How common is it for people to begin the day with a hot beverage? It is nearly universal. Not only do we start our days with something hot, many people consume hot beverages throughout the day as well. This gives rise to a question that has been a matter of debate among coffee and tea drinkers for generations: whose numbers are greater?

The debate has a tendency to take on a life of its own when it involves individuals with strong opinions about either beverage. In order to spark some interest, and some lively discussion around your own office coffee pot, we have the numbers straight up. They are interesting, to say the least.

Coffee and Tea Consumption Worldwide

It is difficult to give an exact number of coffee versus tea drinkers worldwide. That said, there are some statistics we can use to extrapolate. For example, worldwide coffee production is about 8.5 million metric tons annually as compared to 4.7 million metric tons of tea. Coffee is the clear winner in terms of raw production. However, Pew Research notes that it only requires 2 grams of tea to make a single cup whereas coffee requires 10 grams. Tea production gets more bang for the buck.

Pew Research also cites a 2002 research paper published by GeoJournal in which writer David Grigg asserted that the number of cups of tea consumed annually outpaces coffee 3 to 1. However, volume does not necessarily indicate a greater number of drinkers. As Grigg’s paper explains, tea in many Eastern countries is used for religious and medical purposes in addition to being a daily beverage. These additional uses can increase consumption without necessarily increasing the total number drinkers.

North America, Europe, Asia

The numbers become a little more defined when we look at specific regions. For instance, coffee drinkers in the United States outnumber their tea-drinking counterparts by 3 to 1. In Canada, coffee is preferred (57.7%) over tea (42.3%), just as it is in Mexico (89.7% vs 10.3%) and most of South America.

Europe also tends to prefer coffee to tea, though not in such large numbers. Spain leads the Mediterranean region with a preference for coffee at nearly 86%. Nevertheless, that’s nothing compared to the Nordic region of Europe were coffee is preferred at a rate of nearly 90% in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Moving on to Asia presents entirely different numbers. For example, Russia prefers tea by a rate of 77.5%. Chinese consumers are 99% tea drinkers while India comes in at 89% for tea. The two exceptions in Asia appear to be Thailand and the Philippines; they prefer coffee at rates of 76.6% and 94.7% respectively.

Whether you prefer coffee or tea, Galaxie offers both choices. We would be happy to bring our coffee, tea, and beverage service to your company in the greater New York area. We offer clients a long list of beverage and allied products along with the best equipment in the business.