Whether you’re a traditional tea-brewer or a can’t-live-without-your-afternoon-coffee lover, caffeine will always be a great source of conversation and debate. But which has more?
Which has more caffeine, tea or coffee? How much caffeine should you have a day? And is there really caffeine in green tea? The answers may surprise you, but we’re here to unravel the myths!
When it comes to caffeine, like most things, it's all about understanding how much is enough or what the right amount is. For healthy adults, it’s thought that around 400mg, which is the equivalent of around four cups of coffee. For pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding, it’s recommended that they only have up to 200mg per day.
So, how can you enjoy your daily allowance of caffeine in the most effective and tasty way?
From movies and sitcoms to general office chit-chat, it’s usually a cup of coffee that gets depicted as the best way to get your daily hit. With a coffee shop on every corner, catch-ups over coffee or a good ole coffee morning, it’s no wonder that coffee is the strong favourite. But, interestingly, tea has more caffeine in it per mg. See, tea leaves have around 3.5% caffeine in them whereas unbrewed coffee beans have only around 1.1-2.2% caffeine. So, technically there is more caffeine in tea than coffee per mg but it’s all in how you brew up as to how much caffeine you actually drink in your cuppa joe.
Once you start to add hot water and brew your coffee beans or your tea leaves, the amount of caffeine changes. This is because the hot water actually extracts the caffeine from the coffee beans and it’s more concentrated than when you brew a cup of tea.
Which is probably why coffee is the more preferable choice when it comes to getting that much-needed caffeine fix. But, if you want to get a stronger concentration of caffeine from your cup of tea then keep steeping it for longer. Think of caffeine in coffee like a short, sharp hit and caffeine in tea like a slower releasing boost; a bit like choosing a pastry over a bowl of porridge for breakfast.
To help dispel a few myths and aid you in the great caffeine debate, here are a few facts versus fiction.
So, as we mentioned, when unbrewed, tea actually contains more caffeine. It’s the brewing process that helps unlock the amount of caffeine.
All teas, with the exception of fruit tea and herbal infusions, have caffeine in them. The majority of tea leaves contain more or less the same amount of caffeine as white tea, black tea, green tea and yellow tea; are all from the same plant known as the Camellia Sinensia, an evergreen shrub found in East Asia, which contains caffeine.
We like to think that there is a type of tea for all occasions so why not wake up to a cup of Strong English Breakfast tea and then switch to a lighter, mid-morning tea such as an Earl Grey or a light and delicate Darjeeling. And for your afternoon pick-me-up? Swap your regular caffeine hit for a tasty herbal tea ideal for that mid-afternoon slump.
Plus, stopping caffeine after 3pm is a great way to make sure you’re getting the best night’s sleep. Because caffeine is a stimulant and can stay in your system for up to six hours, a caffeine-free alternative is a perfect way to ease you into the evening without disrupting your sleep.
Life is all about moderation, so if you can’t live without your morning cuppa then a little caffeine certainly won’t hurt. But, if you’re finding you’re indulging in a cup or two more than you’d like, why not have a look at delicious caffeine-free alternatives? Life is all about getting that balance just right for you.
