[knowledgepower21 (OP)]

This subject is not something new. It has been discussed for many years. Some people say, that coffee is a drink which may lead you to a lot of diseases whereas others say the complete opposite. I have a colleague, who drinks at least 5 espressos a day. He has been doing it for years. We talk so much abut the advantages and disadvantages of coffee. Why not to mention the topic of tea? Here I have a study, it is from 2016, which seems interesting to me.

[Bored chemist]

As far as |I know, only one of them has been tested.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III_of_Sweden%27s_coffee_experiment

[alancalverd]

My maternal grandfather used to say "If you drink that for a hundred years, you'll live a long time." Now that's clinical wisdom.

[queenofscience]

Hey guys!
I definitely agree with you that the discussions around coffee are very controversial and confusing to someone who wants to live a healthy lifestyle. Personally, I'd say that consuming everything in moderation won't harm you. If you enjoy both drinks, go for it. I personally enjoy tea a lot more, because It feels very soothing and I believe in its anti inflammatory properties. I also hate the aftertaste of coffee.

[einstein77]

Hello! I'd say that consuming everything in moderation won't harm you. Maybe don't drink 5 cups of espresso a day, just 2 or 3. Personally i like to drink tea in the afternoon and coffee just before ore during work.

[scienceismylife321]

Hey guys,

I talk about this topic a lot with friends or family, it's almost annoying. Another thing is, that everyone has a different opinion on this. For example: How much coffee/tea is bad/gad for you? When is the best time to drink coffee/tea? Should you drink only FairTrade labeled coffee/tea?

I honestly agree with queenofscience, that everything should be fine in moderation. That always reminds me of the 80/20 Rule. Also, if you never have days off or a change in your beverage choice, you never get out of your comfort zone. I know that sounds stupid in this specific case, but it is true.

I am curious about other opinions as well. If you have a different view, let me know.
Cheers.

[scientistlover1]

Hey guys,
I would say that there is no better or worse in relation to the drinks. There is caffeine in both drinks. However, coffee contains significantly more caffeine in terms of quantity. Both drinks prevent cancer and are good for the cardiovascular system in moderation. Coffee is said to help against Alzheimer's, diabetes and gout, and tea against rheumatism and caries. In result, I would say that it depends on the amount of consumption.
Best regards

[lunascientists1]

hey everyone 

I think it all depends on how much you consume of each. In my opinion 5 cups of coffee everyday is way too much and is not healthy for your body. But I can´t say if that was proven with an experiment etc.
When I'm at work I drink 2 liter of tea during the day, especially in winter. I am not feeling in any way different, but who knows 

[science20]

Hello! I agree that coffee and its advantages and disadvantages are controversial. And I would also agree that everything you consum in moderation isnt bad for you. But some people have to be carefull with the amount of caffein they consume during a day, I think it triggers anxiety and restlessness for some people.

[searchingscience]

Hey,
I personally like tea and coffee. I drink both of the liquids every day. But I try to only drink a moderate amount, because too much is never good. A lot of tea comes without caffeine - what is positive about the tea consumption. But drinking too much tea will have a diuretic effect. If your consumption gets too much your body will loose important minerals and nutrients.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of benefits of tea. It might boost your immune system, reduce imflammation, blood pressure and specific diseases (such as cancer or heart diseases). Moreover, it might be good for your skin. Tea has also a lot of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants (especially green tea).
Coffee might also have some positive effects such as a lower risk of cancer,  type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. It can boost your concentration and memory. But I know some people that got anxiety from drinking too much coffee.

[ScienceMann]

As already mentioned in some of the answers, I also think that the amount always counts. Too much tea is probably as bad as too much coffee. I think the difference is then made by the fact that there are so many different types of tea, so you simply have more choice and diversity when it comes to tea. Therefore, one would probably have to look at the individual types of tea and their recommended amount for tea

[addan28]

Nah, in my opinion, spam is very much better than coffee.

[scientist940]

Hey,
I agree with some previous answers. I don't think that you can say in general whether coffee is healthy or unhealthy. In my opinion, it depends on the person who drinks it.
How well does the person tolerates it and how much coffee is consumed.
I think that a moderate amount of coffee does not cause harms. But you shouldn't drink too much. Everyone has to decide for themselves how much coffee they can drink, at which sort of coffee.

[biologybrain12]

Hey everyone.
I think there are definitely some advantages and some disadvantages concerning drinking coffee. There should always be a good middle way, because too much coffee could be unhealthy. Often people have problems to fall asleep because of the caffein. But also in some teas there are stimulating substances. This means that you should also be carefully here.

[zuhoerer91]

Hi, according to the "German Cancer Research Center" (DKFZ), neither coffee nor tea are questionable. On the contrary: long-term studies should prove the positive effects of beverages containing caffeine. Coffee is said to prevent Alzheimer's and to help against diabetes and gout. Tea, on the other hand, is good for rheumatism and tooth decay, as the fluoride it contains strengthens tooth enamel. But as many of you have already said. It depends on the dose. No food or drink is healthy for the body in large quantities. To answer the question, it cannot be said whether tea or coffee is healthier. 

[evan_au]

What about drinking chocolate?
- The active ingredient (di-methyl xanthine) is chemically very similar to caffeine (tri-methyl xanthine)
- In fact, one of the metabolic pathways that breaks down caffeine turns it into the active ingredient of chocolate!
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine

A side-line about favorite beverages:
Ensure that your beverage of choice isn't loaded up with sugar, as that adds a lot of calories to our already waist-challenged society.
- Do iced drinks typically have more added sugar than hot drinks?

[charles1948]

What about drinking chocolate?
- The active ingredient (di-methyl xanthine) is chemically very similar to caffeine (tri-methyl xanthine)
- In fact, one of the metabolic pathways that breaks down caffeine turns it into the active ingredient of chocolate!
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine

A side-line about favorite beverages:
Ensure that your beverage of choice isn't loaded up with sugar, as that adds a lot of calories to our already waist-challenged society.
- Do iced drinks typically have more added sugar than hot drinks?

Once we're past the babyhood stage of drinking mother's milk, the only fluid that adult humans need to drink is water.

Not coffee, tea, cocoa, or anything else.  Just plain water!

Plain water is what our adult human bodies have evolved to receive. Not "tea" or "coffee". These are artificial additives, which our bodies are not designed for.  And will therefore damage our bodies, in the long run.

What argument can be made, against this obvious truth?

[conniejmilitello]

Green tea is better than tea and coffee

[Bored chemist]

What argument can be made, against this obvious truth?

The fact that human (and other animal) bodies are actually "designed" to make use of a large range of food and drink.

[chiralSPO]

Once we're past the babyhood stage of drinking mother's milk, the only fluid that adult humans need to drink is water.

Not coffee, tea, cocoa, or anything else.  Just plain water!

Plain water is what our adult human bodies have evolved to receive. Not "tea" or "coffee". These are artificial additives, which our bodies are not designed for.  And will therefore damage our bodies, in the long run.

What argument can be made, against this obvious truth?

A few things:
Human bodies were not "designed for" anything. I think I know what you meant, based on the previous mention of and focus on evolution, but even so, this is a very important point: let us focus on positive statements rather than normative ones. (ie we can prove or disprove whether specific compounds in tea produce toxic effects at certain dosages, or whether compounds are necessary components of a healthy diet, but we cannot prove or disprove whether the effects of caffeine are "good." or whether compounds are "supposed" to be ingested.)

I agree that water is one of the few substances that our bodies require significant amounts of and is a liquid in its pure state under standard pressure and temperature. However, there are other liquid dietary requirements (essential nutrients) as well, such as linoleic acid--we just don't need them in amounts that require drinking the pure substances...

Our bodies have also evolved to take advantage of countless non-essential compounds, (like ethanol) either by breaking them down to capture energy, or converting them into useful compounds.

There is also a question of how similar is the lifestyle we evolved to be somewhat optimized for to the lifestyle that we live today?

We sleep different hours, have different sources of stress, perform different activities... is it surprising that our diets would change compared to what our ancestors did 180,000 years ago?

Finally, just because our bodies (and bodies of our ancestors) were never exposed to something before doesn't mean it must be detrimental to our health. We may not have evolved to make use of penicillin, but its discovery has improved the lives of hundreds of millions (if not billions).