The amount of caffeine in tea or coffee can vary significantly depending on the origin, type, and preparation of the drink (11).
Tea leaves contain 3.5% caffeine, while coffee beans have 1.1-2.2%. 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 (12).
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 (4).
Black tea leaves are oxidized, while white and green tea leaves are not. This gives black tea a characteristic bold and sharp flavor and increases the extent to which caffeine from the leaves infuses hot water (4).
An average cup (237 ml) of black tea packs 47 mg of caffeine but can contain as much as 90 mg. For comparison, green teas contain 20-45 mg, while white teas deliver 6-60 mg per cup (237 ml) (12, 13, 14).
Matcha green tea is another high-caffeine tea. It usually comes in powdered form and packs 35 mg of caffeine per half-teaspoon (1-gram) serving (4).
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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 85 mg of caffeine per cup (237 ml) (12).
While technically not made from tea leaves, herbal teas are a nice caffeine-free beverage choice (4).
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 (4).
For example, a mug of Tazo Earl Grey contains 40 mg of caffeine after 1 minute of steeping in 6 ounces (177 ml) of water heated to 194-203°F (90-95°C). This amount rises to 59 mg after 3 minutes (4).
For comparison, Stash Green Tea has 16 mg of caffeine after 1 minute of steeping under the same conditions. After 3 minutes of steeping, this more than doubles to 36 mg (4).
Coffee varieties
An average 8-ounce (237-ml) cup of coffee contains 95 mg of caffeine (2).
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 (15).
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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 (15).
Espresso is a more concentrated source of caffeine (15, 16).
For example, a “single” espresso from Starbucks has about 58 mg of caffeine per 1-ounce (30-ml) shot. Most specialty coffee drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos, are made with a double shot of espresso, containing 116 mg of caffeine (16).
Among decaffeinated beverages, decaf espresso tends to have the most caffeine with 3-16 mg per 16-ounce (473-ml) serving, whereas decaf coffee typically provides less than 3 mg per 8-ounce (237-ml) cup. Decaffeinated teas fall in between these two types of coffee (4, 16, 17).
Coffee preparation
Hotter water draws more caffeine out of tea leaves, and the same holds for coffee. Coffee is typically brewed hotter than tea at an ideal temperature of 195-205°F (90-96°C) (15).
You can also make cold-brewed coffee by soaking ground coffee in cold, filtered water for 8-24 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 (18).
Summary
The caffeine content can vary greatly depending on the type and preparation of tea and coffee. Black teas and espresso coffee pack the most in both categories, while herbal teas and decafs have only scant amounts.
Nigel Gildon editor:Nigel Gildon is the editor of Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou: Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou. He has worked in the publishing industry for many years and has a passion for helping new authors get their work into the hands of readers. 63 Liberty Street * Springfield, MA 01003
