Tea Caffeine Guide: Levels Across Different Varieties

A cup of standard 240 ml black tea contains 47 mg of caffeine.

• 47 mg — 240 ml black tea (typical brewed serving).
• 70 mg — 1 tsp matcha (whole-leaf powder, per dataset).
• 85 mg — 240 ml yerba mate, one of the highest tea-type caffeine values listed.
• 0 mg — most herbal (tisanes) are caffeine-free; decaf tea and decaf coffee are near-zero.

Caffeine basics in tea

Caffeine in tea comes from the tea leaf (Camellia sinensis) and, for mate, Ilex paraguariensis. USDA FoodData Central and drink-label data provide measured averages: black tea ~47 mg per 240 ml, green tea ~28 mg per 240 ml, white tea ~16 mg per 240 ml, oolong ~37 mg per 240 ml. Matcha is measured as a 1‑teaspoon preparation with 70 mg per serving because you ingest the whole leaf powder.

Caffeine levels by tea type (measured servings)

The table below lists the dataset values for common teas and directly comparable drinks. Serving sizes are shown where they differ from the 240 ml standard.

How tea compares to coffee and energy drinks

Tea tends to have substantially less caffeine per 240 ml than brewed coffee: drip coffee is 96 mg per 240 ml; pour-over can be higher at 145 mg per 240 ml; cold brew often measures ~200 mg per 240 ml. Espresso shots are concentrated (single shot 30 ml = 63 mg). Energy drinks vary widely (Red Bull 250 ml = 80 mg; Bang 473 ml = 300 mg). Use these numbers when substituting tea for coffee or energy drinks to estimate total daily intake.

Factors that change caffeine in tea

Measured mg values are averages—actual caffeine depends on:

• Leaf type and processing: black (fully oxidized) and yerba mate generally yield more caffeine per cup than green or white; matcha yields more because you consume the whole leaf.
• Leaf quantity and particle size: fannings/tea bags and broken leaves extract faster than whole leaves; more grams → more mg.
• Water temperature and steep time: hotter water and longer steep increase extraction. Practical rule: steep green tea shorter (1–3 min) to reduce caffeine; black tea 3–5 min extracts more.
• Serving size and concentration: bottled iced tea and lattes include variable ratios; always check serving-size labels or measure.
• Preparation method: matcha and yerba mate deliver inherently higher per-cup intake in typical preparations.

How long caffeine from tea stays in your system

Population-average caffeine half-life is about 5.7 hours; that means roughly half the caffeine remains after ~5.7 hours. Use the decay percentages below (3 h ≈ 69% remain, 6 h ≈ 48%, 9 h ≈ 33%, 12 h ≈ 23%) to estimate lingering mg from a specific cup.

Practical takeaway: a morning matcha (70 mg) still contributes ~34 mg at your noon coffee and ~16 mg by evening—use that when planning caffeine relative to sleep.

Health, safety and timing

Authoritative bodies set reference limits: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and EFSA note ~400 mg/day is generally considered safe for healthy adults; many guidance documents recommend limiting caffeine to ~200 mg/day in pregnancy. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises caution and discourages caffeine-containing beverages for adolescents. Individual sensitivity varies—genetics (CYP1A2), medications, liver disease, pregnancy and age change clearance—and Mayo Clinic resources note half-life can range broadly.

If sleep is a concern, stop consuming caffeine several half-lives before bedtime. For an average half-life of 5.7 hours, avoiding caffeine 6–8 hours before bed reduces alertness effects; highly sensitive individuals may need longer.

Caffeine-free tea options and decaf

Herbal tisanes (peppermint, chamomile, rooibos) are naturally caffeine-free in the dataset (0 mg). Decaffeinated tea and decaf coffee are not totally zero but near-zero; decaf coffee is listed as 3 mg per 240 ml. Decaf tea typically contains trace amounts—check product testing if you need strict avoidance.

Track intake and next steps

For people who drink multiple cups or switch between coffee and tea, track mg across the day so totals stay within safety guidance. Apps such as CoffeeLog can automatically add dataset values and compute remaining caffeine over time using half-life to help you plan sleep and daily limits.

Sources and datasets referenced include USDA FoodData Central values for brewed teas, FDA/EFSA safety guidance, and clinical resources such as Mayo Clinic and the American Academy of Pediatrics for age- and pregnancy-related recommendations.

How much caffeine will two cups of tea plus a coffee add up to?

If you drink two 240 ml black teas (47 mg each) plus a 240 ml drip coffee (96 mg) within a short period, the immediate total is 47 mg + 47 mg + 96 mg = 190 mg. That total (190 mg) is well under the FDA's 400 mg/day guidance for healthy adults, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Using a population-average half-life of 5.7 hours (this guide's decay model; see Mayo Clinic for variability), if you consumed those three drinks nearly together, the amount left after 6 hours would be approximately 190 × 0.5^(6/5.7) ≈ 190 × 0.48 ≈ 91.2 mg remaining. Mayo Clinic notes individual half-lives vary with age, medications and pregnancy, so use this as a population estimate (Mayo Clinic).

Batched consumption is drinking multiple caffeinated beverages in a short time window.

Practical links: compare these numbers with our side-by-side drink table on the site (caffeine half-life calculator) or check a day-total using safe daily limit by body weight.

How many milligrams of caffeine am I carrying into an afternoon coffee if I had matcha this morning?

If your morning matcha (1 tsp, 70 mg per the dataset) was at 8:00 a.m. and you plan an espresso single shot (63 mg) at noon, the instantaneous sum at noon is 70 mg + 63 mg = 133 mg, which is below EFSA's 200 mg single-dose caution for peak exposures (EFSA 2015).

Using the half-life model for the matcha portion: after 4 hours the matcha alone is 70 × 0.5^(4/5.7) ≈ 70 × 0.59 ≈ 41.3 mg; add the fresh 63 mg espresso and the total in circulation at noon ≈ 104.3 mg. EFSA is explicit that 200 mg is the single-dose guidance used for risk characterization (EFSA 2015).

Single-dose limit is 200 mg set by EFSA.

If you want to model this exactly for your schedule, try our caffeine half-life calculator and the matcha guide for dose context (matcha caffeine guide).

How does drinking yerba mate and a bottled iced tea across the afternoon affect what’s left by bedtime?

A single 240 ml yerba mate (85 mg) plus a 355 ml bottled iced tea (45 mg) start as 85 mg + 45 mg = 130 mg total immediately after consumption. Using the half-life model (5.7 h), if you finish both at 3:00 p.m. and go to bed at 11:00 p.m. (8 hours later), the remaining caffeine ≈ 130 × 0.5^(8/5.7) ≈ 130 × 0.378 ≈ 49.1 mg.

Yerba mate is Ilex paraguariensis—its measured 85 mg per 240 ml comes from the dataset values and is higher than most brewed teas in the dataset.

That leftover ~49 mg is roughly equivalent to the residual from a single weak coffee by bedtime and can still affect sleep in sensitive people; Drake et al. (2013) showed that a 400 mg dose taken 6 hours before bedtime reduced objective sleep time by more than an hour, so cumulative timing matters (Drake et al., J Clin Sleep Med 2013).

For brand and brew comparisons see our Yerba Mate guide (yerba mate guide) and bottled iced tea values in caffeine in iced tea brands.

Can cutting back by one cup of tea each day prevent withdrawal symptoms?

Removing one 240 ml black tea (47 mg) from your routine reduces daily intake by 47 mg immediately; whether that prevents withdrawal depends on your baseline and how fast you cut. Our site's taper guidance and withdrawal guide note that gradual reductions—dropping 20–50 mg every few days—reduce symptom severity for most people (caffeine withdrawal guide).

Caffeine withdrawal is a set of symptoms (headache, fatigue, irritability) that appear after reducing or stopping regular caffeine intake.

Practical arithmetic: if you habitually consume 300 mg/day and remove one black tea (47 mg), new intake ≈ 253 mg/day; removing two black teas drops you to ~206 mg/day. If you instead replace one black tea with a herbal tisane (0 mg), you immediately cut 47 mg without changing routines much—see our herbal guide for substitutes (caffeine-free herbal teas).

What’s the quickest way to estimate leftover caffeine from a single tea before bed?

Use the first-order elimination formula: remaining mg = dose × 0.5^(hours / 5.7); plug in the tea dose and hours until bedtime for a quick estimate. For example, a 240 ml black tea (47 mg) consumed 8 hours before bed leaves about 47 × 0.5^(8/5.7) ≈ 47 × 0.378 ≈ 17.8 mg at bedtime.

First-order elimination is a decay process where the elimination rate is proportional to the amount present (half-life-based exponential decay).

If you prefer tools, our last cup before bed calculator performs this exact arithmetic and our caffeine half-life calculator can show stacked timing for multiple drinks.

Bottom line

A typical 240 ml black tea is 47 mg, a 1-tsp matcha serving is 70 mg, and a 240 ml yerba mate is 85 mg per the dataset; herbal tisanes are 0 mg. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sets about 400 mg/day as a general safe upper bound for healthy adults (FDA), and EFSA's 2015 opinion cites 200 mg as a single-dose reference and 200 mg/day as the pregnancy-related recommendation (EFSA 2015).

For timing, this guide uses a population-average caffeine half-life of 5.7 hours for decay math (apply remaining mg = dose × 0.5^(hours / 5.7)); Mayo Clinic explains why individual half-lives vary with genetics, medications and pregnancy (Mayo Clinic). Example takeaways: a matcha (70 mg) plus an espresso (63 mg) together are 133 mg; two black teas plus drip coffee are 190 mg (47 + 47 + 96 = 190 mg); if those 190 mg are consumed in a short window, about 190 × 0.5^(6/5.7) ≈ 91 mg remain after 6 hours.

If sleep matters, remember Drake et al. (2013) found that a 400 mg dose 6 hours before bedtime shortened sleep by more than an hour, so spread or reduce intake accordingly (Drake et al., J Clin Sleep Med 2013). Use our calculators (last cup before bed and half-life calculator) and the per-drink dataset pages (matcha, yerba mate, iced tea) to plan intake and keep within the 200–400 mg guidance ranges where relevant.