If you’re an extroverted night owl, you probably prefer tea over coffee.
A study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of the Chinet brand examined the personality differences between people based on their coffee or tea preference, reported New York Post (Oct. 8). Though you may expect coffee drinkers to be the ones up all night, they are actually more likely to be introverted morning people.
The average coffee drinker typically has 3.4 cups a day, while tea fans drink 2.7 cups. Caffeine appeared to have an impact on sleep as coffee drinkers were found more likely to be “light” sleepers, while over half of tea drinkers were self-described “average” sleepers.
When it comes to what goes in the hot beverage of choice, coffee lovers are 96% more likely than tea drinkers to enjoy their brew straight. Tea fans were 35% more likely to add sugar to their drinks, while coffee drinkers are more focused on caffeine quantity.
Caffeine was the main reason for deterring those who prefer tea, as 37% said “too much caffeine” was the coffee turnoff. Meanwhile, morning tea doesn’t do it for those who prefer coffee with over a third finding tea to be “too boring.”
The amount of caffeine in tea or coffee can vary significantly depending on the origin, type, and preparation of the drink, reported Healthline (Oct. 7). Tea leaves contain more caffeine at 3.5%, while coffee beans have 1.1-2.2%. However, the coffee brewing process uses hotter water, which extracts more of the caffeine from the beans.
The preparation method also greatly impacts the caffeine content of tea. Teas that steep for longer and in hotter water tend to produce a more potent cup. Black tea brings the most caffeine to the cup, but green tea contains a moderate amount as well, particularly matcha, which usually comes in a powdered form.
Powdered forms like matcha might be the new choice for tea lovers going forward as it was recently discovered that a single tea bag can leak billions of pieces of microplastic into your brew, reported CNN (Sept. 27).
Researchers from McGill University found a single bag releases around 11.6 billion microplastic particles, and 3.1 billion even smaller nanoplastic particles, into the cup—which is thousands of times higher than the amount of plastic previously found in other food and drink.
The health effects of drinking these particles are currently unknown, according to the researchers, who called for further study into the area.
