For many of us, it’s impossible to start the morning without a drink that contains caffeine. Usually, it’s coffee or tea — two of the most popular beverages to begin the day with. But if health considerations are at the top of your priorities, it’s worth checking whether one of them has a significant advantage.
To examine this, REAL SIMPLE magazine turned to several dietitians who explained the effects of each of the beloved beverages on the body.
The benefits of drinking coffee
Coffee lovers will be happy to know that a cup of coffee has quite a few health benefits. Brewed coffee contains antioxidants, including chlorogenic acid and additional polyphenols. Antioxidants are compounds that protect the body by neutralizing free radicals that may cause damage to cells. In this way, antioxidants help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.
The antioxidants in coffee also support brain health, metabolic function, and the liver’s detoxification activity. Even caffeine itself offers certain benefits, as it may help reduce inflammatory processes.
The benefits of drinking tea
Like coffee, tea that contains caffeine, such as green tea and black tea, is a beloved morning beverage and also has an impressive list of health benefits. Green and black tea are particularly rich in antioxidants of the catechin type — especially EGCG in green tea and theaflavins in black tea.
These antioxidants support cardiovascular health, metabolic processes, hormonal balance, and the resilience of the immune system. In addition, the significant difference is that tea provides a more moderate and gentle increase in energy. This is thanks to its content of the amino acid L-theanine, which promotes calm, focused alertness, without the symptoms that some people experience after drinking coffee: Nervousness or an increase in cortisol (a hormone the body releases when we are under stress, load, or tension).
So what’s better in the morning — coffee or tea?
This is the interesting part: There isn’t one beverage that is clearly better. Dietitians say that switching from coffee to tea or vice versa is not expected to have a significant impact on overall health, as long as other habits remain the same. Although drinking coffee will likely provide a higher amount of polyphenols and caffeine compared to black or green tea, it’s unlikely that there will be a meaningful difference in reducing the risk of chronic diseases or improving overall health simply because of the choice between coffee and tea.
So how do you choose? If neither beverage is unequivocally “better,” how do you choose? It’s recommended to consider your energy stability throughout the day, mood, level of concentration, digestive system function, and sleep quality. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, but rather tailoring the choice to each person’s individual needs.
For example, someone who needs an energy boost at the beginning of the day — ahead of intense physical activity or mental effort — may find that coffee is the right choice, since it provides a faster increase in energy. It’s especially suitable for people whose bodies metabolize caffeine well and who do not experience side effects such as anxiety, digestive discomfort, or impaired sleep quality.
In contrast, tea provides calmer and more sustained energy. It may be suitable for those for whom coffee causes a feeling of nervousness, or for those who find it difficult to drink coffee on an empty stomach. The same applies to those who wake up with anxiety or focus on hormonal balance, adrenal gland health, or digestive system recovery. In addition, tea can help those who struggle to maintain sufficient water intake throughout the day.
Ultimately, the right choice depends on your body, your goals, and how you respond to caffeine.