CAFFEINE CONTENT: How Coffee, TEA & FRESH TEA Steep Up!
Caffeine can be confusing. It can be your best friend - giving you that much needed boost of energy in the morning, but it can also leave you crashing and feeling less than great later in the day. Before figuring out how your own body reacts to caffeine, it's important to understand how much you're actually consuming.
We looked to one of our favourite resources, mindbodygreen to gather information from integrative medicine doctors and registered dietitians on the topic of caffeine levels in popular beverages and what that might mean for our bodies.
(*The below caffeine levels are based on one cup (8 oz/ 235.6 mL) of each beverage, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food database.)
1. Cold Brew: 96 mg caffeine
Cold brew has less acidity than brewed coffee, making it easier on the gut and less likely to cause acid reflux. While the USDA says cold-brew coffee and regular brewed coffee have the same amount of caffeine, that may not always be the case.
"Because cold brew requires more coffee grounds and a longer steeping time than regular coffee, it may have more caffeine per cup than a typical brew," registered dietitian Desiree Nielsen, R.D., once told mbg. However, if diluted with water or milks, the caffeine content may equal out.
2. Brewed Coffee: 96 mg caffeine
Regular brewed coffee may have one of the highest levels of caffeine, but registered dietitian Titilayo Ayanwola, MPH, R.D., L.D., says despite the caffeine, coffee is a good source of antioxidants.
3. Latte: 86.4 mg caffeine
Lattes are generally higher in sugar than black coffees, especially when they're flavored. According to registered dietitian and diabetes educator Luisa Sabogal, RDN, M.S., CDE, lattes also contain fewer antioxidants than iced or cold-brewed coffee.
4. Iced Coffee: 74.4 mg caffeine
Iced coffee is often confused with cold-brew coffee, but they're made by different processes. Iced coffee is essentially the same as hot brewed coffee but may be better suited for warmer weather since it's served cold, over ice. Cold-brew coffee is more concentrated and, therefore, contains more caffeine.
5. Matcha: 70 mg caffeine
Matcha is a type of DRIED green tea that has been ground into a powder. It contains a large amount of antioxidants (catechins-EGCG) as the entire leaf is used (*much like our whole-leaf FRESH TEA, however because matcha goes through the drying process – many of the antioxidants that are left in tact in FRESH-LEAF tea are depleted prior to consumption.)
6. Black Tea: 48 mg caffeine
The antioxidants in black tea may not be as powerful as green tea, but the beverage still has a lot of health benefits. "Hot black tea has been shown to promote overall health, such as reduced cholesterol and blood sugar levels," Sabogal says.
7. Green Tea: 28.8 mg caffeine
Hot green tea is a mild-tasting beverage with a moderate amount of caffeine and a high number of health benefits. "Green tea is loaded with antioxidants that have many beneficial effects as well, such as helping with brain function, lowering the risk of heart disease, and potentially protecting against cancer," Singh says. Plus, habitual green tea drinkers may even live longer.
8. FRESH-LEAF MILLENNIA TEA: 30-50 mg caffeine (depending on format)
Fresh-leaf TEA is un-dried, un-processed and washed organic tea leaves. MILLENNIA TEA is the only one available that is picked, washed and flash-frozen to preserve the antioxidants and nutrients of the mighty tea leaf. All traditional teas and matchas are dried (and unwashed). While they are still healthy, much of those life-giving antioxidants and health benefits are DEPLETED in the drying process. We leave our tea leaves as close to natural as possible, so that you get a fresh from the field cup of tea with 5x the antioxidants of traditional teas.
One of our biggest differentiators is that our leaves can be (and should be) steeped multiple times during the day! When it comes to caffeine, you will actually get the lion’s share in your first cup of tea, and only trace amounts in your second and third steeping. However, antioxidants actually go up on second infusion, which is why we recommend people make at least 3 cups with each tea cube. If caffeine is a concern, you could always toss out the first steeping and enjoy the rest.
L-THEANINE:
If you are looking at options to either supplement your caffeine use or lower it, another key bonus of TEA vs COFFEE is the superhero amino acid: L-theanine. It’s the awesome caffeine regulator TEA that gives you the energy + clarity without the jitters or crash!
L-theanine:. L- theanine is a neurologically active organic compound present almost solely in the green tea plant with the exception of a kind of edible mushroom (the bay boletes).
Within around 30 minutes of consumption, L-theanine crosses the blood-brain barrier, where it appears to smooth out brain waves, without flattening them as visualized on an EEG and improving cognition in humans in interesting ways.
L-theanine is called “the closest thing to meditation that you can consume”. It is found to promote alpha-wave brain production, an index of wakeful relaxation similar to that experienced during and directly after meditation. This is also why it’s known to promote mood!
Bottom line.
The recommended daily intake of caffeine is 400 mg or less. Choose wisely and stay steeped!