Coffee in the last few years has really stormed the world as a beverage that has been ingrained into our lives.
It was only forty or fifty years ago that coffee seemed to be on the decline.
I was briefly in the business at the time and product quality was hardly an issue; it was all about who had the best price.
Then brilliant marketers took the product, reinvented the coffee shop concept, and by the 1990s coffee was on the upswing.
Today coffee is the most popular drink in the world.
But other than the fact that many people love the taste, it gives us a caffeine kick and can be combined with an infinite number of enhancers to provide a variety of beverages.
But is it truly good for our health? Right now it depends on what report you read.
It seems on a weekly basis there are conflicting reports as to the effects coffee has on the human system.
Almost all reports do not deny that drinking more than about four cups a day is harmful for most people.
Now we have another beverage that's been around for centuries but has the start of a trend toward taking on coffee as the world's number one beverage.
There are probably more choices from the tea family as with coffee, especially if you throw in the herbal tea varieties.
Most of us prefer that robust power of coffee to tea, but at least certain types of tea have unmistakable ingredients that will make you healthier.
If you want to zero in on one type of tea that is above the others, green tea would be your drink of choice.
It is abundant in what has been called nature's miracle compound: catechins.
Its fantastic antioxidant properties help with digestion, fights viruses and protects the liver and brain from oxidation.
They are important in combating aging diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
Not the least of the interesting findings is how it can have an effect on fat metabolizing.
As we age anything natural we can take to burn fat is worth it.
One other area that green tea and any tea for that matter can help is possibly a rather surprising area.
There is still quite a lot of discussion as to what tea can do for muscle and joint pain, but a recent study has demonstrated some potential benefit.
The reasoning for this goes along the following lines.
With intensive workouts microscopic tears develop in the muscles.
This is the root of the muscle soreness and inflammation in the muscle tissues.
It is thought that the antioxidant properties in all teas reduce oxidative stress, and that would directly impact on reducing inflammation.
It is unclear with these tests just how much tea is necessary, but it does point out that the catechins in tea probably have some effect on muscle repair.
With the advent of tea bars opening in many areas of the United States in elsewhere, we may be in the beginning stages of another social trend.
Personally, it may be hard for me to pry myself away from my coffee, I will be like many people looking into tea as another alternative.