You Need to Know How Much Caffeine is in Matcha

We’ve all seen videos of people making multiple matcha lattes a day with multiple teaspoons of matcha powder. I watch those videos and think to myself, “I would have a heart attack drinking that much caffeine!” (Have you ever wondered how much caffeine in matcha there is?)

People are free to drink however much they want (your matcha, your rules!) But as matcha continues surging in popularity and the quest to create deep, green matcha lattes becomes the norm, the caffeine in matcha is not as often discussed.

Do you know how much caffeine is in matcha (better yet, your matcha latte)? If not, you’ve come to the right place to find out how much caffeine is in matcha (and how much you’re consuming)!

Table of Contents

What is Matcha?

Matcha is a finely ground, powdered green tea made from young shaded green tea leaves. Its taste is slightly savory, umami, and perhaps grassy. Matcha is known for its vibrant green color and health benefits and is the main tea prepared in Japanese tea ceremonies.

Recently, thanks to social media, it’s been gaining popularity, to the point that there’s a slight matcha shortage with popular Japanese brands.

What is Caffeine?

Caffeine is a natural stimulant that occurs in more than 60 plants, including coffee, green tea, cacao, guarana, and more. The reason? Caffeine is a natural pesticide (toxic to many insects), so young plants produce it to protect themselves from predators.

If you tried gnawing on a young plant, you’d get a really unpleasant, bitter taste, which wards off any animal trying to eat it.

It’s also the most widely consumed psychoactive substance (aka drug) in the world. Just think of all the people who drink coffee, tea, and soda daily!

Does Matcha Have Caffeine?

Drumroll… Yes, matcha does have caffeine. How much caffeine is in matcha, you ask? Well, according to the Japanese Ministry of Forest and Agriculture, there is 3.2g of caffeine for every 100g of matcha.

A serving size of matcha is 1 teaspoon (or roughly 2 grams). So, in 1 teaspoon of matcha, there’s about 50 mg of caffeine. So in a matcha latte, there’s 50-100 mg of caffeine, depending on how many teaspoons are used.

Before we get into whether that is a lot of caffeine, let’s learn about why matcha has caffeine.

Why Does Matcha Have Caffeine?

As mentioned, young plants produce caffeine to fend off predators who either don’t like the bitter taste or are toxic to it. It’s important to note that it is in young plants.

Matcha powder is made from a specific tea leaf called tencha, which is from young, shade-grown tea plants that have an abundant amount of chlorophyll (the chemical that makes plants green) and caffeine. Because tencha is picked when they are young, the caffeine stays in the leaves and eventually ends up in your matcha powder!

Now, how much is too much?

Is Matcha High in Caffeine?

Many people have the misconception that matcha is low in caffeine, but that’s actually not the case. While caffeine amounts are subjective to how much you consume, objectively, matcha powder has a somewhat high level of caffeine per serving.

On the scale of caffeinated beverages, with green tea on the lower end and coffee on the higher end, matcha sits on the higher end:

2 shots of espresso (cafe standard): 128 mg of caffeine
1 teaspoon of matcha: 50mg caffeine
8 ounces of brewed green tea: 20-30 mg of caffeine

Here’s an extensive comparison table* of different caffeinated drinks to really paint a picture:

Drink Name	Caffeine Amount
Green tea	30-50 mg / 8 oz
Oolong tea	50-75 mg / 8 oz
Black tea	50-90 mg / 8 oz
Soda	20-50 mg / 12 oz can
Matcha powder	50 mg / tsp
Energy drinks	80 – 120 mg/can (brand dependent)
Instant coffee	60 – 90 mg / 8 oz
Brewed coffee	95 mg / 8 oz
2 espresso shots	120 mg (60 per shot)

*These are rough estimates, and the caffeine amount varies depending on brew style and concentration.

Caffeine in Matcha vs. Coffee

Now, I’m sure you’ve heard the caffeine in matcha is different from the caffeine in coffee. Many people, including myself, prefer matcha’s caffeine, and it’s also the reason why many switch from coffee to matcha to wean off of caffeine.

Crazy how the same chemical works differently in different things!

If you drink coffee, you’ll notice that you’ll feel the caffeine quickly and may become jittery, hypersensitive, and wired. We call that the caffeine high. But what comes up must come down, and in maybe an hour or 2, you’ll experience the caffeine crash.

With matcha, you’ll get a sustained energy boost without the intense side effects that coffee’s caffeine can give you.

What Makes Caffeine in Matcha Different? Matcha has a built-in amino acid called L-theanine that helps slow the effects of caffeine absorption. It’s in all green tea, however, it’s particularly high in matcha because it is shade-grown, which boosts amino acid production.

Does Matcha Keep You Awake?

They say that caffeine stays in your system for 8-10 hours after you’ve drunk it, so theoretically, if you drink matcha in the afternoon, you’ll be alert and awake in the evening. If you drink caffeine at 3 PM, it’ll stay in your system until 11 PM, minimum.

Caffeine affects everyone differently. Some people might be really sensitive to caffeine, while others might have a very high tolerance to it. For myself, caffeine inadvertently makes me stay up later, but I don’t have trouble falling asleep at all.

On the other hand, if you know you’re sensitive to caffeine, it’s best to drink it in the morning or earlier in the day!

But since matcha has quite a lot of caffeine in it, it could potentially make you stay awake.

How Long Does Caffeine in Matcha Last

Again, caffeine, no matter what drink or form it is in, will last roughly 8-10 hours in your body. The half-life (or time it takes for half of the amount to go away) of caffeine is 5 hours, so you can do the math!

However, you’ll probably feel the effects of caffeine in matcha differently than compared to in coffee or an energy drink. Usually, you feel the effects of caffeine in 15-30 minutes, and it can feel like a buzz or sort of high.

Many people, including myself, describe matcha’s caffeine as a smooth ride rather than a spike and a crash. It’s less intense and more sustainable in the long run due to the L-theanine in the matcha! This feeling usually lasts for the first 4-5 hours, which is nice!

Is Matcha Better Than Coffee For Anxiety?

If you or someone you know has anxiety, you’ll know that coffee is one of the worst things to drink because it can make it worse. Coupled with increased heart rate, tremors or jitters, and high blood pressure, caffeine can trigger anxiety.

It’s a sad thought knowing that if you love coffee, you can’t consume it by itself if you have anxiety. There are decaf options, but sometimes you just don’t want to drink it.

However, the L-theanine in matcha actually has soothing and stress-reducing properties (like this study discusses), which may be beneficial for anxiety! The same study found that ingesting matcha over 2 weeks decreased anxiety levels significantly. A different study found that the group with matcha had improved work and performance under stress, alluding to its calming effects.

So, it’s clear that matcha is definitely better than coffee for people with anxiety but still want an energizing drink.

Caffeine-Free Matcha?

However, if you are extremely sensitive to matcha or just want to avoid caffeine altogether, you might wonder if a decaf matcha exists. That way, you can enjoy the taste of matcha without the caffeine high.

And to that, I say, yes there is! Caffeine-free matcha or decaf matcha exists, although it’s not as widespread as regular matcha. It’s still a relatively niche product, but most large matcha brands will have a version of decaf matcha for sale.

Personally, I have never tried it (yet), but matcha is made decaf in a couple of ways. The most popular way is by a washed process, which soaks the leaves and extracts the caffeine out due to osmosis. However, this also extracts some of the flavor away as well, and as a result, the decaf matcha doesn’t have the same delicious flavor of regular matcha.

However, if you really want a caffeine-free version, this is a great alternative!

How Much Caffeine is Too Much?

The FDA says that 400mg of caffeine is the absolute max one person should have per day. To put it into perspective, that’s the equivalent of about 4 cups of coffee or 10 cans of soda.

Now, the amount of caffeine you can consume is dependent on your metabolism and body weight. Like alcohol, the body mass you have, the more substance you’ll need to feel the effects.

You may be able to intake 2 cups of coffee a day and be fine, while the other person is totally run through. But a general amount of caffeine people have per day is probably 70-120 mg a day, which is roughly 2 shots of espresso (a normal cafe standard per drink) or 2-3 g of matcha (roughly one strong matcha drink).

However, if you drink large amounts of caffeine every day, you may acquire long-term side effects. Long-term increased caffeine intake may lead to high blood pressure or caffeine withdrawal if you become dependent on it.

Effects of Caffeine. As mentioned, caffeine can also cause a fast heart rate, anxiety, and tremors. It may even cause dream-like or feeling “wired” as a result of caffeine overwhelming your nervous system. Not to mention that, especially with coffee, the caffeine and acid can irritate your stomach, which can cause diarrhea or irritable bowel.

Can You Drink Matcha Every Day?

Luckily, you can drink matcha (or even coffee) every day as long as you drink it in moderation. Having 1-2 g of matcha a day is totally normal and has low to medium amounts of caffeine that will pose little health risk.

Some people have a high tolerance to caffeine and can consume 4+ g of matcha per day, and sometimes more! But remember, each tsp of matcha, roughly 2 g, has about 50 mg of caffeine. If someone is consuming 8 g of matcha a day, that’s 200 mg of caffeine, which is under the 400 mg healthy daily limit.

On another note, because of the slow release of caffeine in matcha, you’re also highly unlikely to become addicted to it. (Yay!)

Like many things, as long as you consume in moderation, you can enjoy your daily cup of matcha! However, be sure you practice safe caffeine consumption practices:

Be aware of how much caffeine you’re consuming
Don’t mix caffeine with alcohol or medication
Exercise caution if you’re pregnant

How Much Matcha is Too Much?

Recently, there’s been discourse about how much matcha we should be drinking and whether there is a trend for overconsumption and thus pushing us towards a matcha shortage.

Besides the caffeine amount in multiple matcha lattes, people are also worried that people posting their matcha consumption and heavy-handed lattes are influencing people to consume more matcha powder than they need.

I think that people are hyperaware of other people’s consumption at the moment since good quality matcha powder is in short supply and is hard to get. Combine that with a feeling of unfairness and a scarcity mindset, and people online are more sensitive to others flaunting or sharing their matcha drinks and consumption (kind of like wealth, haha).

No one holds that same standard for coffee, which is always in constant supply. If people drink a lot of coffee, I believe that is up to their relationship with their body and caffeine consumption.

That being said, I think people can drink however much matcha they want, but in times of scarcity, to buy what they intend to drink. Aka the opposite of hoarding. Obviously, people are free to do what they want, but just sharing my thoughts on mindful consumption!

Make Your Next Matcha Drink

Now that we know a little more about how much caffeine there is in matcha, we can enjoy our beverages responsibly! Here are some matcha latte and drink recipes you should try next:

And if you’re new to matcha, welcome! Get familiar with what matcha is and how to prepare it properly!

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