Coffee and tea have become popular beverages in almost every, if not all, household. Business meetings are conducted over a cup of tea or a cup of coffee. In most major towns coffee or tea shops have been established in almost every corner. The difference between tea and coffee is in their contents. The preference over people of one over the other however is snot based on these differences in most cases. These differences can also be considered in terms of their health benefits

In terms of content, both coffee and tea contain caffeine. The amount of caffeine in green tea is however slightly lower than that in coffee. Because of its higher caffeine content, coffee is considered to be riskier to health than tea. The two beverages also contain antioxidants which are very useful in fighting bad cells hence ensuring healthy tissues (Weller, 2012). Coffee is considered to have the highest antioxidants followed by black tea.

Both tea and coffee contain other elements such as proteins, and carbohydrates. Studies show that tea contains less protein than coffee. They both contain the same amount of carbohydrates (Fedorow et al, 2006). In their tests, Fedorow and Mahogany found that only tea contained glucose. Tea contains more varieties of amino acids than coffee which contains only three varieties (ibid).

Tea and coffee have several health benefits but there are some who are of the opinion that green tea has more health benefits than coffee. They are both believed to have the capability to fight certain types of cancer. For instance, there are studies that have shown that tea lowers the risk of developing ovarian cancer and breast cancer. It also decreases the risk of heart disease. Therefore, tea is recommended for women more than coffee because of these health benefits. But coffee too has been found to decrease the risk of various types of cancers. Coffee also lowers the risk of developing the Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and gout. In this regard, whichever beverage one opts to take, one can be assured of several health benefits (Weller, 2012).

Americans prefer coffee to tea. Therefore, in studying the American culture, one cannot do it without taking into consideration their coffee taking ritual, as some consider it. There are several coffee shops in America and companies making lots of profits from coffee.

Coffee and tea seem to contain more or less the same elements however in different quantities. It is this difference in quantities that account for the perceived health benefits of each over the other. There are those who prefer coffee because it contains more caffeine than tea. However, nutritionist argue that the high content of caffeine in coffee make it a health risk. They would rather recommend tea than coffee.

There is no agreement between coffee drinkers and tea drinkers, and even some scholars, on what specifically are the major differences between coffee; which one is healthier or not. So, it could be that these conclusions come from preferences rather than conclusive tests. Those who have conducted tests have however shown there are some slight differences in quantities of the elements contained in both tea and coffee.

In conclusion, the preference of people for tea or coffee may be just be based on personal preferences rather than based on any of the perceived health benefits or risks of one to the other. Whichever beverage one decides to take, there will be some advantages and disadvantages. However, because of the almost similar contents, even though in different quantities, coffee and tea can be said to have almost similar health benefits. There are some cultures that prefer coffee while others prefer tea. Both these cultures may not necessarily base this preference on any benefits they know of each beverage over the other. To some, coffee will be considered a high class beverage while to others tea will be considered the high class beverage.