There is a general assumption that coffee has more caffeine than tea, and some people even think that green tea is caffeine free. Well, it is true that a typical cup of brewed coffee will have more caffeine than tea but all teas do have some caffeine. One cup of coffee will have between 60 and 100mg of caffeine (depending on the roast) and a cup of black tea will have about 45mg. So the difference isn't that extreme. Green tea has about half the caffeine as black, and white tea has even less. In coffee, lighter roasted coffee beans will produce a cup with the most caffeine because the roasting process cooks off some of the chemicals including caffeine. Ironically, this is the opposite of how it works with tea. The more processed it is (black), the more caffeine it will have because it has gotten more concentrated in the leaves. Variety A significant difference between coffee and tea is the variety. Though coffee beans can be roasted to different degrees, all coffee is generally the same and has a very common flavor. On the other hand, tea comes in more forms such as black, green, white or oolong. Green tea tastes quite different from black tea, while there isn't an equivalent "green coffee". Health The effects of coffee and tea on your health are varied, and many are still up for debate.
The idea that coffee is bad for you (or good for you) seems to change every few years, and there is no consensus on it. Even caffeine itself may have a few beneficial effects for your body, though most people do agree that excessive caffeine is not healthy. The one area where coffee and tea differ is in antioxidants. They are not that easy to explain, but antioxidants are chemicals that help your body fight aging and disease by "cleaning up" cellular damage caused by natural oxidation. Green tea has more of them, because these chemicals are destroyed by the roasting and fermenting process that makes black tea. It's the antioxidants that make tea such a healthy drink, compared to coffee. Some studies have shown that coffee many also have antioxidants but it's not a widely accepted notion. Equipment Coffee makers come in a number of forms, styles, and levels of complexity whereas tea is still generally just brewed by putting tea leaves in a pot of hot water. While there are some tea brewing machines on the market, the idea of using a machine has never taken off. For the most part, tea is still much simpler to make than coffee.
