Black Tea and Caffeine

Caffeine in Coffee and Black Tea: A "One Size Fits All" Solution?

These days, as tea enjoys a resurgence on the American table (or at least in the drink holder of the American vehicle) it makes sense to take another look at how tea drinkers contrast to coffee drinkers in their use of caffeine.

Interestingly enough, historians claim that what we know as caffeine was originally found in tea as early as the 1800s, and was named theine. Today, just as caffeine has become a household word, the use of coffee is much more familiar in many parts of the country than the use of teas for the energy boost that caffeine provides.

Health Benefits

So what's so great about caffeine? Lots of us feel the positive effects of caffeine in anything from mental alertness and more energy to the metabolic boost that caffeine gives the body, making caffeinated drinks a tool for dieters.

The advantage of tea over coffee comes down to the antioxidants and nutrients found in teas and not coffee. Tea drinkers justify their preference with information on the many health benefits found in a cup of tea.

Black tea functions as a "bridge" for coffee and tea drinkers. A regular glass of black tea contains about half of the caffeine in coffee but about twice the caffeine in green teas and other varieties. Because it is the most caffeine-rich of major traditional tea types, black tea is the ideal candidate for a switch from coffee.

Switching to Black Tea

Many tea drinkers report that symptoms of over-caffeination that they experience when drinking coffee in the morning gets resolved when they switch to black tea, as tea drinking mitigates that crisp quality of the coffee's caffeine kick.

But for some, even the black tea is too highly caffeinated. Some who have joined the trend don't see why black tea is so widely touted as a health promoter. For these individuals, a switch to green or white teas, with lighter and less caffeinated varieties, might be in order.

The advantages of caffeine aren't for everyone. Some who drink caffeinated beverages might have trouble with insomnia, especially depending on what time of day they are drinking. Others just feel jittery with caffeine in their system, unaccustomed to the power boost it brings.

Fitting your tea to you

The best way to find out your comfort level is by gradually exploring the different tea varieties available and logging your effects to find what tea works best with your body. During this process, you will still be taking advantage of the positive health effects all tea drinkers enjoy from their herbal beverages.