The caffeine in tea seems to be absorbed more smoothly than coffee's. An amino acid called theanine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine http://en.wikipedia.o

The caffeine in tea seems to be absorbed more smoothly than coffee's. An amino acid called theanine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine) helps counteracts some of its negative side effects, especially the nervousness. You can get theanine on its own as a relatively cheap nutritional supplement. (It tastes distinctly like Japanese green tea, which is often shade grown in a manner that greatly boosts the theanine content.)