Green Tea vs. Coffee: Which Is Better for Inflammation?

Reviewed by Dietitian Casey Wing, RD, CD

Key Points

• Green tea is rich in catechins like EGCG, which help reduce inflammation and improve health outcomes.

• Coffee contains antioxidants like chlorogenic acids, but its anti-inflammatory effects are less studied.

• Experts favor green tea for its lower caffeine and clearer anti-inflammatory benefits over coffee.

In the coffee-versus-green tea debate, there are some seriously strong opinions. Whatever beverage you choose, both these pick-me-ups bring a caffeinated jolt to your mornings—and, if you’re brave, to your afternoons and evenings, too. What you might not realize is that they also provide powerful antioxidants that may combat inflammation. Within each cup lie plant compounds that help “clean” your cells from damaging free radicals.

There’s no law that says you always have to drink only coffee or only green tea. But if you had to play favorites, which one gets top billing as inflammation’s archnemesis? We asked dietitians to spill the tea (hint, hint).

How Green Tea Affects Inflammation

Green tea has a long history stretching back over 5,000 years, with medicinal uses running the gamut from headache relief to digestive support. The ancients who drank it were onto something! This beverage is rife with antioxidants that help reduce inflammation. Specifically, it’s a major source of a category of antioxidants called catechins, including epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), says Melissa Groves Azzaro, RDN, LD.

Numerous studies have delved into EGCGs’ anti-inflammatory abilities. According to a 2022 review, these antioxidants have been linked with improvements in conditions involving inflammation, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancer, obesity and diabetes. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found that people with metabolic syndrome who drank green tea lowered their levels of tumor necrosis factor A—an inflammatory protein that facilitates tumor progression.

Green tea’s anti-inflammatory compounds could even affect your weight. An older study shows that “EGCGs can help nudge some fat loss by increasing thermogenesis and fat oxidation for energy,” says Christiane Matey, M.S.H.S., RDN. In other words, they may help your body burn calories more quickly and efficiently.

Of course, the dose makes the medicine. A cup of green tea here or there isn’t likely to kick systemic inflammation to the curb. Groves Azzaro says most studies on the beverage’s anti-inflammatory effects show benefit with drinking 3 to 5 cups a day for at least four to eight weeks. Still, it’s worth considering adding green tea to your morning drink rotation for some extra anti-inflammatory benefits.

How Coffee Affects Inflammation

As beverages go, coffee is an antioxidant giant in its own right. Your morning joe or afternoon iced latte contains anti-inflammatory compounds like chlorogenic acids, caffeic acid and diterpines, says Groves Azzaro. Similar to green tea, coffee’s antioxidants have also been linked to lower risk of some inflammatory conditions, like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes.

Intriguingly, the caffeine in coffee may help fight inflammation, too. “Caffeine may influence metabolic signaling and offer anti-inflammatory benefits,” says Matey. An older study in Nature, for example, found that caffeine could suppress certain age-related inflammatory pathways.

However, Groves Azzaro notes that not every study has found coffee to be an antioxidant elixir. While most studies suggest that regular java drinking lowers inflammation, other research points to potentially harmful compounds present in coffee, like advanced glycation end products, which can lead to inflammation down the line.

What you put in your cup matters, too. Certain popular ingredient additions can actually contribute to inflammation. “Sugary sweeteners, coffee creamers and other processed additives definitely take away from the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions of coffee,” says Seema Shah, M.P.H., M.S., RD. “Thus, it is best to use these sparingly when preparing coffee.”

Green Tea vs. Coffee: Which Is Better for Lower Inflammation?

Different people may respond differently to coffee and green tea, but the dietitians we polled all said the same thing: Between the two, green tea wins the anti-inflammatory prize. “While both contain antioxidants, the research around the anti-inflammatory effects of green tea are clearer compared with the studies on coffee, with more research showing not only decreased markers of inflammation but also improved health outcomes,” says Groves Azzaro.

Green tea’s lower caffeine content also means it’s a safer option for most people to drink regularly. “A cup of black coffee typically has around 100 milligrams of caffeine, compared to 30-40 milligrams in one cup of green tea,” Shah points out. If you find caffeine gives you anxiety, a racing heartbeat or jittery feelings, you might do better enjoying green tea over coffee.

Other Tips for Lower Inflammation

Want to tame the inflammation beast? The right day-in, day-out choices can add up to lower overall levels. Experts say these habits are part of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle:

• Manage chronic stress. Banishing stress is easier said than done. But the more you practice stress-relieving practices like meditation and breathing exercises, the more you push back on inflammation.

• Follow an anti-inflammatory eating plan. Coffee and tea are just two liquids in a sea of anti-inflammatory foods and drinks. There’s abundant evidence that broader eating patterns like the Mediterranean diet or DASH diet (which are rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, lean proteins and fiber) can help keep inflammation at bay.

• Sleep it off. Sleep is the body’s time for repair. Not getting enough sets you up for an inflammatory cascade of hormones. Make it a priority to reach the recommended seven to nine hours per night.

• Get medical testing. In some cases, chronic inflammation can be the result of underlying conditions. Matey says medical testing may be useful for getting to the bottom of things. Check with your health care provider on which metrics might be most useful to test, whether that’s insulin, A1C, C-reactive protein, lipid panels or GI testing.

Our Expert Take

Green tea gets dietitians’ vote as the better beverage for everyday antioxidant intake. But between coffee and green tea, there’s no bad choice. Both have a bevy of antioxidants linked to anti-inflammatory benefits. “Personally, as a dietitian, I start my day with one cup of coffee and then switch over to green tea midmorning for the best of both worlds!” says Groves Azzaro. The best beverage routine may be the one you’ll actually follow—so find one that works for you.

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