Caffeine in Coffee vs Tea

Asking whether coffee or tea has more caffeine sounds simple, but the honest answer is that it depends on the cup. By the time you account for the amount of coffee or leaf, how it was brewed and the serving size, two drinks with the same name can differ by a factor of two.

This guide gives broad, published ranges for common drinks, explains the brewing variables that move the number, and clears up a few popular myths about roast level and espresso. Use it to compare drinks sensibly rather than to calculate an exact dose, and check product labels where they list caffeine.

Broad ranges for common drinks

FDA consumer guidance gives rough figures: about 80 to 100 mg of caffeine in an 8 oz (240 ml) cup of brewed coffee and about 30 to 50 mg in 8 oz of brewed black or green tea. Real cups land outside these ranges all the time, so treat them as a starting comparison, not a measurement.

Espresso is usually described as roughly 60 to 80 mg per single shot, depending on the coffee and the dose. Milk drinks inherit that number per shot, so the caffeine in a latte depends on how many shots it has, not how much milk.

• Brewed coffee, 8 oz: about 80 to 100 mg
• Single espresso shot: roughly 60 to 80 mg
• Black or green tea, 8 oz: about 30 to 50 mg
• Decaf coffee or tea: a small amount, not zero
• Herbal tisanes without tea, mate or guarana: none

Why coffee usually wins per cup

A typical cup of filter coffee uses about 15 g of ground coffee, while a cup of tea uses 2 to 3 g of leaf. Gram for gram, tea leaves actually contain about as much caffeine as coffee beans, sometimes more, but you use several times more coffee and extract it more fully with hot water and fine grinding.

Matcha is the exception among teas because you drink the powdered leaf itself. A latte made with a generous spoonful of matcha can approach a small coffee, though the amount varies considerably from one product to another.

Variables that change the number

For coffee, the biggest lever is simply how much you use. A stronger brew ratio, a bigger mug or an extra shot adds caffeine directly. Bean species matters too: robusta coffee generally contains roughly twice the caffeine of arabica, so robusta-heavy blends, common in Vietnamese and some Italian coffee, hit harder.

For tea, more leaf, hotter water and longer steeping all extract more caffeine. A tea bag steeped for 5 minutes in boiling water gives more than the same bag dunked for 1 minute. Cold-brewed tea extracts less caffeine than hot tea from the same leaf, while cold brew coffee is often made as a strong concentrate and can end up high if it is not diluted.

• Raises caffeine: more grounds or leaf, larger servings, extra shots, robusta beans, long hot steeps
• Lowers caffeine: smaller doses, shorter steeps, cold-brewed tea, decaf, half-caf blends

Myths about roast and espresso

Dark roasts do not have dramatically more caffeine. Roasting barely affects caffeine itself; dark beans are a little less dense, so a scoop of dark roast can contain slightly less by volume, while equal weights end up about the same. Choose a roast for flavor.

Espresso tastes intense because it is concentrated, but a single 30 ml shot usually contains less total caffeine than a full mug of drip coffee. A ristretto uses the same dose with less water, and a lungo runs more water through it; neither changes the caffeine as much as the size of the dose does.

Keeping track of your intake

The FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most healthy adults, but people metabolize caffeine at very different speeds, and the FDA notes that sensitivity varies. Pregnant people, children and anyone with a heart condition or on certain medications should follow advice from their own doctor.

Count all sources across the day: coffee, tea, matcha, cola, energy drinks, chocolate and caffeinated supplements. If you want a warm drink late in the day, half-caf coffee, decaf, a short-steeped tea or a caffeine-free tisane are easy swaps.

Common questions

Does green tea have less caffeine than black tea?

Often, but not reliably. Leaf type, the amount used and brewing time matter more than color. A strong, long-steeped green tea can match a light black tea.

Is a latte stronger than a regular coffee?

Usually not. A latte with one shot of espresso typically has less caffeine than an 8 oz cup of drip coffee. A double-shot latte is closer to, or above, a regular cup.

How much caffeine is in decaf?

Decaf coffee and decaf tea still contain a small amount of caffeine. It is far less than regular, but several cups add up for very sensitive people.