Pork Roll or Taylor Ham? Beef or Chicken? White rice vs brown rice? No food war would be as iconic as coffee and tea (unless you are from New Jersey, then the pork roll/taylor ham debate is the biggest thing you can think of).

A little history before we begin:

Above: Emperor Shen Nung (Shenong) chewing a tea branch

Tea was founded in myth by the Emperor Shen Nung of China in 2737 BCE after tea leaves landed into a cup of boiling water. Since then, many varieties of tea were developed in China before spreading to other Asian provinces, such as Japan in the sixth century CE. The teas, consisting of white, green, and oolong, spread like wildfire throughout all of southern Asia, making the farming of the plant extremely profitable. White tea, the least processed of other teas, is made by being allowed to wilt but not oxidize (being wilted and unoxidized), green tea by not allowing it to be both wilted and oxidized (unwilted and unoxidized), and oolong tea, which is wilted, bruised, and oxidized. There are certain differences between the green teas in Japan and China, as the Chinese steam the leaves while the Japanese fry them (sometimes, the processes are interchangeable, but traditionally, it is such).

Black teas weren't prevalent until the mass production of teas and their shipment by the various European naval empires during the Age of Discovery/Imperial Era. Black teas are dried, crushed, and fully oxidized to allow easy shipment, but it damages certain effects the leaves could have. Sometimes, they are even roasted.

Teas are enjoyed for their slight-to-no bitterness and beautiful health benefits such as green tea allowing the full cleansing of toxins from your body and oolong to help your body metabolize fat over muscle. Certain teas, such as the Japanese gyokuro (a royal green tea) have a lot of caffeine and would be enjoyed by the noble class while genmaicha (green tea mixed with rice or nuts) would be enjoyed by the lower classes due to its cheapness.

Coffee, on the other hand, is thought to originate from Ethiopia in the tenth century CE and spread to Italy, the Middle East, and all parts of Africa by the fifteenth century CE. It is said that it was enjoyed by religious practitioners and monks as ways to connect to God, Allah, or Yahweh, and was said to help the user to concentrate more on their meditations. Recent discoveries led historians to believe that after it spread, coffee was banned by the Ethiopian Church for reasons unknown during the early eighteenth century CE. Coffee, presently, is known to be handled best by the Italians for espresso, a more concentrated and bitter form of coffee, and various South Americas for the fertile soil and various African nations for its arabica.

Above: A man drinking a traditional bitter coffee

Coffee is seen as more of a necessary drink by the Western world than tea due to the amount of caffeine it has as well as the ease of brew and the prevalence of supply. If you needed caffeine for work and you were running late, would you rather grab coffee straight from your machine or have to make sure you don't over brew your tea as well as burn it by using too hot of a temperature? Coffee, right? Because of its ease, coffee has become a rather complex industry for many Western companies such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and Tim Hortons. Starbucks is seen by many as the "hip" company, experimenting flavors and various drinks daily, while many consider Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme and Tim Hortons as just grabbing a regular cup 'o Joe with your donut (albeit, Tim Hortons coffee is a lot better than Dunkin Donuts). Being able to get your beverage the quickest and most efficient way as well as its additions (buying a donut or an extra shot) made it a lot easier to grab and drink, even while running late.

Tea is seen more of a remedy drink by the Western world. If you can't get some sleep, you would brew a chamomile/lemon infusion with a hint of rosemary. If you were sick, you'd brew a citrus-infused herbal infusion. If you needed a great pre-workout tea, you'd drink a hot green or oolong (I'd personally go with a green). Tea is also seen as a Sunday drink, as in something you would enjoy on a slow morning or afternoon with some biscuits and a nice daytime show. Most of the time, it isn't your go to drink during the workweek.

During the last couple of years, tea during the work week has been coming back. Companies such as Teavana (who was bought by Starbucks in 2012), have been bringing tea into the mainstream by concocting beautifully-made blends of teas and infusions as well as inventing ways to brew the teas faster and easier. With a comeback like this, the industry is expected to grow by 20% by 2050.

So, where is the coffee vs tea? Well, here it is:

According to the Harvard Gazette (http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/09/how-...), coffee is shown to

~ Improve blood pressure

~ Drastically lower the development of prostate cancer

~ Three cups a day lowers the chance of basal cell carcinoma

~ Reduces diabetes risk

~ And lowers the chance for cardiovascular disease.

However, you shouldn't drink too much coffee, as excessive caffeine is known to increase blood pressure.

Tea is well-known for it's health benefits, and because there are so many, I am going to highlight the most important by tea-type:

White Tea

~ Reduces the chance for certain cancers

~ Improves oral health

~ Antioxidants improve skin complexion and protects skin from UV light (to a certain extent)

Green Tea

~ Cleanses toxins from body

~ Forces the body to metabolize fat before muscle for energy

~ Heightens concentration

~ Soothes pain

~ Calms nerves

~ Prevents certain forms of cancer

Oolong Tea

~ Forces body to metabolize fat before muscle for energy

~ Calms nerves

~ Heightens concentration

~ Prevents tooth decay

~ Prevents osteoporosis

~ Prevents certain forms of cancer

~ Prevents heart disease

Black Tea

~ Heightens concentration (due to a large amount of caffeine)

~ Helps prevent diabetes

~ Helps improve gut health

~ Reduces risk of cancer

~ Has a beneficial amount of antioxidants

Remember that no beverage is a cure-all.

Now, if you look at the data, tea seems like it is the superior beverage, yes? Well, if you use Lincoln and Guba's scientific method of Natural Inquiry, you can deduce that each beverage is only good in its context of use. You need to have a pre-workout shake? Mix some matcha (powdered green tea) and Greek yogurt in a blender with some berries. Need a quick afternoon pick-me-up? Make a nice cappuccino or black coffee. In essence, no beverage is superior. It only matters when and how it is used.