QUEZON City, Philippines (December 21) – Once upon a time, there was coffee and there was tea.
An Ethiopian legend said that Kaldi discovered coffee after noticing that his goats were energetic after eating berries from a certain tree. Kaldi told this to an abbot of local monastery and made a drink out of berries. He discovered that the drink made him energetic that he stayed alert for long hours of evening prayer so he shared the drinks with the other monks. Slowly, the coffee spread to east and reach the Arabian Peninsula where it was traded.
Meanwhile, in China, Emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a Camelia sinesis tree when its leaves blew into his boiling water. As a renowned herbalist, he tried the infusion and what was now called as tea.
So, coffee or tea? Confused? Let’s make them fight and see who’s going to win.
Nutritional Value
If you want to start the day with a kick, a coffee would be great with 40mg (milligram) of caffeine in 100g (grams) per serving. But if you want to chill and enjoy the morning breeze, a cup of tea would be great for 11mg of caffeine with the same serving. Tea is higher in calories, while coffee has more of potassium by 31 mg.
Health Benefits
Study shows that coffee drinkers have lower risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. According to a study conducted at Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre coffee may help control the movement in people suffering from Parkinson’s disease. It also improves reaction time and short term memory. It may protect us against type 2 diabetes, UCLA researchers found that drinking coffee increases sex hormone-binding plasma globulin (SHBG) which plays the role for prevention of type 2 diabetes. Coffee drinkers have lower risk of liver cancer by more than 50% as claimed by Dr. Carlo La Vecchia, of Milan’s Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri.
On the other hand, tea got flavonoids and catechins, which are powerful antioxidants that can reduce free radicals and protect cells from the damage. Green tea improves brain function. Although it contains less caffeine, its amino acid L-theanine works to increases the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which has anti-anxiety effects. Green tea can also prevent breast cancer by 22%, prostate cancer by 48% and colorectal cancer by 57%. Catechins found in green tea can improve dental health by preventing the growth of bacteria and viruses.
Likes and Followers
With a $30 billion worth coffee industry, Americans consume an estimated 400 million cups as their daily fix. American’s obsession to coffee showed in the research that 55% admitted that they would rather gain 10 pounds for life just to have coffee, 52% of coffee drinkers chose coffee than shower in the morning and 49% of coffee drinkers would rather give up their cell phone for a month than go without coffee.
Everyday, 165 million cups of tea were consumed. There are 26 tea-growing nations lead by India,China, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Indonesia . In Ireland, 75 per cent of the population drinks six cups a day. In 1940 Chuchill admitted that ‘tea was more important than bullets’.
Did you know that human tongue imprint is as unique as fingerprint? So whether you prefer tea or coffee, there’s no problem as long as you enjoy it.
References:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270202.php
http://www.divinitea.com/organic-tea-blog/cat/health-benefits-of-organic-tea/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/americas-coffee-obsession_n_987885.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11293987/Tea-leads-to-prostitution-amazing-facts-and-legends-about-tea.html
http://www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk/Tea-Facts
(written by Karen Llacuna, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Lovely Ann Cruz)
