Health benefits just one of the factors that help students choose
Many college students drink either coffee or tea when faced with a long night of homework or when the frosty weather rolls around.
No matter which you prefer, tea and coffee both have benefits.
In Boulder, students can find many coffeehouses and teahouses close to campus and accommodating to the college student schedule.
Many students who choose tea reap numerous health benefits.
According to WebMD.com, tea drinkers show higher bone density and experience less bone loss than those who don’t drink tea. The site suggests women drink more than two cups of tea a day to lower the risk of obtaining ovarian cancer by 46 percent. Experts on the site say people who drink two or more cups of tea a day have less chance of heart disease and stroke, lower total and LDL cholesterol and recover from heart attacks faster.
Alternative Medicine, a Boulder-based magazine says the Theanine found in tea increases the alpha rhythms of the brain, producing a relaxed feeling after consumption and increased attention and focus. The magazine also says the polyphenols found in green tea help protect nerve function.
Some CU students, like Kelsey Durante and Seerat Poonia, incorporate tea into their everyday routine.
Kelsey Durante, a freshman fine art and art history major, said she prefers drinking English Breakfast tea rather than coffee in the morning.
“It gives my day a healthy start because it tastes good and it’s good for me,” Durante said.
Seerat Poonia, a sopohomore biological sciences major, drinks a chai tea her mom taught her to make.
“It has Cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, cinnamon and jasmine,” Poonia said. “I drink it because not only does it wake me up, which is always a plus, but the herbs in the tea warm me up.”
Students who prefer coffee reap different benefits when it comes to illness prevention and overall health.
According to WebMD.com, drinking one to three cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of diabetes. Having six or more cups a day may cut this risk for men by 54 percent and women by 30 percent. Furthermore, these experts say people who regularly drink coffee are 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s. And when people consume two cups of coffee daily they reduce their risk of colon cancer by 25 percent as well as an 80 percent reduction in obtaining liver cirrhosis.
According to USA Today, a team of Japanese researchers recorded in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that people who consumed coffee daily or almost every day, cut their risk of liver cancer in half compared to non-coffee drinkers. This result occurred in people who drank one to two cups a day. The risk became even lower with those who drank three to four cups daily.
Students like Jonathan Romeo, a freshman open-option major, prefer coffee to tea.
“I drink a cup of black coffee every day,” says Romeo. “It helps me wake up for my classes.”
On the Hill, students can find coffeehouses that hold long hours and are conducive to studying.
Buchanan’s Coffee Pub on the Hill sells more coffee than tea in a day on average. Will Lockwood, the new owner, said most of the store’s customers are students and daily hours center around student study habits. Sunday through Wednesday, Buchanan’s is open until 11 p.m.
Other popular coffeehouses on the Hill include Cafe Play and Espresso Roma.
Away from the Hill, other coffee shops to try in Boulder are Saxy’s Cafe, Paradise Bakery and Cafe, Trident Booksellers and Cafe and Brewing Market Coffee.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Jennifer Jacobs at jennifer.jacobs@thecampuspress.com
