We are all familiar with the situation – the alarm clock goes off and you don’t want to wake up. You are tired and feel like sleep on. You have two choices now: wake up or go back to sleep. What do you choose? Of course to wake up! There are many ways to become wide awake: take a cold shower, do your morning sports routine or take a cup of coffee or tea. Many people swear by the positive and stimulating effect of coffee since it contains caffeine. Tea however has no caffeine but theine. A friend of mine told me theine is the same as caffeine, another friend told me they are totally different. What do you say? We will find out!
Theine vs Caffeine or Theine = Caffeine
Let's have a look at the chemical structure of caffeine and theine first. Then we will discuss the positive and negative effects. In addition to that we will see some facts and figures.
Fig.1 Chemical structure of caffeine - Source
Fig.2 Chemical structure of theine- Source
Did anyone of you spot a difference? I hope you didn't spend too much time since there is no difference because caffeine and theine are the same chemical molecule. Does that mean both are absorbed and processed the same way?
We need to take on an overall view before answering this question. Though both are the same molecule I will continue to use the terms caffeine and theine. Caffeine is the world most widely used drug and is found in over 60 different plants as cola nut, tea bush etc.. Caffeine quickly gets absorbed by the human body. The moment you drink your cup of coffee caffeine enters your body and within five minutes it enters your blood. The maximum blood concentration is reached after 20 to 30 minutes, it doesn’t accumulate but gets degraded with a half-life of 4 to 6 hours.
Once it’s in your blood caffeine will affect your physical processes. It is able to permeate the brain blood barrier and thus reach your brain directly. Caffeine has a similar structure as adenosine, a messenger substance of your body. One of its tasks in the body is to let you know when you get tired. Since caffeine has a similar structure it can attach to adenosines receptors and block them.
In short: your body doesn’t feel tired. You might be exhausted and need to rest but make your body think you are top-fit which can be dangerous. Furthermore, blocking the adenosine receptors will increase the level of dopamine in your brain, one of the main reasons why you feel even more awake. Smokers are able to degraded caffeine faster than pregnant women, newborns need more than 100 hours! Theine however is processed in a different way by our body. Caffeine and theine are bound to other chemical compounds and then released in our body. Theine is bound to so called tanning agents which cause us to degrade theine slower than caffeine. While caffeine gets fully absorbed in our stomach after 20 to 40 minutes, theine needs 6 to 8 hours and gets absorbed mostly through our intestinal tract. Green tea contains additionally an amino acid analogue, theanine which bounds theine. Theanine has a stimulating effect while caffeine has an exciting impact on your body.
Not only lasts theine longer in your body it also comes with other positive compounds that are missing in your daily coffee. Tea doesn’t kick in like your coffee and you won’t feel low after few hours, while once your coffee effect diminishes, you will feel even more exhausted. Last but not least it must be said that a single cup of coffee contains more caffeine than a cup of tea. You need more coffee beans than tea leafs to brew a cup of each.
Following figure shows some positive and negative health effects of caffeine on your body:
Fig.3 Positive and negative effects of caffeine on the human body Source
Facts and figures!
Ever wondered if people drink more coffee or tea? The following illustrations shows the percentage of Americans who prefer coffee or tea by age group in 2015:
Some other interesting facts:
Every second 30.000 cups coffee are consumed, that is 946200000000 cups of coffee a year!
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Myth or Fact? #19 – Cold weather makes you catch a cold
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Myth or Fact? #17 – Cockroaches can survive a nuclear catastrophe
Myth or Fact? #16 – Skin on heated milk is dangerous
Myth or Fact? #15 - Survive a falling elevator by jumping up as it hits the floor
Myth or Fact? #14 - Mosquitoes prefer people with sweet blood
Myth or Fact? #13 - Does Santa Claus exist? 🎅
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Tim
Wow! What an excellent piece again, you are becoming one of my very favourite blogger on here, congratulations!!!
Thanks a bunch for this information which will be passed on to many. Namaste :)
follow me pls
Done. :)
follow me pls
Excellent information and the order of presentation is spot on. I am starting to read all the rest you have posted. This is my first read, keep going with it!
Perhaps your friend who said they are different was actually thinking about L-theanine and not Theine. Since as you say Theine IS caffine.
Great stuff - huge value - Honestly I don't like coffee, I am a tea-oholic . I drink at least min 4-6 cups of green tea a day. Especially a cup after I eat, helps with the food to digest better.
But that's none of my business
Huh?
Great article bro👌🏼 I think you already know that I prefer always tea to coffee 👌🏼
Last time I saw you, you drank Vodka...
You mean water😅 Last time we met I was drinking red wine and there wasn't any kind of tea 😅
Oh I get it 💡 it was your Vodka mule 😅
very interesting !
Super knowledgeable , i love drinking tea so much hehe;-) I like your contents, upvoted the all the latest post you created @timsaid ;-)
Seems like all Steemians love only tea lol
Steemit has Steem.
I have joined Steemit 2 days ago, and you are the BEST STEEMIAN I have encountered with, in my last 2 days. Your posts are so much informative as well as attractive.
I am a biotechnology student myself, and I get pretty much interested in these stuff.
I will keep following your all your posts for sure. :)
One of the best comments I had so far!
Big bro fist!
Thank You very much :)
I would have expected old people to drink more tea... Damned I am wrong :)
Hey old people like to drink it ( coming from an older person )
Of course, and also youngish people too. The numbers quoted in the post seem to state that coffee is preferred. Which is the reason of my comment.
Yes it is surprising that young people are drinking tea. Which is cool, but just hope it doesnt start a price increase.
The millennials are enjoying more and more tea!
Hello my friend
Really good herbal drinks such as (green tea + mint and other herbs)
Great post as always @timsaid! I have a question for you though: is decaf coffee really decaf or is it the placebo effect that I am experiencing sometimes? :) haha
Decaf coffee is not completely caffeine free. You will always have some caffeine in it, however it's not much (< 3%)
I see: :) thanks!
I prefer green tea to coffee, also like to add some extra Theanine. Definitely a more stable energy and less jittery. Some good gunpowder green tea with a teaspoon of coconut oil in the morning gets me going! ;-)
Same here! I don't like coffee but tea. Mostly I drink green tea with some citrus
Have you tried masala tea from India?
Hi @timsaid. I really enjoyed reading your post. I am totally addicted to tea. I drink approx 10 - 15 cups per day. Thank you
Sounds healthy! I don't drink more than 3 to 5 cups per day
Nice post! I do not drink any coffee thats why I always prefer green tea. But I luckily never needed any drinks to be awake at morning. So its just a drink for my enjoyment ...
I don't need more than 4 hours of sleep and I will be awake! In case I am tired I take a cool shower :)
Enjoyable read. The charts / stats are worth questioning I feel.
I do come from a TEA family.
Everyone in my home needs tea.
Tea. Morning. Tea afternoon. And tea night.
Plus, in India, teas are sold on the street (with milk, which is the norm) for 20 to 30 cents. :)
Pic:
Oh, that looks delicious. :)
The way it sits open kind of weirds me out.
Very interesting post . I drink both coffee and tea depending on the time of day and the occasion.
very interesting !
I never even realized tea had theine instead of caffeine. Good to know the differing processes of absorption and effects. I have greatly reduced my coffee intake from a pot (10-12 cups) each morning to 4-6 cups per week.
Seeing everyone choose tea over coffee makes me feel sad a little for dear coffee.
But its tea over coffee for me also
Tea > Coffee
What an excellent article on coffee vs. tea. I loved all the information, especially the detailed facts on caffeine vs. theine. It was interesting that the chemical make-up was the same but the overall impact on the body was different. You seriously made me think about drinking tea. I am so glad you took the effort to do this very well written article. Look forward to more. Thank-you!
Happy to see you enjoyed it!
Great article, @timsaid. I love the Myth or Fact links!
Myth or Fact?:. Impossible to lick your own elbow? 😋
Upvoted/Resteemed/Following😊
Haha, that's hard to prove! Some people can do it!
Haven't seen one, yet, @timsaid... Searches YouTube... 😋
Great article !! Very interesting, i love tea.... :) Thanks for sharing !! :)
Go for it!! do a good decaf tea. Not much difference in taste, but you don’t get the buzz when you drink it.
Or the headaches when you need a cup. This is only if you stop caffeine altogether. And start to use decaf everything!! Lol
I drink a lot of caffeine, at least 4 cups and additional throughout the day, but used to drink tea a lot more when I was younger. I never really noticed an increase in energy from tea, but maybe it is working in the background. I drink a lot of green tea so maybe that's part of the reason I struggle to rest.
There is nothing better than tea, especially japanese green. :)
100%
lol wow after reading this article i quit drinking coffee 3 times a day to once a day.thanks for the intuition @timsaid
A cup of tea has about 1/2 to 1/3 the caffeine of coffee, great post!
That's an interesting post! Will tell this to Starbucks staff when they are making my drinks haha :)
Seriously such great and in detail work,
What about something like Bullet Coffee where you add fatty oils to slow absorption? Also can you do a comparison of marijuana and alcohol toxcity? There's probably a bunch of myths to be sorted out there! Awesome article. Thanks.
Great post. You always come up with very good information. Keep up the good work. Cheers!!!!!!1
Tea is one of my favorite drinks in the world. I think I could survive on Tea, water, and red wine. With a little whiskey thrown in for variety.
Haha, I know a guy who drinks tea with whiskey! I bet you both would be good friends :D
Challenge accepted!
Great article as always. Love my coffee, never been a big tea fan. I have got into the Matcha and Turmeric lattes lately though.. and replaced one of my (several) morning coffees with a cup of homemade bone broth spiced with cumin, black pepper and lemon juice (a brothee?)
I don't like coffe. But I must say the last mocha I had was delicious! I will try your receipt
well done. You've found a niche for sure. I look forward to what you dig up next.
I take this with me "Theanine has a stimulating effect while caffeine has an exciting impact on your body. " - Both do good - can't wait for your comparison of #beer vs. #wine @timsaid
I have to interview @twinner for that
Excelente post
Love your posts. I'm surprised at how many I got right before reading your excellent research. Steem On
Coffee is what keeps people awake.
Coffee is life.
This is excellent. I love tea, hot or cold. Can't stand coffee. I think I am the only person i know that doesn't drink it. Glad to know I'm not alone in the world.
I love Ice Tea! I love hot tea. Totally understand you
Great post @timsaid and useful information!!!:)
I appreciate
Very interesting article. She opened me a lot about coffee.)))
That's what I hoped to hear
Great information! I do like tea ☕️ 🤓
I love tea, particularly white tea since it has the lowest caffeine levels yet is very high in health-promoting antioxidants. It's interesting to see from the graph you provided how tea consumption is increasing in the U.S.. Perhaps a bearish sign for the economy---in socionomic theory, coffee or other high-caffeine beverages are popular during bull markets. Upvoted and following.
Great post .Thanks for sharing @timsaid
Wow cool article, I'm gonna make myself a nice tea. I think I had too much coffee already :D
Interesting......Ill have a cup of Coffee in the morning, then I drink tea the rest of the day. I guess that initial jolt of caffeine wakes me up, then the theine kicks in for extended awake-ness.
Thanks a lot for these details
Great info. Personally I will still be relying on my morning cup of joe, can't fathom switching to tea. But you deserve my upvote regardless.
Thanks! :)