Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Which drink has the most caffeine: green tea, coffee or black tea?


I’ve realized that there are different opinions regarding caffeine in sencha (green tea), coffee or black tea (British tea)?   Which of the three do you think have the most caffeine? 


I browsed about this topic on the internet.  There seem to be two major opinions on this matter as follows: (in the order of high caffeine)
1.    Coffee > black tea > sencha
2.    Black tea > coffee > sencha
In either case, sencha seems to be the drink that has the least caffeine among these three.

I think that the most reliable source among all the webpages that I’ve checked out will be STANDARD TABLES OF FOOD COMPOSITION IN JAPAN Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition from Ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology Japan.
http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/gijyutu/gijyutu3/toushin/05031802.htm
http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/gijyutu/gijyutu3/toushin/05031802/002/016.pdf

Caffeine in 100ml (3.5oz) prepared form
Prepared form
Caffeine level
Preparation
Coffee
0.06g
Grinded coffee:10g, Boiling water 150ml
Black tea
0.03g
Leaf:5g, boiling water 360ml, 1.5-4min
Sencha (green tea)
0.02g
Leaf:10g, 90degC 360ml water, 1min

Now, I understand that coffee has the most caffeine and sencha has the least.  I also found another interesting data about caffeine in some other Japanese tea. Do you think gyokuro and matcha has more caffeine? 

Caffeine in 100ml (3.5oz) prepared form
Prepared form
Caffeine level
Preparation
Gyokuro (green tea)
0.16g
Leaf:10g, 60degC 60ml water, 2.5min
Matcha (green tea)
0.10g
1.5g/50ml
Coffee
0.06g
Grinded coffee:10g, Boiling water 150ml
Black tea
0.03g
Leaf:5g, boiling water 360ml, 1.5-4min
Sencha (green tea)
0.02g
Leaf:10g, 90degC 360ml water, 1min
Oolong tea
0.02g
Leaf:15g, 90degC 650ml water, 0.5min
Hojicha (green tea)
0.02g
Leaf:15g, 90degC 650ml water, 0.5min
Bancha (green tea)
0.01g
Leaf:15g, 90degC 650ml water, 0.5min
Genmaicha (green tea)
0.01g
Leaf:15g, 90degC 650ml water, 0.5min
The data has been round off, and this number is not so precise.

I think the result will differ by preparing conditions.  But, what I can say from this data is if you want to be awake, gyokuro or matcha will be your option other than coffee.  If you want to have some tea before going to bed bancha or genmaicha will be good.

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25 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 7, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    When looking at the caffeine amount you must also consider the amount of beverage consumed. For gyokuro the preparation is 10g in 60ml water, which is probably a typical amount. However the chart shows the caffeine in 3.5 oz of each beverage. So 60 ml of gyokuro will have about 0.096g of caffeine while 7 oz of sencha will have 0.04g. So the differences may not be as great as they first appear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KoheiJune 10, 2014 at 8:59 AM

      You are right. If you add up the amount of caffeine in the four infusions of sencha, it will exceed the amount that you will find in a cup of coffee. But again, I think that it will depend on tea and how you prepare it.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2018 at 11:46 PM

      I found an information about the Sencha (not sure about its accuracy) - the 80% of the caffeine is in the first infusion. That means that only the first infusion practically matters when we calculate the amount of caffeine.

      Delete
  2. KoheiDecember 7, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    You are right. Of course, you need to consider your consuming amount ^^

    ReplyDelete
  3. MiroDecember 8, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    So sad i dont know Japanese, couse there are so many interesting informations on the internet. And where to find something reliable if not on the jap. pages? But I'm going to learn, at least try.
    Are that informations in tables only for first infusion? I think so. If yes, would be interesting to know percentage of caffeine diluted within 1. infusin, second and so.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KoheiDecember 8, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    Hi, Miro-san,
    I don’t usually browse on English pages so I don’t know any pages that I can recommend. Sorry (^^;
    I did not find any specified note about first, second or third infusions on the original information, so I believe that the caffeine level refers only the first infusion.
    I have a data about the caffeine in the second and third infusions. Maybe, some other readers might be curious about it, so I’ll introduce it on a new entry in the near future.

    ReplyDelete
  5. GuillaumeDecember 24, 2011 at 10:26 PM

    Hi!

    A tea house in Quebec, Canada, did analysis on caffeine content in different teas. It's worth looking at: http://camellia-sinensis.com/health/caffeine/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dianelos GeorgoudisSeptember 7, 2017 at 2:31 PM

      This page is no longer available, but a copy can be found here https://web.archive.org/web/20121015032954/http://camellia-sinensis.com/health/caffeine/

      Delete
  6. KoheiDecember 25, 2011 at 1:06 AM

    Thanks for the link　（＾－＾）

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownMay 28, 2013 at 3:46 PM

    Thanks for this informative blog. We should take care of the amount consumed and I think if the tea or coffee have high amount of caffeine then consume less amount of tea or coffee.

    Regards,
    Glan Deas
    Kopi Luwak

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KoheiMay 29, 2013 at 8:30 AM

      I don’t know much about the medical knowledge. But, do you think this level of caffeine has a bad effect to your body?

      Delete
  8. Jay0646June 5, 2013 at 10:11 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jay0646June 5, 2013 at 10:12 AM

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    http://www.rockethub.com/projects/26409-support-zest-tea-bold-teas-with-an-energizing-kick

    ReplyDelete
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  12. Florian TatsuhitoNovember 21, 2015 at 12:13 AM

    interesting.
    but according to the excel sheet, caffein content for infusions has to be converted as the infusions are made with a different volume of water (+weight of tea)
    Tho, I'm not sure about it, here are the caffein content post conversion of the INFUSIONS:

    玉露 : 228 mg/100ml
    煎茶 : 0.4 mg/100ml
    釜炒り : 2.3 mg/100ml
    番茶 : 1.5 mg/100ml
    ほうじ : 3 mg/100ml
    玄米 : 1.5 mg/100ml
    鳥龍 : 3 mg/100ml
    紅 : 4.5 mg/100ml
    COFFEE : 37,5 mg/100ml

    what do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Richard C. LambertMarch 5, 2016 at 5:16 PM

    A modern and dynamic city, I really like living here, thanks for the pics
    ​best matcha powder melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousApril 27, 2016 at 7:12 PM

    Having said that, it’s possible to get completely caffeine-free tea if you are more flexible about what you consider “tea.” Fruit, herbal, and rooibos (from the legume family) teas do not contain any tea leaves or come from other plants that produce caffeine. Therefore, while not “true” tea, these drinks would be about as caffeine-free as you can get from steeping something in hot water.

    http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/food-and-nutrition-articles/green-tea-caffeine

    ReplyDelete
  15. leaktattleDecember 17, 2016 at 8:08 PM

    Here are the Reason Why You Have to Switch from Green tea to Green Coffee?
    Natural coffees are definitely the plant seeds which are not cooking and certainly have more chlorogenic acid than normal coffees. And many people now decide on green java not only to shed weight but also to increase their metabolic process.

    ReplyDelete
  16. teasntwaresDecember 26, 2016 at 1:13 PM

    Hello Kohei, you have written a very interesting article. Being a Green Tea drinker I thing I should say that Green Tea is good for health as it may sound that I'm being biased. Both coffee and tea have their own benefits and a person should drink both.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2017 at 5:10 AM

    In your research were you referring to japanese or chinese sencha? I was told, and found many sources that claim japanese tea as a rule are stronger than chinese. Have more caffeine. That is why i am asking. I heard that japanese sencha can give you kick as coffee would. Comment on that please.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMarch 10, 2018 at 4:15 AM

      It would make sense that Chinese green tea would have less caffeine than Japanese green tea. However, it's not really about the country of origin, but the method of preparation; Caffeine is broken down by heat, and Chinese green tea is generally roasted, while Japanese green tea is (more often than not) steamed, which is a slightly gentler process.

      Delete
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