Coffee and tea are two beloved beverages around the world, each boasting healthful benefits when consumed responsibly as part of a balanced diet. But is tea healthier than coffee?, its answer may not be so straightforward.

Coffee and tea are excellent sources of antioxidants, natural molecules that protect cells from damage. Consuming them regularly can help prevent chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer, with some types of tea having more antioxidants than others. Tea also offers additional health benefits beyond antioxidants; green, oolong and black varieties all come with different leaf varieties which give each one unique properties.

Green tea is an herbal variety of tea brewed from the leaves of Camellia sinensis plant and typically prepared by steaming, fermenting or oxidization of these leaves. Black tea also utilizes Camellia sinensis leaves; however its primary difference from green is that as more time is spent brewing the longer tannins (an antioxidant polyphenol that may have negative health ramifications if consumed excessively) become released – these may include black and green varieties of the beverage respectively.

Tea has significantly less caffeine content than coffee; one 8 ounce cup of brewed coffee contains 96 milligrams, while an equivalent volume of tea typically only contains 20-45 milligrams. Although caffeine can have positive effects on alertness and focus, too much caffeine can lead to anxiety, high blood pressure, irritability, jitteriness, trouble sleeping as well as other adverse side effects; for this reason tea offers an ideal way of cutting back or even eliminating its consumption altogether – especially herbal varieties like chamomile or peppermint which naturally lacks its stimulant properties.