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One of the questions that we are asked most often by the customers of our online tea shop are:
Does tea contain caffeine and how much caffeine does this tea contain?
Or: which teas have more or less caffeine? Is it true that green tea contains less caffeine than black tea?
Preliminary note: caffeine and theine are the same molecule. When tea (P.S. have you ever wondered what is the correct way to write the word tea? Read it in our new article!) was introduced in Europe in the 17th century, it was hypothesized that its tonic properties were attributable to a molecule of its own: theine. Only when in the last century the lenses of more powerful microscopes allowed to delve into the matter, it was discovered that caffeine and theine were the same thing. But by then the word had spread...
The answer is: it is not possible to generalize so much by assigning a standard caffeine content to categories of tea (green, black, oolong). In short, it is not possible to say that green tea has less caffeine than black tea, etc., etc. Why? Because the caffeine content in tea is very variable and does not depend on a single factor but on several. Some of them are: the terroir, the period of tea harvest, the cultivar, the climatic conditions in which the plant has grown, and above all the type of leaf we harvest. Today we know that caffeine is a molecule that the plant produces as a defense against some insects that are fond of its youngest leaves. To ensure its survival, Camellia sinensis sends caffeine to the youngest and tender leaves, which are a tasty and easy target for various insects. For this reason, we can definitely say that a tea made of buds and the first two leaves (for example a Mao Feng) will probably have more caffeine than a tea for which leaves from the third onwards have been used (for example oolong). But in reality, it is not enough, because as mentioned before, there are other factors that come into play. Another factor on which we can be quite sure is how the leaf is presented: whole leaf teas infuse less caffeine than teas with a very broken leaf grade (for example the grades of tea bags). This is because in grades like dust or fanning (i.e., the powder found in tea bags) have a much larger contact surface with water. Which therefore manages to extract much more caffeine compared to a whole leaf tea. If you are interested in knowing about teas with less theine, read our in-depth analysis!
What are the green teas with little theine? They are the ones, as mentioned, that have leaves grown lower or that have both leaves and plant twigs together. Green teas with less caffeine are Organic Bancha, Japan, and Organic Kukicha, Japan. In fact, Bancha is made from leaves found lower down, while Kukicha is made with leaves and twigs. They are the perfect teas for those who want to avoid caffeine, in fact, they have become very famous for their wide use in macrobiotics.
Below you will find the graph that you can find on teaguardian.com that summarizes 3 different studies conducted in 3 different states on the caffeine content in tea infusions.
What emerges from this graph is that:
· In general, green teas (Long Jing, Sencha) have more caffeine, oolongs have less (oolong)
· Powdered teas, such as lipton black tea or fancy sencha, have more
· The analyzed white teas have a low caffeine content
· A Keemun, a very intense Chinese black tea, has, contrary to what many would have bet, a low caffeine content
Discover our Japanese teas online at Terza Luna.
