Is Chamomile Tea Caffeine-Free?

Chamomile tea contains 0 mg of caffeine per 240 ml serving (classified as a caffeine-free herbal tea).

• Chamomile (240 ml) = 0 mg caffeine — a true herbal infusion, not a tea from Camellia sinensis.
• Adult safe limit per FDA: 400 mg/day; pregnancy guidance (Mayo Clinic/EFSA): ~200 mg/day.
• Caffeine half-life averages 5.7 hours — roughly 69% remains at 3 h, 48% at 6 h, 33% at 9 h, 23% at 12 h.
• Compare: drip coffee (240 ml) = 96 mg; green tea (240 ml) = 28 mg; decaf coffee (240 ml) = 3 mg.

Chamomile tea: caffeine content explained

Chamomile is an herbal infusion made from the flowers of Matricaria chamomilla or Chamaemelum nobile. In the USDA-style datasets and common nutrient listings, herbal teas are listed as caffeine-free; the dataset used here lists "Herbal tea (caffeine-free) | 240 ml | 0 mg." That means a standard 240 ml cup of pure chamomile contains 0 mg caffeine.

Important caveat: blends or commercial iced herbal drinks may include true tea (black, green) or added stimulants (yerba mate, guarana). If a product lists "chamomile" plus "black tea" or "green tea" on the label, it will contain caffeine proportional to the added tea (see comparing table below).

Why chamomile is naturally caffeine-free

Caffeine is an alkaloid produced in members of the Coffea and Camellia (tea) and related plant families. Chamomile belongs to the Asteraceae family (daisies); it does not synthesize caffeine. The absence of caffeine is biological, not a processing step — chamomile never needs to be "decaffeinated."

Comparing chamomile to common caffeinated drinks

Below is a quick reference comparing a 240 ml chamomile cup to common coffee and tea servings from the dataset so you can see the scale.

How long caffeine lasts — the population-average decay

Use the 5.7-hour half-life for population-average estimates: roughly 69% of an initial dose remains after 3 hours, 48% after 6 hours, 33% after 9 hours, and 23% after 12 hours. Chamomile starts at 0 mg, so there is no residual stimulant effect to model, but here's decay for typical caffeinated drinks so you can compare.

Health, safety, and timing relative to sleep

For most healthy adults the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cites a practical upper limit of 400 mg/day of caffeine from all sources; the European Food Safety Authority gives similar guidance. For pregnancy, Mayo Clinic and EFSA-style guidance advise limiting intake to about 200 mg/day. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine use in adolescents; avoid giving caffeinated drinks to young children.

Because chamomile contains 0 mg, it is often recommended as a bedtime beverage to avoid caffeine-related sleep disruption. If you consume other caffeinated products late in the day, use the decay estimates above: a 200 mg dose (cold brew) could leave ~96 mg at 6 hours and ~46 mg at 12 hours — levels that commonly affect sleep for sensitive people.

Benefits of chamomile tea and practical brewing notes

Chamomile is used for its aroma and mild sedative properties; compounds such as apigenin bind to brain receptors in lab studies, which helps explain traditional sleep and relaxation uses. Unlike true tea, chamomile flavor and strength depend on flower quantity and steep time rather than caffeine extraction; typical steeping is 5–10 minutes. Adding lemon, honey, or blending with caffeine-free herbs preserves the caffeine-free profile.

When chamomile might contain caffeine

Check product labels: "chamomile blend" or "sleep tea" blends sometimes include rooibos (caffeine-free) or actual tea leaves (black/green) or added guarana/yerba mate, which add caffeine. Any blend that includes Camellia sinensis or listed stimulant ingredients will no longer be 0 mg caffeine — calculate totals by adding the listed amounts from those components (see dataset examples).

Track intake and adjustments

If you need to manage sleep, pregnancy limits, or stimulant sensitivity, tracking daily intake helps: a cup of chamomile adds 0 mg while a single drip coffee adds 96 mg. Tools such as CoffeeLog automate logging and show cumulative mg across drinks so you can stay under recommended limits.

Summary

Pure chamomile tea is caffeine-free (0 mg per 240 ml) and is a safe alternative for evenings, pregnancy (with other limits), and for people avoiding stimulants. Always read labels for blends and use simple decay math if you want to estimate how long caffeine from other drinks will remain in your system.

How can I estimate caffeine in a chamomile blend that doesn’t list ingredient amounts?

If a product lists chamomile plus another ingredient that contains caffeine, estimate the caffeine by assigning a reasonable fraction of the serving to the caffeinated ingredient and multiplying by that ingredient’s mg value from the dataset. For example, if a 240 ml bagged blend is roughly half chamomile and half black tea, estimate caffeine as 0.5 × 47 mg = 23.5 mg.

Blended-label estimation is a simple proportional calculation using known mg per serving for each component. Black tea is 47 mg per 240 ml and green tea is 28 mg per 240 ml according to the USDA FoodData Central dataset, so a 30/70 chamomile/green-tea split in a 240 ml cup would be 0.3 × 28 mg = 8.4 mg (USDA FoodData Central). Use the site’s caffeine half-life calculator or the dataset tables on this site to pull the per-drink mg values before you prorate them.

Could production cross-contamination make pure chamomile contain measurable caffeine?

Yes, unintended cross-contamination in manufacturing can introduce trace caffeine, but pure chamomile is listed as 0 mg per 240 ml in the USDA FoodData Central dataset and most lab-detectable contamination is tiny compared with routine caffeinated drinks. As a practical reference, decaf coffee is ~3 mg per 240 ml in the dataset, which is 3/400 = 0.75% of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 400 mg/day adult limit (FDA).

Cross-contamination is the unintended transfer of a substance—here, caffeine—into a product that normally lacks it. If a worst-case contamination produced 3 mg per cup, that level is documented in the dataset for decaf coffee and remains negligible versus EFSA/ACOG pregnancy guidance of ~200 mg/day and the FDA 400 mg/day adult limit.

If I swap evening coffee for chamomile, how quickly will my sleep improve?

Switching to chamomile removes any new caffeine intake immediately because a 240 ml cup of pure chamomile contains 0 mg (USDA FoodData Central), and the sleep benefit depends on how much caffeine from earlier drinks remains in your body at bedtime. Large doses late in the day matter: Drake et al. (2013) found that a single 400 mg dose taken 6 hours before bedtime reduced total sleep time by more than an hour, so avoiding caffeinated drinks in late afternoon and evening helps restore normal sleep.

Sleep rebound is the recovery of normal sleep after stopping a sleep-disrupting substance. For a concrete example using the site’s population-average half-life of 5.7 hours: a 240 ml drip coffee (96 mg in the dataset) taken at 6:00 pm and bedtime at 11:00 pm (5 hours later) will leave 96 × 0.5^(5/5.7) ≈ 96 × 0.545 ≈ 52.3 mg at bedtime (site decay model; Drake et al. for sleep effect); replacing that cup with a 0 mg chamomile cup eliminates new caffeine and prevents that residual 52 mg from accruing.

How does chamomile compare to other caffeine-free options I might drink at night?

Chamomile is genuinely caffeine-free: a 240 ml cup of pure chamomile supplies 0 mg (USDA FoodData Central), while some beverages marketed as relaxing still contain small amounts—for example hot cocoa is 9 mg per 240 ml and milk chocolate (50 g) is 10 mg, both in the dataset. Choose chamomile or other items listed as "herbal tea (caffeine-free)" to avoid even these small mg amounts.

Caffeine-free herbal teas are infusions made from non-Camellia plants that the dataset classifies as 0 mg per 240 ml. If you want alternative evening drinks, see our caffeine-free herbal tea guide and compare low-caffeine options using the site’s last-cup-before-bed tool to time your final caffeinated drink.

How do I calculate how much caffeine is still in my body if I drink chamomile after an earlier caffeinated drink?

Chamomile itself adds 0 mg, so the only math is the decay of earlier doses: use remaining mg = initial mg × 0.5^(hours / 5.7) where 5.7 hours is the site’s population-average half-life. For instance, a 240 ml cold brew (200 mg in the dataset) consumed at 8:00 pm with a midnight bedtime (4 hours later) leaves 200 × 0.5^(4/5.7) = 200 × 0.5^(0.702) ≈ 200 × 0.615 ≈ 123 mg at bedtime (site decay model).

First-order elimination is a pharmacokinetic model where drug amount falls by a fixed proportion per unit time; our calculator and examples use that model and the 5.7-hour half-life. If you prefer an automated approach, plug your drinks into the site’s caffeine half-life calculator or review common beverage mg in our side-by-side drink comparison before replacing late-day cups with chamomile.

Bottom line

Pure chamomile tea is caffeine-free: a standard 240 ml cup of chamomile contains 0 mg of caffeine according to the USDA FoodData Central dataset. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sets a practical upper limit of 400 mg/day for most healthy adults, and bodies such as EFSA and ACOG advise about 200 mg/day as a pregnancy guideline (EFSA 2015; ACOG guidance summarized). Replacing caffeinated evening drinks with chamomile eliminates additional caffeine intake because chamomile adds 0 mg per 240 ml.

How much caffeine you still have after switching depends on earlier drinks and the population-average half-life of 5.7 hours used on this site. Examples: a 240 ml drip coffee (96 mg in the dataset) drunk 5 hours before bed leaves about 96 × 0.5^(5/5.7) ≈ 52 mg at bedtime; a 240 ml cold brew (200 mg) drunk 6 hours before bed leaves about 200 × 0.5^(6/5.7) ≈ 96 mg at bedtime (site decay model). For sleep-impact context, Drake et al. (2013) showed a 400 mg dose 6 hours before bed reduces sleep by more than an hour, so even modest residual mg from late drinks can matter.

If you want step-by-step help, use the site’s caffeine half-life calculator to model your personal drinks, consult our last-cup-before-bed tool to time the final caffeinated cup, and review the pregnancy guidance and caffeine dosage guide for limits by circumstance.