Green tea is currently a very popular drink, rightly so, since it can offer some really good health benefits. Some of the benefits include the reduction of risks associated with type 2 diabetes, heart problems and cancer. More so, drinking green tea is excellent for people who would like to control their weight and those that want to shed some extra pounds as it increases your metabolism. In addition, caffeine can help to improve your mood and brain function, and improved exercise performance.
However, like normal tea, green tea is contains caffeine. Therefore, for those wanting to check their caffeine intake should take note of the amount of caffeine that is in a cup of green tea.
That is the focus of this article, to explore whom much caffeine is actually within your cup of green tea and how that compares with other caffeinated beverages.
Firstly, let us just explain what caffeine is and what if does to our bodies.
Caffeine is a natural chemical found in the beans, leaves and fruits of around 60 different plants. Nevertheless, caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that has the ability to boost alertness and to fight fatigue.
The reason caffeine is effective to give you a boost is since caffeine works by blocking the effects of the neurotransmitters, which are called adenosine. These neurotransmitters build up during the day and make you feel tired.
That said, not all people react positively to caffeine. Some people are sensitive to the effects of caffeine and might experience insomnia, irregular heartbeats and restlessness.
But how much caffeine is in one cup of green tea?
One cup of green tea will contain around 35 milligrams of caffeine. However, the amount of caffeine can differ. That all depends on the variety of the tea-plant, the growing conditions, the way the tea is being processed and brewed. For instance, older tea leaves will contain less caffeine than younger leaves. In addition, tea bags have more caffeine than loose tea leaves. A possible reason tea bags contain more caffeine than loose tea leaves, are since they are finely crushes up, thereby releasing their caffeine content more easily. Plus, matcha, the powdered green tea contain more caffeine than tea bags or loose green tea leaves.
Another reason that will determine the amount of caffeine within a cup of green tea is how long you brew the tea. The longer you brew the tea, the more caffeine will be in the severing.
On average, green tea has less caffeine than other caffeinated drinks.
Caffeine is not just found in green tea and coffee, but also in black tea, energy drinks and soft drinks.
On average, a cup of a caffeinated drink of 230 millilitre will contain the following amount of caffeine:
- Green tea: 30–50 mg
- Plain, brewed coffee: 102–200 mg
- Instant coffee: 27–173 mg
- Espresso: 240–720 mg
- Black tea: 25–110 mg
- Yerba mate: 65–130 mg
- Soft drinks: 23–37 mg
- Energy drinks: 72–80 mg
Therefore, green tea has less caffeine than other types of caffeinated drinks. However, green tea has the amino acid L-theanine, which has been shown to work synergistically with caffeine. In general, the mixture of L-theanine and caffeine has been shown to help increase both alertness and concentration, which may make green tea a better drink than coffee if you’re doing tasks that call for a lot of thought. More so, you get a milder but not the same kind of buzz than with coffee, regardless of the lower caffeine content of green tea.
Should you worry about the caffeine that is in green tea?
Caffeine is viewed as safe to consume. In fact, it is a widely used stimulant and if consumed in moderation and within limits it is fine to use. The standard is that anyone over the age of 19 can consume about 400 milligrams of caffeine daily.
But, to avoid the undesirable effects of caffeine, it’s often suggested that you space out your caffeine, regulating the amount to around 200 mg at a time. 200 mg of caffeine is about four 8-ounce cups of green tea, so one 8-ounce serving of green tea would put you well within those limits. Nonetheless, green tea is low in caffeine if matched to other caffeinated drinks. As long as you are drinking the drinks within these suggested limits, then the caffeine in green tea should not be something to worry about.
A short round up
One cup of green tea has around 30 and 50 mg of caffeine. But the suggested maximum amount of caffeine per day is 400 mg that is the equal to around 8 cups of green tea. However, it is best that you don’t consume 8 cups at one time, particularly if you are sensitive to caffeine.
That all said, green tea is a nutritious drink, which has safe amounts of caffeine. In addition, green tea is packed with good health benefits.