Caffeine and health
Honest numbers, with the hedges left in.
Tea has less caffeine than coffee, more than most people think, and far more variation than any chart admits. A cup of loose-leaf tea usually lands somewhere between 15 and 85 mg; a bowl of matcha, higher, because you drink the leaf. Leaf amount, water temperature and steep time move the number more than the category does.
By the TEAKI editors · Updated 21 October 2026 · 4 guides
At a glance
| A cup of tea | Roughly 15 to 85 mg, depending on leaf and brewing |
|---|---|
| A cup of coffee | Around 80 to 100 mg, for scale |
| Matcha | The highest per bowl: you consume the whole leaf |
| L-theanine | The amino acid behind tea's calmer kind of alert |
| For less | Less leaf, cooler water, shorter steeps, later infusions |
| Rinsing | Removes very little. The thirty-second decaf trick is a myth |
Caffeine per serving
Ranges drawn from published measurements under standard brewing. A serving is one cup of loose leaf, or one 2 g bowl of matcha. The typical figure is the commonly cited middle, not a promise.
How the ranges were drawn →The guides
4 pieces, in the order most people need them.
Questions people ask
Does white tea have caffeine?
Yes, and often more than people expect. White tea is made from buds and young leaves, which carry the plant's caffeine. The idea that it is naturally low-caffeine does not survive measurement.
Which tea has the most caffeine?
Per serving, matcha, because you drink the ground leaf. Among steeped teas, a bud-heavy tea brewed hot and long comes top, whatever its category.
Can I decaffeinate tea by rinsing it?
No. A short rinse removes a small share of the caffeine and a large share of the flavour. If you want less, use less leaf, cooler water and shorter steeps, or drink the later infusions.
Can I drink tea in the evening?
Later infusions of a session carry less caffeine, and a lightly brewed white or aged tea is gentler than a strong black. For none at all, choose an herbal infusion, which is not tea.
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