Chemistry of Tea | All Tea™ If you were impressed by the fact that a cup of coffee contains around 1,500 chemicals , you will not be surprised to find out that a cup of tea contains almost 2,000 chemical compounds! Many of these chemicals possess antioxidant properties and health benefits, just like in coffee. However, the chemical structure of these antioxidant compounds differ between coffee and tea, just like the chemicals in green and black tea are different, even though they come from the exact same plant.
Several people have asked me about the medicinal and chemical properties of tea. After all, the rest of the world that doesn’t drink coffee, most probably drinks tea. It turns out that there is also an exciting world of chemical reactions going on during tea processing. This drink has been consumed for thousands of years and this long safety record makes the compounds produced in the extraction process attractive for drug discovery. Check out the flavonoids in the figure below. Interesting links: Tea and Cancer Prevention. Chemistry in every cup.
Coffee has a conflicting reputation - is it a guilty pleasure or a life saving elixir? Emma Davies gulps down an espresso and investigates In ShortDrinking coffee has been associated with a variety of harmful and beneficial health effectsCoffee contains huge numbers of compounds, including antioxidant chlorogenic acids Recent evidence suggests coffee could help prevent type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's The absorption and profile of both helpful and harmful compounds in coffee is complex and depends on many factors It is hard to avoid stories about the latest must-eat food to join the anticancer brigade. First it was select vegetables and berries, then red wine, dark chocolate and coffee. Coffee is indeed one of the richest sources of phenolics in the western diet and can potentially pack a strong antioxidant punch, in theory protecting cells if the body's natural mechanisms fail to keep levels of reactive oxygen species under control.
Kill or cure? Acid house. Caffeine in Green Tea Vs. Coffee. While green tea and coffee both have caffeine, coffee has a significantly greater amount per cup. But both have other nutrients in them that have been linked with significant health benefits. However, with any caffeinated beverage, there is a risk of addiction, and certain populations should reduce or avoid caffeine, such as women who are pregnant or nursing. Caffeine, the world’s most frequently consumed psychoactive drug, occurs naturally in some foods and beverages like coffee, tea and chocolate. However, caffeine can also be isolated and used in pharmaceuticals, like headache medications. The three effects most commonly associated with caffeine use are increased mental alertness, increased urination and headache reduction. If you drink a cup of green tea every day, you are receiving a relatively small dose of caffeine. The average cup of coffee has about 100 to 200 mg of caffeine.