PauseCafé › Caffeine content › Green tea
How much caffeine is in green tea?
20 to 45 mg
For a 240 ml cup. Three to four times less than filter coffee. But green tea is the drink whose content varies most: by variety and brew, the real spread runs from 18 to over 140 mg. PauseCafé uses 30 mg.
Why such a wide range?
Four factors explain almost all of it.
Theine is caffeine. Let us start here, because the confusion is stubborn: theine and caffeine are the same molecule. The word « theine » was coined in 1827, before the chemical identity was established. What differs is the company it keeps: tannins slow absorption, which is why the effect feels more gradual.
The variety. A sencha, a gyokuro and a supermarket teabag have little in common. Gyokuro, shade-grown, concentrates caffeine and can exceed 100 mg a cup.
Brew time. Caffeine passes into the water within the first seconds. A one-minute brew pulls far less than a five-minute one — and a second brew of the same leaves holds much less than the first.
Water temperature. Water at 70 °C, the recommended temperature for green tea, extracts less caffeine than boiling water. It also avoids bitterness.
By cup size
| Size | Volume | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Small cup | 200 ml | 25 mg |
| Standard cup | 240 ml | 30 mg |
| Large mug | 350 ml | 44 mg |
| Decaf green tea | 240 ml | 5 mg |
Values used by the PauseCafé app for a common green tea, brewed three minutes. Matcha, where you consume the whole leaf rather than an infusion, climbs to 70 mg for the same cup.
Green tea is often chosen to « cut down on caffeine » without the amount ever being counted. Four cups through the afternoon is 120 mg — the equivalent of a filter coffee, and three of them were drunk after 4 pm.
Green tea or coffee: the real gap
A green tea holds roughly three and a half times less caffeine than a filter coffee of the same volume.
That makes it a credible option late in the day. But beware the « tea doesn't count » reflex: four cups in an afternoon is 120 mg, the equivalent of a filter coffee.
| Drink | Volume | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Green tea | 240 ml | 30 mg |
| Black tea | 240 ml | 50 mg |
| Matcha | 240 ml | 70 mg |
| Espresso | 30 ml | 77 mg |
| Filter coffee | 240 ml | 108 mg |
Green tea is often chosen to cut down without the amount ever being counted. That is exactly the blind spot tracking reveals.
And at bedtime, how much is left?
A 30 mg green tea at 3 pm leaves only 10 mg by 11 pm — negligible. But four cups spread through the afternoon leave close to 50 mg, which is no longer quite the same thing.
This decline follows caffeine's half-life, on average 5 hours in a healthy adult. EFSA uses 100 mg as the mark above which caffeine near bedtime may lengthen the time it takes to fall asleep.
The caffeine at bedtime calculator runs this for every drink of your day.
Frequently asked
Are theine and caffeine the same thing?
Yes, strictly the same molecule. The term « theine » dates from 1827, before the chemical identity with coffee's caffeine was discovered. What differs is absorption speed: tea's tannins slow it, so the effect feels more gradual and longer.
Does matcha have more caffeine than green tea?
Considerably more, around 70 mg against 30 for an equivalent cup. The reason is simple: with matcha you consume the whole leaf ground to powder, whereas a brewed tea extracts only part of the caffeine.
Is green tea a good evening choice?
Better than coffee, but not neutral. A cup at 8 pm still leaves around ten milligrams at bedtime. For a genuinely caffeine-free evening, herbal tea or rooibos, which contain none at all, are safer.
Why do some sources say 140 mg?
Because green tea varies more than any other drink. A shade-grown gyokuro, brewed long in a large cup, can indeed exceed 100 mg. An industrial teabag brewed two minutes gives 20. Both figures are correct for their preparation.
Does the second brew have as much caffeine?
No, much less. Most of the caffeine passes into the water on the first brew. A second brew of the same leaves usually holds under half, a third almost none.
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.
Count your teas too
Green tea, black tea, matcha: PauseCafé logs them with their real content and adds them to your coffees.
