# Coffee, Tea and Thee **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950 "2001-04-14T14:06:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/1 "2001-04-14T14:06:58Z")
I went out with **Nym** last night and I’ve got a headache. So let’s get right to the point without a lot of rigamarole. Why, when I’m sick and my throat is sore and raw, do I reach for tea to soothe it, bypassing the coffee that I drink every day of my life? Black Tea and Coffee are both caffienated (in my house at least) They’re both hot, drinkable liquids They’re both just water filtered through some crushed up stuff to extract flavor and aroma So why is tea the ‘soothing’ drink of choice? jarbaby ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/2 "2001-04-14T14:12:37Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/3 "2001-04-14T14:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I think it’s because coffee gives you a jolt of caffine while tea releases the caffine more slowly. That’s news to me. Do you have a source for this information? ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/4 "2001-04-14T14:31:47Z")
On average, a cup of tea has about half the caffiene as a cup of coffee. A very strong cup of tea and a very weak cup of coffee are about equal. Tea also has two other chemicals that coffee does not. Theobromine and theophylline, which relax the smooth muscles. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/5 "2001-04-14T14:33:28Z")
You can try these sites that I just found though they both also say that generally coffee has more caffeine than tea. So never beleive a drunk! [http://www.culinary.net/columns/cybercupcafe/teaandcoffeetalk.html](http://www.culinary.net/columns/cybercupcafe/teaandcoffeetalk.html) [http://www.java-n-jazz.com/tea.html](http://www.java-n-jazz.com/tea.html) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/6 "2001-04-14T14:45:44Z")
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. [http://www.healthyeating.org/general/tea-coffee.htm](http://www.healthyeating.org/general/tea-coffee.htm) > [@](#): > > Green tea has as much caffeine as black tea. A typical eight-ounce cup of tea prepared from one tea bag brewed for three to five minutes contains 40 milligrams of caffeine, compared with 100 milligrams in a cup of brewed coffee. > > The caffeine content of tea can range from 20 to 90 milligrams a cup, depending on the blend of tea leaves, method of preparation and length of brewing time, whereas a cup of coffee may contain from 60 to 180 milligrams of caffeine. 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. [http://www.cyberdiet.com/modules/gi/maintain/problems/caffeine.html](http://www.cyberdiet.com/modules/gi/maintain/problems/caffeine.html) > [@](#): > > Caffeine, along with alcohol, peppermint, spearmint, and fried or fatty foods, may weaken the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the valve separating the esophagus from the stomach. If the LES does not close tightly, this can cause regurgitation of stomach acid into the esophagus, resulting in heartburn… > [@](#): > > Caffeine Content of Selected Foods and Beverages > Coffee (per 6 oz.) mgs > Drip 175 > Percolated 131 > Instant 79 > Decaffeinated 5 > > Tea (per 6 oz.) mgs > 5 minute brew 59 > 1 minute 36 > Cocoa, Chocolate > (per 6 oz.) mgs > Ovaltine 11 > Chocolate (per 1 oz.) mgs > Baking chocolate 68 > Sweet chocolate 45 > Milk chocolate 20 > > Soft drinks (per 12 oz.) mgs > Coca-Cola 65 > Dr. Pepper 61 > Mountain Dew 55 > Tab 49 > Diet Rite 32 > Gingerale, Grape 0 > Rootbeer, 7-up 0 > Orange, Pepsi Free 0 My mother’s sovereign remedy for illness, and especially upset tummies, was Canada Dry Ginger Ale. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/7 "2001-04-14T18:14:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-tea-and-thee/61950/8 "2001-04-14T19:27:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jonnyb \* > So never beleive a drunk! 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. But I think we all know… actors are silly. jarbaby