Caffeine

Caffeine is the stimulant found in coffee, tea and most energy drinks. It is also addictive and you need ever-larger quantities to feel the same effect. Too much caffeine makes you sweat and shake. It can make you feel tense, even fearful.

There’s actually more caffeine in a gram of tea than in a gram of coffee. But because you only use four grams of tea to make a pot and eighty grams for a pot of coffee, there is much more caffeine in a cup of coffee than in a cup of tea.

Caffeine boosts the effectiveness of painkillers and is therefore often added to drugs such as paracetamol and aspirin.