If there’s one thing we all have in common as college students, it’s a caffeine addiction.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard friends and classmates say that they stayed up all night studying and have to shoot down cup after cup of coffee either during or afterwards. Heck, I can’t even count how many times I’ve said something along the lines of “I’ve drank so much coffee I can hear colors.”
Whether it’s coffee, tea, or energy drinks, we’ve all picked our poison, but the question is, which is the best choice? I would personally argue that due to compounds like guarana and ginseng that up the effects of the already exorbitant amounts of caffeine in energy drinks, they’re out of the running.
That leaves coffee and tea to duke it out for the title.
One point in coffee’s favor is caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that temporarily increases the consumer’s reaction time, cognitive function, and over all just makes them feel better than they did five minutes before.
In fact, a 2016 study from the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found a correlation between depression risk and caffeine consumption that shows that caffeine was linked to significantly lower risks of depression.
Coffee also contains a lot of antioxidants and minerals. According to Healthline.com, an 8 oz cup of coffee contains Vitamin B2, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B3, Folate, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. Healthline also states that coffee provides 79% of Americans’ daily antioxidants due to the frequency and amount we consume it at.
However, caffeine can have negative effects as well. Firstly, it is an addictive substance, which can result in the consumer needing more and more of it to receive the desired effects, as well as a dependency. Dependency can lead to headaches and irritability when one cannot get their fix.
Too much caffeine at one time can also lead to increased anxiety, jitters and worse sleep. This is probably the worst downside for me, as even just a medium cup of coffee can be enough to give me the shakes.
Tea, however, is less likely to do this for me. Although matcha, my favorite kind of tea, has a high caffeine content, it doesn’t really provide those negative effects for me. However, the effects of caffeine vary from person to person.
Tea also has a lot of varying effects depending on the type of tea and how it is prepared. For example, green and chai tea are both linked to weight loss. Many types of tea are also good for the heart. According to Healthline.com, oolong tea can lower cholesterol levels and black tea contains flavonoids that can combat issues like high blood pressure and obesity that can lead to future heart problems.
Tea contains many antioxidants as well, like flavonoids and catechins.
However, despite all of these lovely benefits, there can be some downsides to tea. The tannins in tea can lead to iron not being properly absorbed by the body, which can result in an iron deficiency. This can be an issue for plant-based individuals, as it causes the most problems with plant sources. Tannins can also irritate digestive tissues, which can cause nausea.
From my research, it seems to me that although coffee and tea provide similar benefits, the flexibility that tea has makes it healthier. I find that tea, although not my drink of choice, has a lot more range in the effects that it can provide. For example, herbal teas like chamomile, lavender and sleepy time blends can provide a decaffeinated, even calming way to enjoy tea, whereas even decaffeinated coffee still has a little bit of caffeine left over.
With the post-spring break rush coming up, I hope that this information has advised you on how to get your caffeine fix in a healthy way. For me, I’ll probably stick to my bean juice, as that is what I prefer taste-wise, but I hope I’ve encouraged you to try something new as well.
