PauseCafé › Caffeine content › Black tea
How much caffeine is in black tea?
40 to 70 mg
For a 240 ml cup, brewed four minutes. That is close to double a green tea, and about half a filter coffee. PauseCafé uses 50 mg.
Why the figures vary
Four factors explain most of the range.
Brew time above all. Black tea is the most responsive to brewing. Two minutes gives about 30 mg, five minutes climbs to 70. It is the factor you control most directly, and the one that changes the result most.
Leaf form. A teabag, with broken leaves, releases its caffeine far faster than whole-leaf tea. For equal time, the bag extracts more.
The variety. A robust Assam far exceeds a light Darjeeling. English breakfast blends, designed to be strong, sit at the top of the range.
Water temperature. Black tea is brewed with boiling water, unlike green. That is one reason for its higher content: hotter water extracts more.
By size and brew
| Size | Volume | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Small cup (200 ml) | 4 min | 42 mg |
| Standard cup (240 ml) | 4 min | 50 mg |
| Large mug (350 ml) | 4 min | 73 mg |
| Short brew (240 ml) | 2 min | 30 mg |
| Decaf black tea | 240 ml | 5 mg |
Values used by the PauseCafé app for a four-minute brew. A mug of strong English tea brewed five minutes can approach 90 mg.
Three mugs of black tea in a day is about 220 mg — more than a double espresso. It is the most commonly ignored total, because tea is seen as a light drink.
Black tea, green tea or coffee?
Black tea holds about 70 % more than green tea, and about half a filter coffee.
It occupies a middle position that explains its use: stimulating enough for the morning, moderate enough for the afternoon. But four cups in a day equal one and a half filter coffees.
| Drink | Volume | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Black tea | 240 ml | 50 mg |
| Green tea | 240 ml | 30 mg |
| Matcha | 240 ml | 70 mg |
| Filter coffee | 240 ml | 108 mg |
Theine and caffeine are the same molecule. The word « theine » dates from 1827, before the chemical identity was discovered. What differs are tea's tannins, which slow absorption and give a more gradual effect.
And at bedtime, how much is left?
A 50 mg black tea at 5 pm leaves about 21 mg at 11 pm bedtime. Little, but not nothing if the day has already been heavy on coffee.
Late-afternoon tea is rarely counted. Yet it is often what tips a day over the 100 mg mark at bedtime.
The caffeine at bedtime calculator runs this for every drink of your day.
Frequently asked
Does black tea have more caffeine than green tea?
Yes, about 70 % more: 50 mg against 30 for an equivalent cup. The difference comes from leaf oxidation and from brewing with boiling water, against 70 °C for green.
How long should I brew to reduce caffeine?
Two minutes rather than four takes a cup from 50 to about 30 mg. Caffeine passes into the water very fast: the start of the brew releases most of it. The trade-off is a less developed taste.
Do teabags hold more caffeine than loose leaf?
For equal brewing time, yes. The broken leaves in bags offer far more surface area and release caffeine faster. Whole-leaf tea needs a longer brew to reach the same level.
Are theine and caffeine different?
No, strictly the same molecule. The term « theine » was coined in 1827, before the chemical identity with caffeine was established. It is tea's tannins that slow absorption and change how it feels.
Does Earl Grey hold more caffeine?
Not because of the bergamot, which contains none. It all depends on the base tea used in the blend. An Earl Grey on an Assam base will be stronger than one on a light Ceylon base.
Other drinks
⚕️ Wellbeing information. The figures on this page are typical orders of magnitude, not individual measurements. They are not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you have questions about your intake, trouble sleeping, or any concern about pregnancy or medical treatment, speak to a healthcare professional.
Tea counts in the total
PauseCafé adds teas and coffees together, and shows where you stand against the daily mark.
