Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe på kvällen.

Because Swedish often expresses prefer with the pattern tycka bättre om + X än Y, literally think better of / like better.

So:

• Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe = I prefer tea to coffee
• more literally: I like tea better than coffee

There is also a single verb, föredra, which means to prefer:

• Jag föredrar te framför kaffe på kvällen.

That version is also correct, but tycker bättre om sounds very natural in everyday speech.

Tycker om means like.

Examples:

• Jag tycker om te. = I like tea.
• Tycker du om kaffe? = Do you like coffee?

A very common synonym is gillar:

• Jag gillar te.

Both can mean like, but tycker om can sometimes sound a little softer or more personal, depending on context.

Bättre is the comparative form of bra (good), and in this construction it means better.

So:

• tycker om = like
• tycker bättre om = like better / prefer

That is why the sentence compares two things:

• te versus kaffe

So Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe literally means I like tea better than coffee.

Because tycka om is a fixed expression meaning to like.

You cannot normally say:

• Jag tycker te for I like tea — that is not correct here.

You need:

• Jag tycker om te.

And when you make it comparative, bättre goes inside that expression:

• Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe.

So om is part of the verb phrase and should stay there.

Än means than in comparisons.

So:

• te än kaffe = tea than coffee → natural English: tea rather than coffee / tea than coffee

In Swedish comparisons:

• större än = bigger than
• bättre än = better than
• hellre än = rather than

Here it marks the second item in the comparison:

• Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe.

Because Swedish often leaves out the article when talking about things in general, especially foods and drinks.

So:

• te = tea
• kaffe = coffee

This is similar to English when we say:

• I like tea
• Coffee is expensive

If you were talking about a specific tea or coffee, then the wording could change.

Because time expressions often come later in a Swedish sentence, especially when they add extra information about when something happens.

So the structure is:

• Jag = subject
• tycker bättre om = verb phrase
• te än kaffe = what is being compared
• på kvällen = time phrase

Putting på kvällen at the end sounds very natural.

You could move the time phrase to the front for emphasis:

• På kvällen tycker jag bättre om te än kaffe.

That is also correct, but it changes the focus a little.

På kvällen means in the evening / in the evenings / at night-time, depending on context. It describes a general time period.

• Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe på kvällen. = I prefer tea to coffee in the evening

I kväll means tonight, meaning this specific evening.

Compare:

• på kvällen = in the evening, generally
• i kväll = tonight, specifically

So if you mean your general habit, på kvällen fits well.

Yes, many Swedish speakers would understand that, and it can sound natural in conversation.

But the pattern in your sentence, tycker bättre om, is a very standard way to say prefer. It keeps the comparison tightly connected to the verb phrase:

• tycker bättre om te än kaffe

With gillar, Swedish learners often need to be a bit careful, because word order can become less clear in comparisons. So the original sentence is a very good model to learn.

It may be understood, but Jag tycker bättre om te än kaffe is the clearer and more idiomatic pattern to learn.

Why? Because in Swedish the comparative bättre usually goes before om in this expression:

• tycker bättre om

That keeps the whole phrase together as like better.

So for learners, this is the safest pattern:

• tycka bättre om X än Y

It sounds natural and everyday.

It is neither especially formal nor slangy. A native speaker could easily say it in normal conversation.

If you wanted a slightly more direct or formal way to say prefer, you could use:

• Jag föredrar te framför kaffe på kvällen.

But your original sentence is very normal spoken Swedish.

A very useful pattern is:

• Jag tycker bättre om X än Y.
• I prefer X to Y.

Examples:

• Jag tycker bättre om sommar än vinter. = I prefer summer to winter.
• Hon tycker bättre om hundar än katter. = She prefers dogs to cats.
• Vi tycker bättre om att gå än att springa. = We prefer walking to running.

So this sentence is a great model for making comparisons about preferences.