How Much Caffeine Does Tea Have Compared with Coffee?

Health Line

3 hours ago

While black tea, espresso, and coffee bring the most caffeine to the table, green tea packs a moderate amount as well. The content in white teas varies greatly, while herbal teas are practically caffeine-free.
Caffeine's popularity as a natural stimulant is unparalleled.
It's found in over 60 plant species and enjoyed across the globe, especially in coffee, chocolate, and tea.
The caffeine content in a beverage varies depending on the ingredients and how the drink is prepared.
While caffeine is considered safe, drinking too much may raise some concerns.
Let's compare the caffeine contents of various teas and coffees and explore which drink you should choose.
Why is caffeine a concern?
An estimated 80% of the world's population enjoys a caffeinated product daily.
Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) define a safe caffeine intake as up to 400 mg per day, 200 mg per single dose, or 1.4 mg per pound (3 mg per kg) of body weight.
Due to its stimulating effects, caffeine has been linked to health benefits like enhanced alertness, improved athletic performance, elevated mood, and increased metabolism.
That said, consuming high amounts — such as single doses over 500 mg — may raise some concerns.
In large doses, caffeine has been associated with anxiety, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping. In addition, a 2019 study suggests that drinking it regularly, even in moderate amounts, can cause chronic headaches and migraine episodes.
Furthermore, caffeine is considered mildly addictive, and some people may be more susceptible to developing a dependence.
Caffeine content varies by beverage type and preparation
The amount of caffeine in tea or coffee can vary significantly depending on the origin, type, and preparation of the drink.
Tea leaves contain 4% caffeine, while coffee beans have 0.9% to 2.6%. However, the coffee brewing process uses hotter water, which extracts more of the caffeine from the beans. Typically, you also use more coffee beans than you'd use tea leaves for a drink.
Therefore, 1 cup (237 ml) of brewed coffee generally has more caffeine than a cup of tea.
Tea varieties
Black, green, and white teas are prepared from leaves of the same plant, Camellia sinensis. What sets them apart is the time of harvest and level of oxidation of the leaves.
Black tea leaves are oxidized (especially exposed to oxygen for a longer amount of time), while white and green tea leaves are not. This gives black tea a characteristic bold and sharp flavor.
An average cup (220 ml) of black tea packs 50 mg of caffeine but can contain more. For comparison, green teas contain up to 45 mg, while white teas deliver an average of 16.79 mg per gram (mg/g). According to some studies, white tea contains less caffeine than green tea.
Matcha green tea is another high-caffeine tea. It usually comes in powdered form and packs 18.9 to 44.4 mg of caffeine per half-teaspoon (1-gram) serving.
Similarly, yerba mate, a tea traditionally enjoyed in South America that's made by steeping the twigs and leaves of the Ilex paraguariensis plant, usually contains about 80 mg of caffeine per cup.
While technically not made from tea leaves, herbal teas are a nice caffeine-free beverage choice.
Tea preparation
The preparation method greatly impacts the caffeine content of tea. Teas that steep for longer and in hotter water tend to produce a more potent cup.
One 2024 study concluded that the best conditions to extract caffeine were at 212°F (100°C) for 30 minutes. The researchers extracted:
0.089 g of caffeine from black tea
0.06 g from used black tea
0.08 g from green tea
0.047 g from used green tea
Coffee varieties
An average 8-ounce (237-ml) cup of coffee contains 90 to 200 mg of caffeine.
It's a common belief that coffee made from dark-roasted beans has more caffeine than coffee from light-roasted beans. However, since caffeine isn't affected much by roasting, this may not be the case.
That said, since dark roast coffees are less dense than light roast ones, you may use greater amounts of beans or grounds when brewing this type, yielding more caffeine per cup.
Espresso is a more concentrated source of caffeine.
A single shot of espresso has about 127 mg of caffeine. Some specialty coffee drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos, are made with a double shot of espresso.
Coffee preparation
Hot water draws more caffeine out of tea leaves in a shorter period of time, and the same holds for coffee. Coffee is typically brewed at a temperature of about 195 to 205°F (90 to 96°C).
You can also make cold-brewed coffee by soaking ground coffee in cold, filtered water for 8 to 24 hours. As you use 1.5 times more ground coffee using this method compared with regular hot-water brewing, it may result in a more caffeinated cup.
Which one should you drink?
Caffeine acts quickly — usually within 45 minutes of consumption.
If you're sensitive to the effects of caffeine, consider sticking to teas lower in caffeine like white or herbal teas. You may also brew high-caffeine teas for a shorter time, such as 1 minute instead of 3.
Opting for decaffeinated tea or coffee is also a good way to enjoy these drinks without much caffeine.
On the contrary, if you're a fan of high-caffeine drinks, you may enjoy espresso, cold-brew coffee, and teas with higher caffeine contents, including green and black varieties.
To stay within safe amounts, drink no more than 400 mg daily, or 200 mg of caffeine at a time. This translates to no more than three to five 8-ounce (237 ml) cups of regular coffee daily, or eight 1-ounce (30-ml) shots of espresso.
Those who have heart disease, are prone to migraine episodes, and take certain medications should limit their caffeine intake.