ABSTRACT
Coffee and tea are consumed in most countries (Grigg, 2002). Worldwide, approximately three cups of tea are drunk for every cup of coffee. Between 1994 and 1996, 76.6% of tea consumption took place in developing countries with tea drinking dominating throughout Asia, the former Soviet Union, and Africa. In contrast, 71.5% of coffee consumption took place in developed countries (Grigg, 2002). There has been considerable interest in investigating the health effects of tea and coffee. While the majority of evidence comes from epidemiological studies, they are backed up by animal studies, in vitro studies, and some human interventions using biomarkers or other interim end points.
