Caffeine in tea - why it energises differently than coffee
After coffee your heart sometimes races, a jittery rush arrives, and then a sudden crash. After a good tea it is different: a calm, even alertness that holds for hours. Yet tea has caffeine too. So where does the difference come from? It comes down to one compound that coffee does not have.
L-theanine, the brake on caffeine
Alongside caffeine, tea leaves contain an amino acid called L-theanine. It has a calming effect: it smooths out the caffeine spike, takes off the jitters and creates a state of relaxed focus. Caffeine adds energy, L-theanine tames it. Hence that characteristic feeling of „presence without the jitters” that coffee usually does not give. The same pairing is why tea’s lift comes on gently and fades slowly, without a sharp crash.
How much caffeine is actually there
There is a myth that tea is „caffeine free” or always weaker. The truth is more nuanced. By weight, dry tea leaf has more caffeine than a coffee bean, but we brew far less of it per cup, so in the cup tea usually comes out weaker than coffee. Roughly, per standard cup:
- Espresso - about 60-80 mg.
- Filter coffee - about 90-120 mg.
- Black tea - about 40-70 mg.
- Green tea - about 25-45 mg.
- White tea - about 15-35 mg.
- Matcha - about 60-80 mg (because you drink the whole powdered leaf).
- Herbal „teas” (mint, chamomile, rooibos) - zero caffeine, since these are not true tea from the tea plant.
These are ranges, not verdicts - the real content depends on the variety, the brew and the amount of leaf.
What controls the strength in your cup
Good news: you genuinely influence the caffeine level through how you brew.
- Temperature. Hotter water extracts more caffeine. A delicate green brewed cooler (70-80 degrees) gives up less of it.
- Time. The longer you steep, the more caffeine in the cup. A short brew means a gentler infusion.
- Amount of leaf. More leaf means more caffeine, which is obvious enough.
- The first steep. A lot of caffeine comes out in the first, short infusion. With multiple infusions the later steeps are gentler.
The same dials you use to avoid bitterness also control caffeine, because they go hand in hand - more on that in the piece on why your tea tastes bitter.
Practical takeaways
- Want a lift without the nerves - reach for green or matcha instead of another coffee.
- In the evening choose white, a well-cooled green, or simply a caffeine-free herbal.
- „Strong in flavour” does not mean „high in caffeine” - a dark, tannic brew can have less than a delicate matcha.
- Caffeine sensitivity is individual, so treat the numbers as a starting point, not an oracle.
Watch how it works on you
The best caffeine chart is one you write yourself by watching your own body. Notice which tea, and at which time, leaves you focused, and which leaves you wired. In GustoNote you note the type, brewing parameters and how each tea set you up. After a few entries you will see your own pattern and match the tea to the time of day, rather than guessing. And if you are still getting to know the types of tea, that is a good place to start.