How Many Different Stimulants Are in Tea?
Tea contains 4 substances that have stimulating effects on your brain. The best known is caffeine, a potent stimulant that you can also get from coffee, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Tea also contains two substances related to caffeine: theobromine and theophylline. Finally, it provides a rather unique amino acid called L-theanine, which has some very interesting effects on the brain. This article discusses these 4 stimulants in tea.
Coffee and Tea Provide a Different Buzz: The other day, I was talking with a friend of mine about the psychoactive effects of coffee and tea. Both contain caffeine and therefore have a stimulant-like effect on the brain, but we agreed that the nature of these effects is quite different. My friend used an interesting analogy: The effect provided by tea is like being gently encouraged to do something by a loving grandmother, while coffee is like being kicked in the butt by a military officer. Since our conversation, I’ve been doing some reading on tea and how it affects the mind.
Don’t get me wrong — I do love coffee, and I believe it to be healthy. In fact, I tend to call it my all-time favorite health drink. However, coffee does definitely have a downside for me.
Excerpted from Healthline
