Who doesn’t love a cup of tea early in the morning to wake you up for the day? Be it hot or cold, everyone loves tea as their daily dose of caffeine besides coffee. In some cases, people prefer tea over coffee as its offers a great variety of aroma and flavor.
Is tea or coffee better in terms of caffeine content? Do all tea varieties have the same level of caffeine? Is there any tea variety that is decaffeinated? Find out the answers to these questions below.
What tea has the most caffeine?
Typically speaking, Black Tea is well known to have high caffeine content. However, people don’t realize Matcha Green Tea has more caffeine than any variety of Black Tea. Other types of tea that have high caffeine content include Pu-erh Tea and South African Yerba Mate.
Tea with the highest caffeine content
Every tea blend and variety has varying amounts of caffeine. Even teas labeled under the same category vary significantly in the amount of caffeine content they have. Here is a list of some of the teas with the highest caffeine content.
Black Tea
Black tea is one of the teas with the highest level of caffeine content. Some avid coffee lovers consider it a suitable replacement for their moderate dose of caffeine. Black tea, on average, has 35-37 mg of caffeine per 100 g of tea.
Varieties of Black Tea such as Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling are considered to have the highest amount of caffeine amongst other types of Black Tea. English Black tea is one of the most popular breakfast teas enjoyed for energy burst throughout the day.
Black tea is preferred over coffee for various reasons, even though its caffeine content may vary significantly. Managing blood pressure, weight management, and supporting heart health are some of the reasons why Black Tea is enjoyed.
Matcha Green Tea
Matcha Green Tea, although labeled a Green tea popularly known for its low level of caffeine, is one of the teas with the highest amount of caffeine. A single cup of Match Green tea can have 75 mg of caffeine.
Matcha is made from stone grounding green tea leaves and originated in Japan. It is rich in antioxidants and enjoyed for its slightly bitter and bright flavor profile.
For people that enjoy coffee various times throughout the day, Matcha Green tea provides an adequate amount of caffeine. Moreover, Matcha is also famous amongst tea lovers because of its high L-theanine amino acid levels, which help improve focus.
Pu-erh Tea
Just behind Black Tea in terms of caffeine content is Pu-erh Tea (also pronounced as Pu’er). It is a fermented type of tea that comes from the Yunnan province of China. This tea contains almost 31 mg of caffeine per cup.
However, Pu-erh tea’s caffeine content can go as high as 100 mg per cup, depending on how it is brewed. 710 mL Pu-erh Tea can be easily consumed by a person provided that no other caffeinated beverages are being consumed.
The tea’s probiotic properties and heart health-promoting properties make it a popular drink enjoyed by many.
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is another famous tea in the list of teas with the highest caffeine amount. It contains as much as 31 mg of caffeine for every 8 oz. The dual nature of Oolong tea, offering benefits of both Black and Green tea leaves, makes it a popular choice.
Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea variety that is derived from the Camellia sinensis plant. Both Green and Black Tea are harvested from the same plant. The only difference is in how it is processed.
The tea is rich in multivitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Factors that affect the caffeine content of tea
There are several factors that contribute to the amount of caffeine in your tea leaves. From the tea plant, the leaves are harvested from to the harvest time. Moreover, the amount of time you brew your tea and the processing method of tea leaves also impact the caffeine content.
The first factor which affects the caffeine amount in your tea is the plant varietal used. Most teas, if not all, come from the two varieties of the Camellia Sinensis, which includes Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis and Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica.
Secondly comes the method of processing tea leaves. Tea leaves that are oxidized longer contain higher caffeine content as compared to unprocessed teas like herbal teas.
Hence Black Tea has higher caffeine content in comparison to White Tea. Matcha tea has an even higher amount of caffeine as fresh tea leaves and ground into powdered form
Steeping time is another crucial factor. The longer you steep your tea, the higher the amount of caffeine will be. Bedsides steeping time, water temperature also affects the caffeine content. Brewing tea in hot water increases the drink’s caffeine content while steeping in cold water reduces it.
The amount of tea leaves you use also plays a role in the amount of caffeine in a cup contains. There is a direct relation between the number of tea leaves and the caffeine content in the tea you brew. If you’d like a stronger caffeine kick in the morning, you can increase the quantity of tea leaves you add to your drink.
Last but not least, we have harvesting time. Many people fail to realize that the season in which the tea leaves are harvested can significantly impact the caffeine content in their favorite tea leaves.
Spring is considered the ideal time for harvesting tea leaves with peak caffeine levels. The longer you wait to harvest the tea, the lesser the caffeine will be.
Frequently asked questions about what tea has the most caffeine
Does Black Tea have more caffeine than coffee?
Black tea contains 20mg of caffeine per 100g, while coffee for the same amount contains double the number (40mg). Hence, coffee ranks higher in terms of caffeine content.
Which tea has the lowest amount of caffeine?
Since White Tea contains only 15mg of caffeine for every 8 oz., it is the most popularly enjoyed tea by people who love low caffeine content in their tea.