Is tea healthier for you than coffee?

There has long been debate over whether tea or coffee is better for you with extensive research being carried out on the topic. However, the ‘facts’ are always changing as more studies are carried out so we’re going to be taking a more general approach to the question rather than diving into facts and statistics. A definite conclusion to which one is better for you might never be reached, but it makes for an interesting discussion…

Caffeine content

The most notable point about both tea and coffee is their caffeine contents. Positives and negatives for caffeine have been highlighted in various pieces of research, with people often having strong opinions about it. It’s no secret that tea has considerably less caffeine in than coffee – so if you have made the decision to reduce your caffeine intake and are a regular coffee drinker, it might be a good option to switch to tea. Or swap out the occasional coffee for tea instead if you don’t want to cut coffee out completely.

The amount of caffeine in them is probably the main difference between the two beverages. If you want that instant energy fix to get motivated in the morning, then strong dark coffee is your friend. On the other hand, if you want to reduce how much caffeine you’re having tea is a useful step down without fully removing it.

Teeth staining

Even though it is not strictly related to health, it is still worth mentioning that tea and coffee are known to slightly stain your teeth over time. Whilst both beverages can have this effect, tea is the more guilty party in this area. This is due to the natural pigments within tea being more likely to attach to dental enamel compared to coffee. Even though tea can sometimes be the bigger culprit of the two in terms of staining your teeth there are ways that coffee falls short too which we will look at next.

Nerves and stress

When someone is upset, nervous, or stressed it is common for them to be offered a nice cup of tea. Over time it has come to light that tea can have a more calming effect on a person, especially if they are a regular loose leaf tea drinker. Coffee by comparison, is not the best choice for this purpose. It is likely due to the additional caffeine contents, but coffee is less about calming and more about energising. In this situation, tea would be the better choice over coffee.

Antioxidants

Both tea and coffee contain antioxidants that can be beneficial to health, mainly polyphenols. There have been several studies into the contents of tea and coffee and the effects they have on the body and mind. However, if we simply compare tea and coffee without looking specifically at health benefit claims – it can be said that they offer very similar benefits and have similar effects. One is better in some ways whilst the other is better in other ways so they pretty much balance each other out. Therefore, considering the overall question we’re exploring, in terms of antioxidants, tea is no healthier for you than coffee, they are at the same level.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it cannot be categorically stated that either tea or coffee is healthier than the other. They both have their benefits and drawbacks in different ways as we have looked at above. It is often misconstrued that tea is healthier than coffee simply because it has less caffeine, but that isn’t the only factor involved. If you have been put off coffee out of concern that it is worse for you than tea, then hopefully you might feel more assured that both drinks are at an equal level of healthiness – they simply work in different ways.

At Pumphreys we offer a wide range of tea and coffee beans in Newcastle to suit you whether you’re more of a tea or coffee consumer. Explore our product range today and contact us if you have any questions.