Ellen White's View: Why Coffee and Tea are Harmful

Ellen White consistently teaches that coffee and tea are harmful stimulants that should be discarded by those who follow God's principles for health and temperance ☕❌.

Harmful Effects of Coffee and Tea

• Stimulating and Intoxicating: Both tea and coffee act as stimulants, producing a temporary exhilarating effect akin to intoxication, though to a lesser degree than spirituous liquors2MCP 589.3+5. This unnatural stimulation forces the body to unwonted action, drawing upon the strength of the nerves and vital forces, which ultimately leads to exhaustion and prostration below one's normal state2MCP 589.3+9.

• Physical Deterioration: These beverages impair the energy of body and mind, making the skin sallow and lifeless, and obscuring the glow of healthCD 421.1+2. The digestive organs become weakened, and there is a craving for more stimulating food, leading to an unhealthy cycle2MCP 589.3+3.

• Mental and Moral Impact: Coffee and tea have a benumbing influence on the brain, clouding the intellect and enfeebling mental and moral powers13MR 132.2+6. This weakens one's ability to reason calmly, think acutely, and appreciate eternal things, making spiritual progress difficultCTBH 34.5+4.

• Addictive Nature: Breaking the tea and coffee habit can be as difficult as for an inebriate to discontinue liquor, leading to symptoms like dizziness, headache, numbness, nervousness, and irritability when abstainingCTBH 34.5+5. They foster an appetite for stronger stimulants, such as tobacco and liquorCH 85.3+6.

Call to Discard and the Benefits of Abstinence

• Complete Abstinence: The only safe course is to touch not, taste not, handle not tea, coffee, wines, tobacco, opium, and alcoholic drinksCCh 105.6+2. This is essential for health, temperance, and spiritual progress18MR 257.1+2.

• Cleansing the System: God's law is written upon every nerve and muscle, and indulging unnatural appetites for these substances is intemperance and a violation of health lawsEv 265.4. By giving them up, one allows nature time to recover and perform its work wisely and well5MR 298.1+2.

• Resource Allocation: Money spent on tea and coffee is considered worse than wasted, as these items only cause harmCTBH 34.5+5. This money should instead be devoted to spreading the truth and advancing God's work20MR 91.5+4.

• Spiritual Progress: Discarding these injurious indulgences is a vital part of perfecting holiness and cleansing oneself from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, allowing one to better appreciate God's salvation and be more susceptible to the Holy Spirit 2 Corinthians 7:1Te 74.2+3. It helps maintain a healthy state of mind, which depends on the normal condition of vital forcesCH 85.2. Christians are admonished to deny every selfish appetite and present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God Romans 12:1-218MR 352.3+3.

Personal Example and Institutional Practice

• Personal Abstinence: Ellen White stated that she had not knowingly drunk a cup of genuine coffee for twenty years, and only used weak tea or strong coffee with a raw egg as medicine during sickness2SM 302.7+2. She clarified that her "homemade coffee" was bran coffee and her "herb drink" was red clover top teaSpM 39.3+4. She never kept genuine tea or coffee in her house and did not use themPH096 54.1+1. She also emphasized being a pattern of temperance and good works to othersPH096 54.1.

• Sanitarium Guidelines: Seventh-day Adventist medical institutions are directed to discard meat, tea, coffee, and spirituous liquors, and to educate patients on wholesome food and health principles8MR 451.3+8. They are to teach patients how to prepare a wholesome and appetizing diet without the use of meat, tea, or coffee9MR 388.2+4.

By adhering to these principles, individuals can improve their physical, mental, and spiritual health, allowing them to serve God more effectively and live in harmony with His will13MR 132.2+5.