How much caffeine is in tea?
A cup of tea usually has less caffeine than a cup of coffee, about a third to a half as much. The exact amount depends on the tea, the amount of leaf, the water temperature and how long you steep.
A rough guide per cup
These are estimates for a cup of about 200 to 250 ml. The real number can be higher or lower.
- Coffee: about 80 to 100 mg, for comparison
- Black tea: about 40 to 70 mg
- Oolong: about 30 to 50 mg
- Green tea: about 20 to 45 mg
- White tea: about 15 to 30 mg
- Matcha: about 35 to 70 mg per bowl, because you drink the whole leaf
- Herbal tea (rooibos, mint, chamomile): none, unless it has real tea in it
What changes the caffeine in your cup
- More leaf and hotter water give more caffeine
- A longer steep gives more caffeine, but most of it comes out in the first minute or two
- Fine, broken leaf (tea bags) gives it up faster than whole leaf
- The part of the plant matters: buds and young leaf have more than old leaf
Does decaffeinating by rinsing work?
A short rinse of 30 seconds removes only a small part of the caffeine. If you want to avoid caffeine, choose a herbal tea or a tea that is decaffeinated.
Tea and calm focus
Tea also has L-theanine, an amino acid that works together with caffeine. Many people find that tea gives a calmer and steadier kind of alertness than coffee.
In the evening
If caffeine keeps you awake, choose herbal tea or white tea in the evening, and keep black tea and matcha for the morning.
Try it with these teas
More guides
- How to brew gongfu tea: step by step
- Sheng vs shou pu-erh: what is the difference?
- How to prepare matcha: a simple guide
- How to brew green tea without bitterness
- How to brew black tea: temperature, time and milk
- How to brew white tea: gentle and sweet
- How to store tea so it stays fresh
- How to cold brew tea