Is It True That Tea Has More Caffeine Than Coffee
When it comes to a quick calmness and alertness for a demanding task, have a cup of coffee may come to your mind immediately. You may expect that coffee has more caffeine contrasted with tea. Is it the real condition? Half right. It depends on the state of tea and coffee; plant or drinks you compare. You can move on to have a better understanding of whether tea has more caffeine than coffee.
Tea Leaves vs. Coffee Beans
Tea leaves, from its original condition, contains more caffeine than coffee beans.
Be it a tea bag or dry tea leaves you used to make a cup of tea, before steeping, the caffeine remains largely in the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant, a species of evergreen shrub or small tree. However, the caffeine content varies in different types of tea. Black tea being the richest one, the content can be up to 70 mg. If you prefer to a lower caffeine intake, green tea is good to have a try.
Since no extraction begins for coffee beans before brewing, the caffeine preserved in the coffee beans, such as the coffee robusta and arabica plant, is less than tea leaves. (More:Does Dark Roast Have More Caffeine Than Light Roast)
Steeped Tea vs. Brewed Coffee
When it turns to brewing, steeped tea has less caffeine than brewed coffee.
Here is a chart explicitly show you the caffeine content in coffee and tea respectively. (Learn more on the caffeine content of a cup of coffee)
Types | Caffeine content (mg / cup) | |
Coffee | Regular coffee | 95-200 mg |
Espresso | 60-75 mg | |
Decaf coffee | 2-12 mg | |
Tea | White tea | 6-60 mg |
Black tea | 14-70 mg | |
Green tea | 24-45 mg |
Steeped tea is diluted more than coffee and thus the caffeine content begins to be extracted during the first 10 seconds. Whenever you seek for a jolt, add more tea leaves. Black tea though steeped comparatively longer (5 minutes as usual) than other kinds, caffeine in it is still less than brewed coffee, due to its special chemical structure and age. (More: how long should you steep tea)
Brewed coffee contains more caffeine than steeped tea. And it is more concentrated and requires a high consistency than steeped tea. You can easily find that brewed coffee, a strong drink, is harder to see through than steeped tea. It is because that the extraction at the process of coffee brewing comes out more frequent. Coffee brewing preparation deserves a higher temperature and longer time to make a successful and satisfactory one. (More:The Ideal Water Temperature When Brewing Coffee)
Despite their caffeine content differences, tea and coffee possess many beneficial properties. From now, drink 8 ounces of black tea or green tea daily; you will get benefits in bone density, weight loss and decreased heart attack.
Hope that the article above gives you advisable information about whether tea has more caffeine than coffee. If you have any questions or perspectives, please edit in the comment boxes below.