Does green tea have caffeine? How much is in a cup
Green tea has a reputation as the gentle option: something you can sip all afternoon without feeling wired. So does green tea have caffeine? Yes, it does. It usually has less than black tea or coffee, but the amount in your mug can vary a lot depending on the tea and how you brew it.
Here’s how much caffeine is in green tea, how it compares with your other drinks, and how to fit it into a sensible daily total.
1. How much caffeine is in a cup of green tea?
An average 230 ml cup of green tea contains around 35 mg of caffeine, with a typical range of roughly 30 to 50 mg. Modest, but it adds up over several cups.
The variety of tea, where and how it was grown and how it was processed all play a part. Tea made from older leaves usually contains less caffeine than tea made from younger ones.
What to do: think of each mug as roughly 30 to 50 mg and count them, rather than assuming green tea is caffeine-free.
2. Green tea vs black tea vs coffee
Green and black tea come from the same plant, but black tea usually ends up stronger. Here’s a rough comparison per cup:
- Green tea: about 35 mg per 230 ml cup (range 30 to 50 mg).
- Black tea: about 55 mg on average, with a wide range of 25 to 110 mg.
- Filter coffee: about 90 mg in a 200 ml cup, according to figures summarised by EUFIC from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
- Espresso: about 80 mg in a 60 ml serving.
High street coffee can be far higher. When Which? tested coffee shop drinks in 2026, a filter coffee at Pret contained 271 mg. For a cup-by-cup look at coffee, see our guide on how much caffeine is in coffee.
What to do: if you want to cut down on caffeine without giving up hot drinks, swapping one or two coffees for green tea is an easy first step.
3. How you brew it changes the caffeine
Two mugs of the same green tea can end up quite different. Hotter water and longer steeping pull more caffeine out of the leaves. Tea bags also tend to release more caffeine than loose leaf, probably because the leaves inside are more finely crushed.
What to do: for a lighter cup, use water that’s just off the boil, steep for a shorter time and take the bag out rather than leaving it in.
4. What about matcha?
Matcha is powdered green tea, so you consume the whole leaf rather than an infusion. Gram for gram it has more caffeine than bagged green tea, but a traditional serving is small, about 1 g or half a teaspoon, so one bowl can work out at roughly the same as a cup of ordinary green tea.
Coffee-shop matcha lattes are a different story. In the 2026 Which? test, a hot matcha latte ranged from 28 mg at Pret to 57 mg at Starbucks and 99 mg at Costa.
What to do: if you order matcha out, treat it like a coffee rather than a cup of tea, especially later in the day.
5. How much caffeine is OK in a day?
According to EFSA, healthy adults can have up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, and single doses of up to 200 mg, without safety concerns. During pregnancy and breastfeeding the limit is 200 mg a day, which is also the NHS advice for pregnancy. For children and teenagers, EFSA uses a more cautious level of 3 mg per kg of body weight.
At around 35 mg a cup, green tea alone rarely takes you near 400 mg. It’s the combination with coffee, cola, energy drinks and supplements that adds up.
What to do: add up every source of caffeine in your day, not just coffee. If you’re pregnant, keep an eye on the total from tea too.
6. Will green tea keep you awake?
It might. EFSA notes that caffeine at around 100 mg can affect sleep in some people, particularly when taken close to bedtime. Two or three strong cups of green tea in the evening can get you near that. How sensitive you are also varies from person to person.
What to do: if you sleep badly, have your last caffeinated drink earlier in the day and switch to a caffeine-free herbal tea in the evening. If you often feel flat during the day, our tips on how to stop feeling tired may help.
When to see a doctor
Caffeine affects people differently. If you notice a racing or irregular heartbeat, feel shaky or anxious, or struggle to sleep even after cutting back, speak to your GP. The same goes for tiredness that lasts for weeks despite good sleep habits, since it can have causes worth ruling out. If you take regular medication, ask your pharmacist or GP whether caffeine is fine for you.
What about supplements?
Green tea is a pleasant way to stay hydrated: water, lower-fat milk and lower-sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, all count towards the 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid the NHS suggests each day. But some days call for more than a cup of tea.
Vit2go Energy combines guarana, ginseng and caffeine with B vitamins. Vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12 contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. You mix it into water, and the sachets fit in any bag.
Each sachet contains 124 mg of caffeine, a little more than a cup of filter coffee. Take it the way you’d have a coffee: in the morning or before training, no more than one sachet a day, not on an empty stomach and not combined with other caffeinated drinks or alcohol. It’s not recommended for children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or if you’re taking medication.
If you have a sachet, count it in your daily total. More on how caffeine really works in 4 energy myths almost everyone believes.
Also from Vit2go: Vit2go IMMUNITY and Vit2go DRINK RECOVERY.
FAQ
Does green tea have more caffeine than coffee?
No. A cup of green tea typically has about 30 to 50 mg of caffeine, while a 200 ml cup of filter coffee has about 90 mg, and coffee-shop servings can be much higher.
Will green tea keep you awake?
It can if you drink several cups late in the day or you’re sensitive to caffeine. Caffeine at around 100 mg can affect sleep in some people when taken close to bedtime.
When should you not drink green tea?
Go easy on it in the evening if caffeine affects your sleep, and count it towards your 200 mg daily limit if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Children should have much less caffeine than adults. If you take medication, check with your pharmacist.
Is green tea actually good for you?
Unsweetened green tea is a low-calorie drink that counts towards your daily fluid intake, which the NHS confirms for tea in general. Beyond that, be wary of big promises: it’s a drink, not a cure.
Does matcha have more caffeine than green tea?
Per gram, yes. But a traditional serving uses only about 1 g, so a bowl can contain roughly the same as a regular cup. Matcha lattes from coffee shops vary widely, from 28 mg to 99 mg in a 2026 Which? test.
