Coffee, tea or....

something else?
I am not sure about this coffee thing...or the tea thing either. I will drink both - and I can happily go without either, especially the strong coffee fix. I think I prefer tea.
I had a meeting to attend yesterday afternoon. Coffee was provided. I had decaffienated coffee because I know that, after about midday, real coffee will keep me awake far into the night. Am I allergic to the stuff? I do not think so but I do not like the effect it has on me. Tea does not have the same effect.
As a family we do not drink endless cups of tea or coffee. I have a coffee plunger. It gets used once in a blue moon and then only if we have guests who prefer coffee to tea and real coffee to good quality instant. Oh yes, good quality instant please. We do not use enough of it to worry about the extra cost. I have an acquaintance who can drink six or eight cups of the cheapest variety in a day. She has withdrawal symptoms with out it. I would prefer one cup (or mug in my case) of relatively decent liquid thankyou.
Tea does not seem to come in quite the same way. We do not seem to have the Japanese equivalent of the Tea Ceremony. Coffee is now a "multiplicity of choices and made by a barista" event for many. I wonder whether it really tastes any better. Perhaps someone reading this (if anyone does) can enlighten me?
I am aware of quite distinct differences in varieties of tea. My father prefers China to India in respect of tea and does not care for the fancy varieties. If I am going to drink it then plain English Breakfast is fine - not too strong, add some milk but no sugar thankyou. The deep orange variety beloved of the secretary in the faculty at the university is, in my view, undrinkable. She informs me that nothing else is actually tea and that what she makes is good for me. I doubt it. She sighs and waters it down - just a little. This is where not being able to carry your own mug of tea has even greater disadvantages. At least she does not load it with sugar.
But, yesterday was coffee day. There were cups and saucers. The cups had those handles that you can only fit one finger through. I hate those. My paws are not built for handling them. I cannot do it. The coffee was almost cold too. I do not want it scalding hot but if it is supposed to be warm then it should be warm not barely luke-warm and almost cold before you reach the bottom of the cup - and then only if you drink it with unseemly haste. What's the point?
We did get some work done. It was quite a satisfactory meeting for once. Things were decided. Tasks were given out. Some progress was made. Coffee was drunk. People found they had to leave.
I noted side trips to the "male" and "female" facilities on departure. Is this what coffee does? Does it actually serve a meeting-shortening purpose?