Boost?
Coffee contains about twice as much caffeine as tea. It affects your energy levels in a different way.
How?
Coffee is a popular choice for people looking for a quick burst of energy in the morning. The caffeine in this drink is quickly absorbed into your system, causing almost instantaneous effects. Tea provides a more gradual and sustained increase in energy levels than coffee. Although tea has less caffeine than coffee, the effect it has on your body is still noticeable.
Tea also contains an amino acid called L-theanine. Although L-theanine and caffeine are often found together in energy drinks, L-theanine actually lowers the absorption speed of caffeine into your body. L-theanine is an amino acid that is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and stimulate the neurotransmitter GABA. This has anti-anxiety effects. You end up in an alert but relaxed state. Caffeine and L-theanine can improve brain function when used together.
You can let your current situation be your guide. If you’re looking for a way to stay awake during an overnight drive, you might want to try a quick boost. Try coffee. If you want to study for a few hours and stay alert but relaxed, you should try drinking coffee. Tea’s the perfect choice.
Tea vs Coffee: Sleep Quality
You should avoid drinking coffee and tea late at night as it can make it harder to sleep.
This means that even if you consume caffeine in the morning, a significant portion of it will still be in your body later that night. Even after you can’t feel the effects of caffeine anymore, your body is still absorbing it.
Afternoon tea or coffee can be tempting. Just be careful. Cutting yourself off at least six or seven hours before your bedtime is a good call.
You can intake more caffeine with coffee because each cup has more than tea. The researchers found that people who drank tea were more likely to fall asleep than those who drank coffee. You shouldn’t have any issues as long as you give your body enough time to process the caffeine before you go to bed, no matter what you drink.
Tea vs Coffee: Mental Benefits
You probably know that the caffeine in coffee and tea can help. There are plenty of other mental benefits that come from each beverage, that you might not be aware of. Drinking coffee can help protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, as well as depression.
Here are some of the most remarkable ones:
Coffee:
Reduces risk of Alzheimer’s. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that is the leading cause of dementia. A Paleo lifestyle, combined with coffee, can help improve your health. Several studies have shown that drinking coffee regularly can help to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Reduces risk of Parkinson’s. It too is characterized by loss of motor control and cognitive impairment. Parkinson’s disease is another neurodegenerative disease that leads to loss of motor control and cognitive impairment, for which there is no known cure. Researchers found that those who drink caffeinated coffee have a significantly lower risk of developing the disease than those who don’t.
Helps with depression. Studies have shown that drinking coffee every day is linked to a lower chance of becoming depressed. Coffee can prevent suicide according to a study with 200,000 participants. Those who drank four cups of coffee a day were 55 percent less likely to commit suicide.
Tea:
Potentially protects against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Many more studies would need to be conducted in order to have a deeper understanding of the connection between tea and Alzheimer’s/Parkinson’s. However, preliminary studies on animals and in test tubes have found that the catechin compounds present in tea could potentially lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The Bottom Line
If the coffee versus tea debate is confusing to you, don’t worry!
In conclusion, coffee and tea are both relatively healthy to drink. This debate should be ended and we should drink either one in moderation. Coffee and tea can fit into a healthy lifestyle.
We’ve all come across the overweight office worker who is sedentary and has dark circles under their eyes and is always carrying a coffee.
If you are sensitive to caffeine or don’t like the taste of coffee or tea, there is no need to drink it. While antioxidants are beneficial, you can get them from eating Paleo vegetables.
Coffee versus tea is a lot like politics. You can become so devoted to your party that you stop noticing important issues.
You should definitely keep drinking coffee or tea if you want to. Most important is to consider how you use them. It is safe to consume moderate amounts of food every day as part of a healthy Paleo lifestyle, and there are even some health benefits to this.
Do you prefer coffee or tea? Have you struggled with caffeine addiction in the past? Leave a comment below and share your experience!