I think it’s because coffee gives you a jolt of caffine while tea releases the caffine more slowly. It doesn’t give you the energy burst of coffee but does satisfy your craving and so is relaxing.
I have also heard (from a drunk in a pub so I don’t know) that tea actually has more caffine than coffee.
Eh, Beatle, my WAG would be that it’s “there’s more caffeine in coffee than tea”, not “it’s released at different rates”.
Which has more caffeine, tea of coffee, depends on what kind of tea or coffee it is, and how long they’re brewed. A cup of really strong tea can have more caffeine than a cup of instant coffee.
To address the OP, caffeine can give you an upset stomach. So if you’re already feeling unwell, slugging down a big dose of caffeine won’t help, and you instinctively opt for tea, and probably weak tea, at that.
Seems to me that in addition to being hot, tea has substances that are soothing which coffee lacks–and coffee seems to be more of an irritant to me. The oils in coffee and tea must be different, and have different effects.
If you want to talk herbal teas, too, then you’ve got your licorice root, your peppermint, your camomile, and so on–which definitely ease cold symptoms.
Plus, well, coffee tastes lousy with honey and lemon.
WHAT? But he said I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen! Ever!
Thanks for the info, all Duck, I guess I wasn’t so much speaking of upset tummies as sore throats…actors are notorious for wandering around with giant vats of tea to ‘soothe’ their voices and I always wondered why they didn’t just stick with the vats of hot coffee they usually carry around.
