Coffee vs. tea: It’s an age-old debate, and everybody’s got an opinion. You probably reach for one beverage or the other each morning, whether you’re commuting to work or lounging at home.

Tea lovers have long held that tea is better than coffee. But the coffee lovers among us beg to differ. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most compelling evidence that coffee really is way better than tea.

15. You can choose among many different drinks

If you love coffee, there’s a practically endless assortment of ways for you to enjoy the beverage. (There are different roasts, of course, but there are also different kinds and flavors of tea.) What we’re really talking about is the impressive array of coffee drinks on the menu at every coffee shop. You can order a cappuccino or an Americano. Alternately, there’s the espresso, the macchiato, and the mocha. And that hardly scratches the surface. 

14. Coffee is fun to brew at home

Stopping by Starbucks everyday isn’t exactly friendly to your wallet. Fortunately, you can make a great cup of coffee at home — no matter how you like brewing it or how you want it to taste. You can use a simple automatic coffee maker if you want to keep things easy, of course. But you also have plenty of other options, like the Chemex, a French press, an Aeropress, or a percolator. The options are basically endless, and you can customize your process and setup to get exactly the taste you want. Tea is a little (or a lot) less fun to prepare at home. 

13. Everybody serves coffee

If you drink coffee, you can be pretty confident that any cafe will serve your drink of choice. If, on the other hand, you prefer tea, you can never be quite sure whether the cafe will have what you want. “Grabbing a coffee” with a friend or a date is simple when you drink coffee, but a little nerve-wracking when you don’t. What if the cafe doesn’t have the tea you like? What if they don’t have any tea at all? You can try to check the menu online — or just realize that your life would be simpler if you drank coffee in the first place. 

12. You can bond with your co-workers over a coffee break

Many people leave their desks for coffee breaks throughout the day. If you do, too, that’s an easy way to bond with your co-workers. You can catch up on what they did over the weekend or talk about where everybody’s going on vacation. Or you might catch the latest office gossip (we don’t condone it, but we all do it). Going on coffee breaks together gives you more face time with your co-workers, and it may make it easier to be friends outside the office, too. 

11. Latte art was invented for coffee

If you want some gorgeous latte art with your morning caffeine fix, coffee is a much better choice than tea. Baristas invented latte art for, well, the latte. Sure, you can order a tea latte and hope you get a heart or something decorative on top. But typically, baristas create latte art by pouring steamed milk into the foam on top of an espresso drink — a  blank canvas you won’t necessarily get with a tea latte. A flat white, for instance, is one of the best drinks for artistic baristas to display their creativity.

10. Coffee gives you energy

If you pulled an all-nighter or just didn’t sleep well, a cup of coffee will go a lot farther than a cup of tea toward making you feel human again. (Let’s be real: Coffee is also a must if you just aren’t a morning person, regardless of how much sleep you got.) Some people want to avoid caffeine altogether; they consider it a drawback that coffee contains a lot more of the stimulant than tea. However, anyone who needs that extra help in the morning will definitely prefer coffee to tea, since it’s much more effective at waking them up or helping them stay awake.

9. But it also helps you practice self control

Anybody who drinks coffee each day knows their limits — and has learned to stay within them. You can drink tea all day and suffer no ill effects. But if you had cup after cup of coffee all day, you’d find it difficult to sit still and be productive. Coffee can help you practice some self control — at least until you decide that you really need just one more cup to get through the afternoon slump. 

8. A cup of coffee can help you get more out of your workout

Think it’s a bad idea to down a cup of coffee before you head to the gym? Think again. Research has shown that people who drink a caffeinated drink before exercising actually burn more calories than those who don’t indulge. A cup of coffee can also improve your circulation during your workout. Plus, it can reduce muscle pain, and it may even help offset the loss of muscle strength associated with aging. We wouldn’t advise replacing your water bottle with a coffee mug. But a cup of coffee before your workout may give you some pretty great benefits. 

7. Coffee doesn’t stain your teeth like tea

A cup of coffee might not leave you with the freshest breath, but it won’t leave you with a mouth full of stained teeth, either. Researchers have determined that tea is more likely than coffee to darken your teeth. So if you’re whitening your teeth — or hope to whiten them in the future — you may be better off drinking a cup of coffee than reaching for a cup of tea. 

6. You can always opt for an Irish coffee

Had a really rough night? You can always opt for an Irish coffee, which includes Irish whiskey and cream. There isn’t a drink quite so delicious for tea lovers. After all, you can mix up a hot toddy, also called a hot whiskey in Ireland. However, most people consider the hot toddy a remedy for a cold or the flu. It may taste good, but it’s just not the same kind of decadent treat as an Irish coffee.

5. Coffee may help stave off depression

You might not think that a cup of coffee could help you feel less sad. However, researchers have determined that people who drink a lot of coffee are less likely to be depressed than people who never drink coffee. Just two or three cups of coffee each day may be enough to lift your mood — and not only because of the caffeine high. Researchers attribute coffee’s mood-boosting effects to the antioxidants it contains.

4. The drink can protect you against type 2 diabetes

Another surprising health benefit of coffee? It may reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that the delicious beverage contains two compounds that help lower your risk of diabetes. You benefit even if you drink decaffeinated coffee, because the compounds in question — cafestol and caffeic acid — are found in both caffeinated and decaf coffee. Cafestol increases blood sugar intake, and both cafestol and caffeic acid increase insulin secretion. Both are good news for people hoping to stave off type 2 diabetes. 

3. Coffee may also delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease

Drinking a cup or two of coffee every day may also help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. A recent review noted that while we need more research, the evidence indicates that coffee has “favorable effects against cognitive decline, dementia,” and Alzheimer’s disease. So drinking coffee may considerably decrease your risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s, or postpone the onset of either condition.  

2. People who drink coffee live longer

Surprisingly, coffee drinkers may live longer lives than those who don’t indulge in the beverage. Researchers have observed that people who drink coffee regularly have a slightly lower risk of dying early of a number of different causes. They found lower rates of death from heart disease, diabetes, brain conditions, and even suicide. The researchers note that the study only demonstrates a link, but they do think that the inflammation-fighting compounds in coffee could play a role. 

1. Coffee has other health benefits, too

The story doesn’t end there, either. Drinking coffee is associated with a range of other health benefits. Coffee has been linked to a reduced risk for some cancers and to protection against Parkinson’s disease. The beverage can also improve your memory and your energy levels. Perhaps thanks to its antioxidant compounds, coffee could even protect you against basal cell carcinoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. It may even improve the diversity of the bacteria in your gut, which brings a host of health benefits on its own.

Read More: 17 Most Obnoxious Drinks You Can Order at Starbucks