What Is Green Tea and What Quantity of Caffeine Is in It?
Green tea is made from the same plant as regular black tea and isn’t considered an herbal tea. It contains caffeine just like coffee, but in smaller amounts.
Green tea is highly beneficial to the body. It contains high concentrations of antioxidants called polyphenols [1]. The antioxidants fight free radicals in the body and prevent them from damaging DNA [2] in your cells. Green tea is mostly water and contains almost no calories per cup.
An 8-ounce (oz) cup of green tea contains approximately 24 to 45 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, depending on how strong it’s brewed. On the other hand, 8 oz of coffee may contain anywhere between 95 and 200 mg of caffeine. In other words, a cup of green tea has less than half the amount of caffeine that’s in your typical cup of coffee.
Be careful, though – even a cup of decaffeinated green tea or coffee contains small amounts of caffeine (12 mg or less).