You might be a coffee lover, or maybe tea is more your style, or perhaps you love both for different reasons. Morning drinks are common across the globe with wide different varieties. Both coffee and tea can be drunk throughout the day, some prefer to wake up with coffee and mellow out with tea at the end of the day and others just prefer their matcha and shy away from coffee. Besides the caffeine content and how they are made, there are a lot of differences between the top morning drinks coffee, tea, to matcha.
What is Coffee, Tea & Matcha
Morning drinks are a great way to start the day, whether you like to wake up with a hot coffee black and bitter, or light and sweet. Maybe tea is your go too, with a little honey and lemon to start your day. There are so many variations of morning drinks to appease any palate and desire. Coffee is made from coffee beans and tea is made from plant leaves, including matcha which is made from certain green tea leaves. Sounds simple enough, but if you have ever purchased either you know there are so many options and variations of coffee and tea out there to choose from.
Coffee is made from roasted coffee beans from the berries of Coffea plants, the seed from a coffee cherry fruit, first discovered in the 18th century by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. There are over 6,000 species of coffee plants, which leads to a wide variety of coffee plants although Arabica and Robusta are the most widely used in the commercial coffee industry. Coffee beans are harvested, processed, dried, milled, roasted, ground, and then brewed to taste. A simple process that takes at least a year from the first signs of a green coffee cherry.
Tea is almost always made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. The whole plant is not used to make tea, only a few leaves from the top of the plant are used at a time. Tea leaves are then dried, and brewed over boiling water, often sweetened with honey, lighten up with milk, or drank straight. The hot water pulls the flavor out of the leaves and there are a variety of plants, flowers, berries, and other herbs that make the popular teas we know today.
Tea has been around since at least the 3rd Century AD, as that is when it was first recorded as being consumed, although it is thought to have been around longer than that. Matcha has gained in popularity over the past decade or so from morning drinks to afternoon pick-me-ups to those desiring the health benefits. Matcha is a type of green tea that has been enjoyed for over 1,000 years when Japanese tea farmers began crafting this powdered green tea made from the whole leaf. Along with green tea there, it is renowned for its health benefits.
Zen monks consume to help them focus during long periods of still meditation and some take it for mental clarity, as samurai warriors have done. People often enjoy matcha for its positive effects on their mood, overall health, and energy levels. Matcha can be drunk hot or cold and can be a very particular tea to produce. Since matcha does have a higher caffeine content than green tea or other morning drinks one should be cautious going in if they drink too close to bedtime.
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What is the Difference Between Coffee, Tea & Matcha
Simply the difference between these popular morning drinks is that coffee is made from coffee beans, tea is made from leaves and matcha is a type of green tea that is finely ground, specially grown, and processed green tea leaves. Although tea and matcha are from the same family, they are distinctly different other than if you are comparing green tea and matcha.
The caffeine content in morning drinks may sway you to enjoy one over the other. Coffee is typically higher in caffeine than tea, green tea has minimal caffeine, and black tea, mate, and matcha have the most caffeine, similar to the amounts found in coffee. The way you brew, step, and enjoy your morning drinks also has an impact on your caffeine levels. For a very in-depth and knowledgeable article on this topic check out Tea vs Coffee Caffeine: Levels Compared (9 Variables) 13 Types.
Mornings drinks vary from person to person and unless you live off the grid you know how vital some feel their morning drinks are. From Starbucks to your local coffee shop, any hour they are open you will find them busy with plenty of folks enjoying some type of coffee or tea beverage. Coffee has become more than just a morning cup of joe, it’s become an almost club-like thing where people have their places they go to spend $4+ a day on that perfect drink to start or pump up their day.
You may be in that group or you may just enjoy a quick cup of coffee in the morning, the way you like it at home or on the way to start your day. Tea on the other hand has always been more of a ritual for those who enjoy it, a break in the day, something special, such as high tea or a special mother-daughter tea. Morning drinks are enjoyed all day long and often without the side effects of caffeine. Coffee is often consumed for its caffeine kick, whereas teas are dranks for their warmth, and healing powers as well as a bit of caffeine if desired.
Read More: Chamomile Benefits: It is More Than Just Tea
Pros & Cons of Your Favorite Morning Drinks
Caffeine is probably the biggest con of these morning drinks, although that is why most drink it. Not all caffeine is bad and a little bit can go a long way to help wake you up, keep you awake or rejuvenate you when nothing else seems to do the trick. Like everything else too much caffeine is not a good thing, it can make you jittery, and crash later in the day and your body could become reliant on it. Causing headaches, grouchiness, and other side effects if you don’t get your daily dose of caffeine in your morning drinks.
The right morning drinks can have benefits that not only help in the morning but throughout the day as well. Various types of tea have a lot of antioxidants, can reduce inflammation, help bring down your stress levels and rejuvenate you. Different herbs can be used in your morning drinks or as an afternoon or evening tea to help mellow you out for sleep. Teas are also known to help support various stages in your life, from helping ease pregnancy symptoms to location teas, there is a tea out there for pretty much any ailment or condition.
Tea has been a powerful tool for thousands of years, from helping lessen the effects of the common cold, to calm an upset tummy. Morning drinks are often consumed as a way to wake most up, but the benefits of your choices can last throughout the day and help support your moods, mellow you out at the end of the day and support your health goals. Matcha has been known for its energy-boosting tea, while also helping you be more mellow while achieving your goals. Read here for more amazing benefits of matcha, you might even be swayed from your morning cup of joe to try it out.
Read More: Growing A Greener World Through Coffee
Your favorite morning drinks are here to stay and be enjoyed however you wish. From a warm cup of tea on those cold mornings to an iced coffee to give you that extra kick you need after an unrestful sleep. If you are a faithful coffee drinker and snub your nose at tea, you might want to check out what tea has to offer you, as you may never know what you might discover or learn to enjoy.
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Check out 12 Outstanding Coffee Accessories for Any Coffee Drinker.
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