Matcha vs green tea: caffeine compared
Matcha has 67 mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup. Green tea has 29 mg per 8 oz cup.
Per serving matcha is ahead: 67 mg against 29 mg, 2.3 times as much. Per 100 ml matcha is ahead: 28 mg against 12 mg, 2.3 times as much.
| Matcha | Green tea | |
|---|---|---|
| Serving | 8 oz cup (240 ml) | 8 oz cup (240 ml) |
| Caffeine per serving | 67 mg | 29 mg |
| Caffeine per 100 ml | 28 mg | 12 mg |
| Caffeine per fl oz | 8.3 mg | 3.5 mg |
| In the same 12 oz (355 ml) | 99 mg | 43 mg |
| Share of the 400 mg daily limit | 17% | 7% |
| Peak level, 45 minutes in | 61 mg | 26 mg |
| Time to fall below 40 mg | 4 and a half hours | already below |
| Latest for an 11 pm bedtime | 6:34 pm | any time |
| Servings to reach 400 mg | 6 | 13.8 |
What the numbers mean
Matcha has more than double the caffeine of brewed green tea. Both are the same plant. With green tea you steep the leaves and throw them away. With matcha the leaf is ground to powder and drunk whole.
A cup of green tea stays under the 40 mg sleep threshold. A cup of matcha does not, and a cafe matcha latte is often made with a double measure. Treat matcha as a small coffee and green tea as something you can drink in the evening.
The full page for each
Common questions
Which has more caffeine, matcha or green tea?
Matcha. One 8 oz cup holds 67 mg, against 29 mg in one 8 oz cup of green tea: 2.3 times as much.
Which is the better choice late in the day?
Green tea. One serving stays under 40 mg, so it can be had at any hour. For an 11 pm bedtime matcha needs to be finished by 6:34 pm.
How many servings of green tea equal one matcha?
About 2.3. One 8 oz cup of matcha holds 67 mg and one 8 oz cup of green tea holds 29 mg.
How many can I have in a day?
Going by the 400 mg daily limit for healthy adults: about 5 servings of matcha or 13 of green tea, if that is the only caffeine you have. Anything else with caffeine in it counts toward the same limit.
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Where these numbers come from
Every figure is calculated with the model the Cira app uses: caffeine peaks 45 minutes after you take it and halves every 5.7 hours, a typical value for healthy adults. The 40 mg sleep line is a working threshold of the model, and the 400 mg daily limit is the figure used by the European Food Safety Authority and the US FDA. These are averages. Smoking, pregnancy, the contraceptive pill and some medicines change how fast you clear caffeine. How the numbers are worked out.
