Does Tea Have More Caffeine Than Coffee?

February 20, 2026 Krisi Smith 1 comment

So the big question... Does tea have more caffeine than coffee?!

The fact is tea does not contain more caffeine than coffee! A cuppa actually contains about 50mg - half the amount compared to instant coffee and a third of what is in a cup of filter coffee!

Woah! Say What?

If you think about it, tea leaves are infused and thrown out - coffee beans are also ground and so dissolve a lot more in brewing, which concentrates the caffeine in a cup. Serving variants such as espresso and double - espresso are even more concentrated, containing in excess of 1 and ½ times and 2 and 1/2 times more respectively.

There's more!

What is even more intriguing about tea is that along with caffeine, tea also has L-Theanine, which modulates the effect of caffeine on the body. It is this combination that makes tea - unlike coffee - both stimulating and relaxing. You do not get the jitters!

Continue reading to see us debunk common tea myths for you!

If you want to, a nice follow-up read is our ‘Is decaf tea better for you?’ article.

Generally speaking, all teas from the Camellia plant (green, white, black, yellow, oolong and pu'erh) have similar amount of caffeine as they come from the same plant.
Blending with different caffeine-free ingredients can reduce the amount of caffeine in a tea.
The way your tea is brewed will also affect how much caffeine you get in your cup - brewing tea stronger will of course release more into your cup.
Matcha is special when it comes to caffeine in tea. Like coffee, this tea is ground into a powder, meaning you consume the whole leaf when you drink a cup. A cup of matcha has more caffeine than a cup of tea, but less than a cup of coffee! So there you have it!
Caffeine is in many natural types of foods and drinks. It stimulates and energises you, so a cuppa can help refresh you, setting you up for a demanding day, and you can have as many as 5 cups a day and it is only a total of 200 mg per day (or 2-3 cups of coffee equivalent!).

What has more caffeine: Tea or Coffee?

If you are considering your caffeine intake, you could also consider how caffeine fits into your lifestyle, health and goals, as you could be surprised to find that caffeine in tea might actually be helpful!

Check out a few of our teas that contain different levels of caffeine - some have none at all:

What is caffeine?

Caffeine is a natural compound found in plants like Camellia Sinensis plant (tea plant) and coffee, yerba mate and guarana.

The caffeine in the plants helps to kill all the pesky bugs that are trying to eat its lush leaves!

It acts as a stimulant in humans and is a natural pesticide.

But not all caffeine is stored in similar amounts in these different plants, hence the different effect from drinking them.

Discover our caffeinated blends of matcha, black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea & mate tea.

Which tea type has more caffeine?

All types of tea start as a leaf from the Camellia Sinensis plant. The type of tea which those leaves eventually end up as (black, green, white etc.) is influenced by their treatment once they are picked. This also influences the caffeine content.

The more processed the tea, the stronger caffeine it will have:

Matcha is more caffeinated because the leaves are dried and then grounded to have this beautiful smooth powder, but that's how the caffeine is released the most.

Black tea is the older Camellia Sinensis, which are dried until they turn black, which activates the caffeine molecules in the leaves as well.

Green and white teas are not as processed - so the molecules of caffeine are not activated. And, green teas and whites are brewed for less time, and at 80°C water, rather than 100°C, so the leaves have less chance to dissolve in the water.

Does tea have more caffeine than coffee?

Then you get blended teas (our speciality!), which are different types of teas blended together, or teas blended with various ingredients. For all of our tea blends, the caffeine content is much lower than other teas out there because they contain other, naturally caffeine-free herbs and spices.

Although, some of the purest, unblended white teas - such as silver needles buds - have nearly as much caffeine in them as black tea. The fragile buds have a high level of caffeine, as it helps to protect the young leaves from pests and insects.

If you are wanting to avoid caffeine altogether there are plenty of options out there that naturally do not contain any caffeine at all.

Good news! Bird & Blend has one of the largest selections of totally decaffeinated tea in the UK! Any of our blends that are orange (fruit tea), pink (herbal tea) or red (rooibos tea) are completely naturally caffeine free, unless stated on the packaging that it's blended with other types of teas.