Tea vs. Coffee...Can't we all just get along?

I like both :-)

I think the appreciation of fine tea is consistent, not conflicting, with the appreciation of fine coffee. Besides, support of eco-friendly tea is often consistent with the support of good ecosystems for coffee.

Even in places where there seems a choice between cultivating tea and cultivating coffee, the real conflict doesn’t sit between tea and coffee, but between them and their common enemies. I wrote a blog about tea and coffee in Yunnan a few weeks ago and welcome your thoughts! :-)

http://gingkobay.blogspot.com/2012/04/yunnan-coffee-is-it-enemy-of-tea.html

Gingko raises a great point that further defines the intrinsic connection between coffee and tea. To cultivate a fine coffee bean or tea requires an environmental ethic that exemplifies the connection between humans and earth by raising both to a higher vibration.

Look at all the great coffees that are organic, fair trade, and contribute to environmental protection in some way. Just as some of the oldest tea trees and high mountain oolongs are protected by the chinese government and preserve an ancient connection between human and earth as well. Sorry if this has strayed too far off topic, but within the coffee vs. tea debate there are nuggets of truth one can glean. I also enjoy both, but find myself preparing tea most of the time.

I honestly hate coffee. I really despise its hopeless ubiquity in the West… To the point that if I’m having a bad day, some people’s first question to me is, quite seriously, to ask if I had enough coffee in the morning. That makes me feel stabby. I also hate the smell of it freshly brewing, which I think is one of the most disgusting smells in the world. It makes my stomach flip.

I can actually tolerate the taste all right…I just don’t understand why anyone would want to. Some people have told me that I haven’t had “good” coffee yet, and I can intellectually appreciate that (certainly there are many people who think they don’t like tea but have never had anything but Lipton), but my feeling about it is that it’s like being told I haven’t had a good wad of earwax yet and therefore can’t appreciate it.

I was out and about recently, and stopped into a Timmies for a bite and a hot drink. They have lattes now (to compete with Starbucks and Second Cup more, I guess), and since they’ve always had, uh, “tea,” I figured they must also do tea lattes. I wasn’t expecting a really good hot drink, but I figured something that vaguely resembled a chai latte would do to go with my meal.

When I went to drink it though, I nearly spat it across the table. It was just the worst-tasting tea I’ve ever had in my life, worse even than Lipton Earl Grey (which tastes like cardboard dipped in Lemon Pledge). What I had in my mouth tasted like how I imagine loose tar scraped from the side of the road would taste.

What I soon realized, of course, is that the clueless Timmies employee had actually made me a cafe latte and placed a tea bag in it. Once I knew that I was actually drinking coffee, and adjusted my expectations for flavour, I realized I was actually drinking just passable coffee, not liquid tar. Still, out of a scale of 100, I would have rated it a -20, worse than the worst teas I’ve ever had. That about sums up the tea vs. coffee thing to me. There IS no comparison.

I’d be vaguely curious to drink so-called “good” coffee, just to see if it was actually any better, but I feel like I’ve been so dependent on strong flavours in the past that it initially handicapped my ability to taste subtle things in tea (which I’m still working on). Certainly I wouldn’t want to get in the habit of regularly drinking anything as strongly flavoured as coffee.

I’m a coffee roaster (and coffee geek) and tea lover :) There are definitely more similarities than differences. Within the roastery, we mostly prefer oolongs, particularly those with bright fruit flavours (which we also love in coffee).

I’m in the U.K., so I haven’t had a chance to try Counter Culture coffee, but their reputation is great :) I hope tea lovers look up a great cup of coffee at some point – the difference to what you might expect is huge! Luckily, in the UK and US more of the coffee shops that do great coffee are trying to do a great job with their tea too.

I actually got into coffee before I got into tea. At this point in my life, I can really appreciate both sides, if sides are what they are to be called. I love the idea of freshness and quality in both coffee and tea.

There is so much to learn about both, and I feel that I have only brushed the surface. I have only worked at Starbucks in the past, where everything is super-automated. This tends to remove the craft of extraction (in tea terms, “steeping time”) from the art of coffee. Just today, a fellow barista taught me how to pull a shot of espresso from a manual machine. The difference in the end result is enormous. A really good cup of coffee (or shot of espresso) involves skill, just like making a really good cup of tea. Dose, water temperature, water contact time, and freshness are all variables that contribute to the overall quality of the final product in both coffee and tea. Likewise, the skill of the producer of the cup determines the outcome of the flavor.

Next time you go into an independent coffee shop and order an espresso beverage, watch the amount of care that the barista takes in making the espresso. When I was made aware of this today, I was constantly comparing it to the care with which I prepare my tea.

I’ve never been into coffee per se, nor drank it regularly, but I do enjoy sweetened coffee drinks and love the smell of coffee. I would drink both (although I can’t tolerate coffee unsweetened whereas I can tea) except that I recently linked the consumption of lattes and other speciality coffee drinks to stomach upset, so to avoid that, no coffee for me. I definitely don’t think there should be a “versus” sort of thing though…

The other thing that I like about both coffee and tea is the impact that we as consumers can have upon justice and sustainability, not only in our own society/environment, but in societies and environments throughout the world. When we buy a pound of coffee or 2oz of tea, we are supporting the process that went into its production. We are either a supporting a destructive process, where chemicals and labor are abused, thus creating injustice and waste, or we are supporting a life-giving process, where labor is rewarded and nature is respected, thus creating justice and fruit.

The coffee industry is miles ahead of the tea industry when it comes to justice and sustainability. Counter Culture is definitely a good example, although I do not know much about them. Another company that I like is Intelligentsia. Their “direct trade” standards are very high, requiring a payment of at least 25% above minimum fair trade standards. They also provide equipment to their producing countries and farms, not to mention education, moral support, and personal relationships. For more information on the amazing infrastructure that they are creating, visit:

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/content/direct-trade

Many other companies are following in the footsteps of intelligenstia Coffee. Unfortunately, tea companies have yet to set up corporate processes that support their farmers and producers in such intimate ways. David Lee Hoffman opened the doors to direct trade in China, and only a few companies, at least that I know of, have taken the steps to expand upon his innovation. In other words, while specialty coffee is in a more mature stage (I’d say adolescent), specialty tea is still in its nascent stages.

I like coffee but I don’t drink it, my gut just can’t take it anymore. My stomach gets irritated and starts to ache in funny ways after I drink it. That’s why I’m all in for tea now. I still miss coffee now and then though.

I love the smell of coffee, but the taste of it makes me a little nauseous unfortunately. I’m fine with espresso and coffee-based drinks/lattes/etc, which is good because I used to work in a small coffee store and I had to be able to tell people what things tasted like!

I’m definitely more of a tea person, but I adore when the two are mixed together—David’s Coffee Pu-erh is probably my favorite “any mood” tea, it’s just never the wrong choice. And my local bubble tea joint makes a “coffee milk tea” drink that is FANTASTIC. It’s really strong black tea (I’m guessing Hong Kong Milk blend) combined with a strong latte… plus the bubbles, of course! It helps that they soak the tapioca bubbles in honey to keep them moist and sweet. I think I’m going to be drinking that iced allllll summer.

Daniel your description of the taste of Lipton Earl Gray has to be the absolute best description I’ve ever heard! You nailed it!
I am a died in the wool tea drinker, but I very rarely enjoy a good cup of coffee as well. I see no problem with liking both.