Caffeine Content in the Six Types of Tea and How to Choose Teas with Lower Caffeine Levels

 If you're concerned about the impact of caffeine on your body, I suggest drinking tea instead of coffee. Here’s why.

Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in many plants, and it has the ability to excite the central nervous system. In moderate amounts, caffeine can help you stay alert, ward off drowsiness, and restore energy. Tea, cocoa, and chocolate are some of the common beverages that contain caffeine. Tea enthusiasts often worry about caffeine content and its potential health effects.So, how much caffeine is in different types of tea? What factors influence caffeine levels in tea? And how can you minimize the caffeine content when brewing tea? This article will answer these questions.

Factors Influencing Caffeine Content in Tea
It's well known that caffeine levels vary across different beverages. Typically, an 8 oz cup of coffee contains anywhere from 50 mg to 265 mg of caffeine, depending on the type, which is relatively high. However, caffeine levels in tea can sometimes be misunderstood. For instance, some people believe that green tea has lower caffeine than black tea. While this is generally true, the actual caffeine content varies not only among different types of tea but also due to several factors, such as the tea leaves' condition, water temperature, and fermentation level.

Caffeine Content by six Types of Tea
Based on quantitative analysis, caffeine levels in tea vary by type, with the general order from highest to lowest as follows:
Black tea > Pu-erh teas > Oolong teas > Yellow teas > White tea > Green teas >  > Flower teas

• Coffee caffeine: 95-200 mg (highest caffeine content)
• Black tea caffeine: 47-90 mg 
• Pu-erh tea caffeine: 30-70 mg 
• Oolong tea caffeine: 37-55 mg
• Yellow teas  caffeine: 35-50 mg
• White tea caffeine: 30-45 mg 
• Green tea caffeine: 20-30 mg
• Flower tea caffeine: 25-30 mg(low caffeine content)

Keep in mind that these are average values. Actual caffeine levels can vary depending on the tea variety, harvest season, and processing methods. So, when choosing a tea, consider not only the caffeine content but also flavor, aroma, and personal taste preferences.

Impact of Leaf Quality on Caffeine Content
Tea leaves can come from different parts of the tea plant, each containing different caffeine levels. Younger leaves and buds tend to have more caffeine than older leaves and stems. For instance, white tea made from buds, like Silver Needle, usually has higher caffeine levels compared to white teas made from larger leaves, like Shoumei. Finely ground tea leaves or tea powders often contain high caffeine levels because you consume almost the entire leaf, not just the infusion. In contrast, tea stems have lower caffeine levels, and some pu-erh teas, which include stems, tend to have relatively low caffeine content.

NPTEA recommends choosing Chinese tea. In China, loose leaf teas are typically made from whole leaves, hand-picked rather than mechanically cut, ensuring higher leaf integrity. Even for tea bag products(NPTEA's Jasmine Tea Bag), we use whole tea leaves as the raw material, which does not compromise the flavor of the tea and also helps reduce caffeine intake（Browse All NPTEA Teas)

Effect of Water Temperature on Caffeine Extraction
When brewing tea, higher water temperatures and longer steeping times increase the caffeine content in the cup. For example, the caffeine and polyphenol content in green tea reach their peak when brewed at temperatures above 90°C (194°F). However, brewing at around 60°C (140°F) will only release about half of the total caffeine and polyphenol content. In the case of black tea, steeping for 4 minutes can release between 40 mg to 100 mg of caffeine, whereas steeping for 3 minutes releases only 20 mg to 40 mg. Maximum caffeine release occurs when steeping for about 10 minutes.

Impact of Fermentation on Caffeine Levels
Research from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei has explored how to increase caffeine content using microbial fermentation techniques. Their findings show that fermenting tea leaves for a certain period can increase caffeine content, with significant variations between black and green teas (27.57% and 86.41% increases, respectively). These results indicate that changes in caffeine levels during fermentation depend not only on microbial growth but also on the tea leaves' composition.

 Tea Offers Lower Caffeine Intake Compared to Coffee
It’s worth noting that brewing a cup of tea requires less tea leaf material compared to coffee beans. Additionally, tea leaves can be brewed multiple times, which reduces the caffeine content in each subsequent infusion. So, drinking three cups of tea typically results in much lower caffeine intake compared to three cups of coffee. If you want to minimize caffeine intake, consider choosing teas like white tea or green tea, which naturally have lower caffeine content. Opt for high-quality, whole-leaf teas over finely broken tea leaves, which release more caffeine. If you want to avoid caffeine altogether, try cold brewing tea(how to cold brew tea), as lower temperatures significantly reduce caffeine extraction.

Moreover, tea contains theanine, an amino acid found in tea leaves. Theanine can counteract the stimulating effects of caffeine, offering a calming and soothing effect. It helps to inhibit excessive stimulation caused by caffeine and can even counteract caffeine-induced blood pressure increases. Theanine also slows down caffeine absorption, extending the duration of caffeine's presence in the body. As a result, drinking tea often leaves one feeling alert yet calm, unlike the intense stimulation and excitability often experienced after drinking coffee.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

1.How to minimize the impact of tea caffeine on sleep?
Researchers from Shanxi University found that caffeine is detectable in the urine of tea drinkers just 0.5 hours after consumption, with peak concentration occurring 1 to 2 hours later. After about 18 hours, caffeine is almost entirely excreted. Therefore, to avoid sleep disturbances caused by caffeine, it is advisable not to drink tea 1-2 hours before bedtime.

2.Does cold-brew tea contain caffeine?
All tea leaves contain caffeine, but cold water greatly reduces caffeine extraction. Studies show that brewing at temperatures below 60°C (140°F) can reduce caffeine content by about 60%. Therefore, cold-brew tea has very low caffeine levels.

3.Does buckwheat tea contain caffeine?
Buckwheat tea does not contain caffeine. It’s made from roasted buckwheat (usually tartary buckwheat) and is not part of the six main types of tea, so it lacks caffeine.

4.Does Lipton tea have caffeine?
Yes, Lipton tea contains caffeine since it is made from the six main types of tea. Also, the caffeine content depends on the quality of the tea leaves, with finely broken leaves releasing more caffeine.

5.Does Earl Grey tea contain caffeine?
Yes, Earl Grey tea contains caffeine. It is usually made from black tea and flavored with bergamot oil. Since black tea has caffeine, Earl Grey tea also has caffeine.

6.Does tea have more caffeine than coffee?
On a per-weight basis, tea leaves contain more caffeine than coffee beans. However, because tea is brewed with less material and can be re-infused multiple times, drinking tea typically results in a lower overall caffeine intake compared to coffee.

7.Does bubble tea have caffeine?
Bubble tea usually contains caffeine because it is commonly made with traditional teas, which are one of the six main types of tea that naturally contain caffeine.

8.Does thai iced tea have caffeine?
iced tea usually contains caffeine because it is commonly made with traditional teas, which are one of the six main types of tea that naturally contain caffeine.