Is Coffee Technically a Tea? (Solved & Explained!)

Coffee and tea preparations are different, as coffee comes from beans and tea comes from leaves. In addition, tea typically only involves hot water, while coffee preparation changes in various ways.

We extract coffee beans from the coffee fruit. Those extracted beans are dried first and roasted, and then grounded. The coffee beans can grow a new coffee plant.

We make tea by adding hot or boiled water to the dried green leaves of camellia Sinensis. 

Coffee and tea are different in many aspects as they both belong to different plants. Not only are the methods of preparation of coffee and tea different from each other, but their serving processes also vary significantly from each other. In addition, coffee and tea affect your health. Coffee comes from the fruit on a flowering tree, but tea comes from the small fresh green leaves. 

This article will study the difference between coffee and tea and how their caffeine levels differ.

Is Coffee Made the Same Way as Tea? 

We make the coffee and tea by different methods. Everything differs from the quantity to ingredients and timing while making tea and coffee. The most popular ways to make tea and coffee are discussed below in detail.

For making one cup of tea, you need to take 200ml of boiled water. Add a teabag to your cup. Now leave the tea bag in hot water for about 2 minutes. Remove the tea bag and add milk to about 10ml. Wait about 4 to 5 minutes until it reaches optimum temperature. Now it is ready to drink. 

You have many options for adding materials to tea. For example, you can add ginger, lemon juice, milk, and sugar. 

For making one cup of coffee, you need to grind the coffee beans into medium or small sizes. Now add these two teaspoon-powdered coffee into your cup and add enough water to soak the coffee. You can also add sugar if you like. Until the coffee dissolves, leave it for three minutes and then add 250 ml of milk or cream.

Are the Processing Methods of Coffee and Tea the Same?

The processing methods of coffee and tea are different; tea mainly uses extraction while coffee is roasted and ground in a mill.

There are three types of tea: green tea, black tea, and white tea. These all types of tea depend on the tea production methods as they all come from the same green leaves. 

Black tea is the most used tea all over the world. There are two methods of making it. One is a conventional method, and the other is the CTC method. The most common way of making black tea is a traditional method; the leaves pass through 4 different stages in this process.

The first is a withering method in which we dry the leaves by giving air pressure to remove the water content up to 60 to 70%. This drying process may take 15 to 17 hours.

The second stage is the rolling process. In this process, the leaves are rolled by hand or by machine until they look like thin wires.

The third is the oxidation process, in which we spread the dried rolling leaves on a table. These leaves remain there for about two hours at room temperature. During this time, the enzymes present in leaves interact with the surrounding air and turn the leaf’s color from green to dark brown.

The fourth method is the Firing method. In this process, the oxidized leaves are passed through hot driers, reducing the water content up to 3%. Now, these dried leaves are ready for packaging.

The other method is the CTC method known as cut, tear, and curling methods of making tea. For making green tea, there is no oxidation process. This oxidation process keeps the leaves with a fresh flavor and delicate color.

These leaves go through the steaming process to kill the enzymes present in leaves. The leaves are then rolled into bullet shapes and packaged.

The dry method is the most widely used and oldest method of coffee processing. First, the coffee berries are picked ripe and delivered to the washing station.

The coffee is weighed, sorted, and reported before moving directly to the drying area. Coffee dries on raised beds with woven or mesh fabric to allow air to circulate the fruit. The staff rotates these berries from time to time as they dry.

It takes 3 to 4 weeks to completely dry the fruit and the seeds to reach a moisture content required for export around 11%.

After the fruit is dry, it transfers to the dry mil. The resulting green coffee is taken to the mill to be sorted by hand or by special equipment, and they will also polish it at this stage. Then it will be placed in sacks and stored in a warehouse until it’s ready to be shipped.

What is the Difference Between Coffee and Tea’s Caffeine Levels? 

Tea leaves contain more caffeine than coffee, but your coffee has more caffeine than your tea when you make a cup. This difference is due to the different preparation methods of each.

Because you need more coffee to make one cup of coffee, ultimately more caffeine in your cup, but for making one cup of tea, you need less tea so that less caffeine will be present in your teacup. You can drink up to 6 cups of tea in a day and 3 to 4 cups of coffee.

Caffeine in tea has an amino acid called L-theanine. This amino acid calms and relaxes you. The caffeine in coffee stimulates the nervous system, heart, and muscles. Caffeine can raise blood pressure but is less inconsistent coffee use over time.

The caffeine in coffee makes you energetic, extra alert and is considered an energy drink. While caffeine in tea gives you complete relaxation. Coffee sometimes can make you sweaty, while tea does not.

The caffeine in tea has a slower effect on your body than the caffeine in your coffee because the caffeine has a faster release form of energy than the tea.