Coffee or tea: which is healthier?

We have no checked figure for tea's caffeine per cup, so we cannot rank the two. The FDA cites 400 mg of caffeine a day, about two to three 12 fl oz (355 mL) cups of coffee, as an amount not generally tied to negative effects for most adults. In pregnancy the EFSA safe level is 200 mg a day. The FDA warns that too much caffeine in children and teens can raise heart rate and cause anxiety and sleep problems, and suggests asking a clinician about limits if you take medicines or are breastfeeding.

Across 14 trials, unfiltered coffee raised total and LDL cholesterol, while filtered coffee did not. Boiled and French press coffee are unfiltered.

Both drinks cut iron absorption from a meal: a cup of coffee with a hamburger meal by 39 percent, tea by 64 percent, and milk made little difference. Coffee an hour before the meal had no effect, coffee an hour after still did, and in 12 women tea an hour after let more iron through than tea with it. On a typical Western diet this changes little in most people's iron status, the NIH says. If you watch your iron, take coffee an hour before meals and tea an hour after.

With IBS, UK guidance is at most 3 cups of tea and coffee a day.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E The FDA cites 400 mg of caffeine a day, about 2 to 3 cups of coffee, as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most adults. US Food and Drug Administration, Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? (consumer update)
2. Level E According to the same Nordic review, pregnant women should keep caffeine at or below 200 mg a day, the EFSA safe level for the fetus. Food Nutr Res, 2024
3. Level A A meta-analysis of 14 coffee trials found that unfiltered coffee raises total and LDL cholesterol in a dose-dependent way, while filtered coffee does not. Am J Epidemiol, 2001
4. Level C In dual radioisotope studies, one cup of coffee with a hamburger meal cut non-heme iron absorption by 39%, compared with 64% for tea. Am J Clin Nutr, 1983
5. Level B Drinking tea an hour after a meal instead of with it recovered about half the iron the tea would have blocked. Am J Clin Nutr, 2017
6. Level C Coffee drunk 1 hour before a meal did not reduce iron absorption, but coffee drunk 1 hour after the meal reduced it as much as coffee drunk with the meal. Am J Clin Nutr, 1983
7. Level C Adding milk to coffee or tea did not remove their inhibitory effect on iron absorption. Br J Nutr, 1999
8. Level E According to the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, enhancers and inhibitors of iron absorption have little effect on most people's iron status because a typical western diet attenuates them. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Iron Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
9. Level E NICE advises adults with irritable bowel syndrome to keep tea and coffee to 3 cups a day and to drink mostly water or other caffeine-free drinks. NICE, Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: diagnosis and management, CG61, recommendation 1.2.1.4 (2008, updated 2017)
10. Level C Lab measurement of 27 coffee samples found about 4.4 mg of cafestol per cup in unfiltered coffee, similar to boiled, Turkish and French press coffee, enough to predict a 0.33 mmol/L cholesterol rise at 5 cups a day. Nutr J, 2011
11. Level E The FDA warns that too much caffeine in children and teens can cause anxiety, a faster heart rate, palpitations and sleep problems. US Food and Drug Administration, Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? (consumer update)
12. Level E The FDA says people who are pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding, or who take some medicines, should ask a clinician whether to limit caffeine. US Food and Drug Administration, Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? (consumer update)

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Coffee: the paper filter is the health intervention
• Tea and iron: in one small study, an hour's gap kept the iron

What the studies say

• Does coffee cause anxiety? Caffeine does, and the dose decides how much
• Does coffee cause bloating? It moves the gut, and no trial has measured bloating
• Does coffee raise blood pressure? For a few hours, and barely in regular drinkers
• Does tea lower blood pressure? Yes, by about 1 to 2 mm Hg

Rankings and guides

• Fiber: what it does and how much you need
• Sodium: what it does and how much you need
• Which foods are highest in potassium?
• Coffee: full nutrition facts

More comparisons

• Coffee vs green tea

• Coffee: USDA FoodData Central, Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water, FDC ID 171890 · full profile · all forms of coffee
• Tea: USDA FoodData Central, Beverages, tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water, FDC ID 173227 · all forms of tea

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.