If you love starting your day with a jolt of caffeine, don’t assume that coffee is the only way to get your morning buzz. Tea is not only loaded with powerful health benefits, studies now show that the caffeine in tea delivers a better, more long-lasting energy boost than an ordinary “Cup A Joe”.
Coffee and tea both contain caffeine, but tea gets some help from another compound known as L-theanine. L-theanine interacts with caffeine to make smaller amounts of caffeine have a stronger effect. Along with other antioxidants found in tea, L-theanine helps the body absorb caffeine more gently, producing a sustained, relaxed alertness and mental focus- minus the jitters and late-day slump.
Fast facts on Tea Caffeine:
- Caffeine is naturally occurring in both coffee and tea
- Most tea has 15-70 mg caffeine / cup.
- Coffee tends to have 80-135 mg caffeine / cup.
- You can’t generalize about the amount of caffeine in different types of tea. Caffeine levels are affected by steeping time, temperature, the location of the leaves on the plant and the size of the dried leaf
- Any color of tea (black, green, white, etc.) can be high or low in caffeine.
- Generally, the youngest leaves contain highest amounts of both caffeine and antioxidants
Find out more about Tea and Caffeine
Photo by Jose Nosé- CC License 2.0
