First it should be acknowledged that coffee to coffee drinkers is like petrol to cars; and if they don’t have enough, they can easily break down! 

I am one of those people who love nothing more than a coffee to start my day with, keep it topped up throughout and then bring it to a close.  In fact, I regularly purchase and have an ongoing supply of a variety of different coffees for different parts of the day and to satisfy my different moods!

My absolute favourite and one I tend to favour is the most fabulous coffee bag (radical!).  It is a truly glorious sight for tired baggy eyes!  Its rich full-bodied flavour never fails to wake, shake and make me ready to take on whatever the day has in store! 

The great thing about the coffee bag, as well as its taste, is that it is all ready and prepared providing the perfect measure every time just requiring boiling water and a few minutes that can either be used for contemplation or anticipation. Then the fragrance and aroma become the familiar soothing and satisfying flavour; comforting, robust and bold.

For many, the caffeine kick is the primary reason for choosing java; the oil to our engines when we’re feeling a bit creaky each morning.  To some, coffee is an essential drug of sorts: a jolting liquid that staves away fatigue, headaches, and lack of motivation making it sound more like an addiction than a drink that is good for you!

Caffeine the drug helps to stimulate the brain and nervous system giving that pick-me-up feeling.  It also appears to affect the particular areas of the brain responsible for memory and concentration boosting short-term memory.

Perhaps therefore this is why tea gets the better reputation?  Tea seems to get labelled a health drink whereas coffee just as bad.

Who apart from me doesn’t like a nice cup of tea in the morning? 

As a nation we are in the main obsessed with this delectable drink and I have been known to have my tea moments especially when growing up where the kettle was always on with the teabags to the ready!

My ideal preference and perfect time for a brew is in the afternoon, ideal to be had with a biscuit or two and a cheeky dunk!

But drinking tea not just something I learnt to do at a tender age, it is also sewn into our cultural identity and an iconic part of being British. 

Did you know that the average person consumes 876 cups of tea each year which is enough to fill two bathtubs!  Tea drinking increases with age; while 18 to 24-year olds drink eight cups a week, over-55s drink an average of 21 cups a week.   

There are also findings that people are likely to turn to this beverage when feeling sad or lonely.  As there’s nothing quite like a cuppa in a crisis and who hasn’t opted for a bit of tea and sympathy to alleviate the stresses of life!

So, if you had to choose between coffee and tea, what would it be?

Mounting evidence suggests that they both are good for you because they're brimming with antioxidants (the microscopic police officers who seize any bad guys planning to harm our cells). 

Both beverages leave us feeling similarly alert later in the morning which against all logic, tea actually provides just as powerful a wake-up call as coffee.  Perhaps our expectations help to determine how on our toes we feel, or could it be that it’s the overall experience of the tastes, and smells of our favourite drink that awaken our senses.

Tea offers many of the benefits of coffee, without the sleepless nights and overall, people who drink three cups a day appear to have a 37% lower risk of depression than those who do not drink tea so there is some evidence that tea soothes your nerves.

However, if you want a perfect smile, coffee may be the lesser of two evils as tea's natural pigments are more likely to cling to the enamel. But both drinks are a surprising, health-giving tonic as a few cups of either each day appear to reduce the risk of diabetes and are somewhat good in protecting the heart, although the evidence seems slightly stronger for coffee.

Although our national drink faces stiff competition by the choice of coffees on offer and new ones being introduced all the time and sometimes you have to question is the world going coffee crazy?

Who doesn’t ask what is the difference between a piccolo latte and a latte? What even is a latte? Why do we need to specify flat white? Is there a fizzy white?  Starbucks has a lot to answer for!  Let’s face it, it’s hard enough to remember whether I ordered a Grande flavoured latte, a tall caramel macchiato or a venti mocha light Frappuccino?  The only good thing is when I acquaint this particular coffee shop is I don’t have to remember my name as they write it for me on my cup!  This is a very 'have a nice day' American gesture, which I can’t ever see taking off in any British cafes (the home of the takeaway tea) as they scribble on polystyrene cups of builders brew!  Most of the British public do not look to make friends when we enter into such an exchange, we simply just want a drink!

So, to conclude, there is little between the two drinks besides personal taste!

Fill your mug with whichever brew you like or why not go crazy and benefit from both sets of antioxidants: drink one or two cups of coffee in the morning and then enjoy tea throughout the day.

“But indeed, I would rather have nothing but tea.”

Jane Austen, 

“Wouldn't it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn't have tea?”

Noël Coward

I would rather have a cup of tea than sex.

Boy George

Make tea, not war.

Monty Python

Coffee is not my cup of tea

Samuel Goldwyn

Tea is a cup of life.

Author unknown

“If you are cold, tea will warm you;

if you are too heated, it will cool you;

if you are depressed, it will cheer you;

if you are excited, it will calm you.”

William Gladstone

"...a cup of tea, the British specific against disaster, grief and shock."

P.D. James

Coffee is a language in itself.

Jackie Chan

To me, the smell of fresh-made coffee is one of the greatest inventions.

Hugh Jackman

Coffee is a hug in a mug.

Author Unknown

“Like most of the world’s population I’m into coffee, but in a properly big and important way. My perfect weekend would start with a pint of coffee.”

Jimmy Carr