How much caffeine does tea contain? Does green tea have caffeine?
All real tea contains caffeine unless the tea has been artificially decaffeinated. (The only exception to this rule is Japanese kokicha, made from stems of the tea plant. Its caffeine content is negligible.) Tea also contains a related chemical called theobromine, which has similar (slightly milder) effects on the body. The amount of caffeine in a cup of tea varies tremendously, depending on the variety of tea and the brewing time. (The most important factor in caffeine content of leaves appears to be the climate in which the plant is grown.) It has been widely claimed that green tea has less caffeine than black, but various sources (including a professional tea chemist) have informed me that this is not necessarily true. Although green tea often contains less caffeine than black, in some cases it may have just as much or more. I can report that the most caffeinated tea I have ever had was green. In 1995, I ordered a small pot of Yin Hao jasmine at a local coffeehouse, unaware that thi
