Coffee vs Tea
There are differences between coffee and tea in their taste, preparation, recipes and flavor. Both tea and coffee are the members of evergreen family. Both plants develop into large trees, but they are kept being trimmed to the height of a shrub. The flavor of both the drinks is affected by moisture, surrounding vegetation, soil condition etc. The similarity is that both contain caffeine, but the amount of caffeine varies considerably in a single serving of these beverages. Coffee contains more caffeine than tea and with the same serving tea only contains ½ to 1/3 of caffeine compared to coffee. But when it is measured in a dry form, coffee contains less caffeine when compared to tea.
Most of us crave for coffee in the morning and the day may start bitter, if we don’t drink coffee. Consumption of caffeine is not completely bad. Both decaf and caffeinated coffee consists of antioxidants. Coffee contains substances that help to regulate blood sugar. Certain compounds found in coffee also prevent gallstones. Caffeine may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease at least in men by enhancing the supply of dopamine. Coffee powder is made out of coffee beans. The high oxidant capacity of tea reduces the risk of cancer for habitual tea drinkers. Tea reduces the cholesterol levels, inhibits blood clots and protects heart by relaxing the blood vessels.
The two main species of coffee plant cultivated are Coffea Arabica and Coffea canephora. Coffea Arabica is considered as more suitable than Coffea canephora or Coffea robusta. To make the roasted coffee, several processes are taken place. First of all, the coffee beans are hand picked and are sorted according to the color and ripeness of the beans. The flesh of the berry is removed by using a machine and it is fermented to remove a mucilage layer. After fermentation, the beans are washed to remove the residue of fermentation. Then the seeds are dried and roasted. All types of coffee are made from roasted beans and all methods of coffee preparation require grounded beans. The basic steps to prepare coffee include, mixing grounded beans with hot water and removing undissolved particles from the liquid.
Tea is mainly grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates. For the cultivation of tea two main varieties of tea plants are used. The two varieties are small-leaved China plant and large-leaved Assam plant. Tea leaves are plucked from the garden and sent for processing to factories. Young shoot, terminal bud, and the two adjacent leaves are plucked from the plant to start the processing. Through four different stages such as withering, rolling, fermentation and drying the flush is processed. After drying, the leaves are sorted out according to the quality and made ready for the market.