You may wonder about the health benefits of coffee versus tea. Both are rich in health-promoting compounds that may protect against many conditions, including certain cancers and diabetes.

Although drinking too much caffeine through coffee or tea may have side effects, research shows that long-term, moderate consumption of these drinks can benefit health.

Coffee and tea both provide protective plant compounds that can support your health. Intake of both beverages has been linked to a reduced risk of common diseases and protection against early death.

Chronic Disease Prevention

Because coffee and tea contain health-protective compounds and antioxidants, drinking them regularly may reduce your risk of developing several conditions. For example:

• Both coffee and tea may protect against certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.
• Coffee and tea consumption before and after a diabetes diagnosis has been shown to reduce the risk of death significantly.
• Drinking coffee and tea could also protect against dementia and stroke.

Boosted Longevity

Drinking coffee or tea may increase your chances of living a longer, healthier life.

A 2023 study found that combined intake of tea and coffee reduced all-cause mortality. The study showed that people who consumed 2 cups of tea plus 2 cups of coffee per day had a 21% lower risk of cancer-related death. People who drank 3 cups of tea plus at least 4 cups of coffee daily had a 24% lower risk.

The study also found that people who drank 4 cups of tea and 1 cup of coffee daily had a 22% lower risk of dying from heart disease.

Coffee is higher in the natural stimulant caffeine than tea, providing 91.8 milligrams (mg) per cup. One cup of black tea provides 47 mg per cup, while the same amount of brewed green tea contains 29.4 mg.

Coffee intake has been shown to improve athletic performance, including reaction time, power, and aerobic capacity, largely due to its caffeine.

Coffee may also protect against several liver conditions, including fatty liver disease and liver cancer.

A review found that coffee drinkers had a 23% lower risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a 32% reduced risk of liver fibrosis compared to people who didn’t drink coffee.

Tea has unique health benefits, including boosting mental health. Green tea contains an amino acid called L-theanine, shown to have anti-stress and anti-anxiety properties.

One review found that frequent green tea consumption was associated with a 34% reduced risk of depressive symptoms.

Regular tea consumption has also been shown to protect against heart disease by reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

Because coffee is significantly higher in caffeine than tea, people sensitive to caffeine should limit their intake of coffee and highly caffeinated coffee products like espresso.

Consuming too much caffeine can lead to side effects like anxiety, heart palpitations, headaches, high blood pressure, and pregnancy complications.

Experts recommend that adults keep their daily caffeine intake to less than 400 mg—about 4 cups of coffee or 8 cups of black tea. Pregnant people should keep their daily caffeine intake to less than 200 mg.