History of Medicine America's Tea Craze . . . from a medical standpoint, our preference is emphatically for coffee. Contrast the vigorous, refreshing odor and flavor of a good cup of coffee with the delicate and insipid taste of even a high grade tea; contrast the clear complexion and physical aspect of the individual whose morning meal is a bowl of diluted coffee and who takes his after-dinner cup, with the nervous, emaciated, habitually constipated dyspeptic whose "eye-opener" and "night cap" is tea, and all reason for argument as to our preference ends .     JAMA. 1897 Nov 6;29(19):972 , , , , U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894 , Last reviewed: 22 June 2011 Last updated: 16 August 2004 First published: 16 August 2004 | : Permanent: Stable Content