How Much Caffeine Is in White Tea? Lab Numbers by Brew
A cup of white tea has roughly 6 to 36 mg of caffeine per 8 fl oz, depending mostly on steep time and water temperature. In a 2025 HPLC study, a 2-minute steep at 80 °C produced just 5.8 mg per 200 mL, while longer, hotter brews reached 30.6 mg. Per gram of dry leaf, white tea carries about the same caffeine as green tea.
White Tea Caffeine at a Glance
| White tea, how brewed | Caffeine | mg per fl oz | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 g leaf in 200 mL, 80 °C, 2 min | 5.8 mg per 200 mL | 0.86 | Ayakdaş & Ağagündüz 2025 |
| Same leaf, longest/hottest brews in the study (up to 100 °C, 10 min) | up to 30.6 mg per 200 mL | up to 4.52 | Ayakdaş & Ağagündüz 2025 |
| Commercial white, green and black teas, 6 or 8 oz serving | 14 to 61 mg per serving (no trend by tea type) | not split by type | Chin et al. 2008 |
| Per gram of dry leaf (1 g in 100 mL, 80 °C, 3 min) | 16.79 mg/g (green 16.28, black 17.73, oolong 19.31) | n/a | Boros et al. 2016 |
| USDA FoodData Central | no white tea entry; nearest: green tea 12 mg per 100 g (about 29 mg per 8 fl oz cup) | 3.6 (green) | USDA FNDDS / SR Legacy |
| Ito En Teas' Tea Organic Green + White Tea (bottle, blend) | about 75 mg per 16.9 fl oz | 4.4 | itoen.com |
| For scale: brewed coffee, USDA | 96 mg per 8 fl oz (40 mg per 100 g) | 12.0 | USDA FNDDS |
Source: Ayakdaş & Ağagündüz 2025, Boros et al. 2016, Chin et al. 2008, USDA FoodData Central, Ito En product page; read Oct 31, 2026. mg per fl oz computed (200 mL = 6.76 fl oz).
Why White Tea's Caffeine Ranges So Widely
Steep time is the single biggest lever. In the Ayakdaş 2025 study, longer brewing "significantly raised" both caffeine and L-theanine across all six tea types. White tea went from 5.8 mg per 200 mL at 80 °C for 2 minutes to 30.6 mg at the longest, hottest extraction, from the same 2 g of leaf.
Temperature matters too. Pan et al. 2018 found that 100 °C was optimal for extracting caffeine from Fuding white teas, and that Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) and Shou Mei yielded more major compounds than Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needle).
Bag vs. loose leaf made no significant difference to white tea's caffeine in Ayakdaş's data. Black tea was different: its bags released 39 mg per 200 mL versus 24 mg for loose leaf under the same conditions (100 °C, 10 min).
Does White Tea Have Less Caffeine Than Green Tea?
Not per gram of leaf, and only sometimes per cup. Boros et al. 2016 measured white tea at 16.79 mg/g of caffeine, green at 16.28, black at 17.73, and oolong at 19.31, using the same extraction for all samples.
Per cup, the order depends on how each tea is brewed. At 80 °C for 2 minutes, Ayakdaş found white tea at 5.8 mg per 200 mL versus green at 11 mg, but oolong came in even lower at 4 mg. Chin et al. 2008 measured 20 commercial teas and reported "no observable trend in caffeine concentration due to the variety of tea," with white, green and black all falling between 14 and 61 mg per serving.
White Tea vs Coffee
Even at the high end of the brewing range, white tea delivers far less caffeine than coffee. The top figure in the Ayakdaş study (30.6 mg per 200 mL) scales to about 36 mg per 8 fl oz cup. USDA FoodData Central lists brewed coffee at 40 mg per 100 g, or 96 mg per 8 fl oz cup, well above the strongest white tea brew in the lab.
USDA has no standalone white tea caffeine entry. "White tea" appears only inside blend descriptions in FoodData Central. The nearest comparable entry is brewed green tea at 12 mg per 100 g, about 29 mg per cup. For a full comparison of teas ranked by caffeine, see the tea-for-energy guide.
Bottled and Bagged White Tea
Ito En's Teas' Tea Organic Green + White Tea lists approximately 75 mg per 16.9 fl oz bottle (4.4 mg per fl oz, computed). That is a green-and-white blend, not pure white tea, and the 16.9 oz bottle holds more liquid than a standard teacup.
Most white tea bag brands do not print a caffeine number on their own sites. If you need a figure, check the box or the brand's nutrition page directly.
Theanine in White Tea
Ayakdaş measured just 1.8 to 4.3 mg of L-theanine per 200 mL in white tea infusions, well below the 12 to 13 mg found in black and green teas at 80 °C for 2 minutes. That ratio is worth knowing if you drink white tea expecting a high-theanine cup. For a deeper look at theanine across teas and foods, see L-theanine in tea, matcha and foods.
How Much Is Too Much?
The FDA cites 400 mg of caffeine a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most adults. Even the strongest white tea brew in the Ayakdaş study (about 36 mg per 8 fl oz) is roughly 9% of that figure.
If you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your healthcare provider about caffeine limits.
Related from Roon
- Tea for Energy: Which Teas Have the Most Caffeine?
- Does Oolong Tea Have Caffeine?
- Does Matcha Have Caffeine?
- L-Theanine in Tea, Matcha and Foods
Frequently Asked Questions
Does white tea have caffeine?
Yes. White tea comes from the same Camellia sinensis plant as green, black and oolong tea, and all of them contain caffeine. Lab measurements put white tea between about 6 and 36 mg per 8 fl oz cup, with shorter, cooler steeps at the low end and longer, hotter steeps at the high end.
Is white tea good before bed?
The caffeine per cup is low compared to coffee, but it is not zero. A 2-minute steep at 80 °C still delivered 5.8 mg per 200 mL in the lab. If you are sensitive to caffeine or want a truly caffeine-free evening drink, herbal teas like chamomile or peppermint contain none.
Does Silver Needle have more caffeine than White Peony?
Not by the closest data available, though it is not settled. Pan et al. 2018 found that Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) and Shou Mei yielded higher levels of major compounds than Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needle) when brewed at the same temperature. The abstract does not isolate caffeine from other compounds, so an exact caffeine-only comparison between the two is not available from that study.
How does white tea caffeine compare to sweet tea?
Sweet tea is usually made with black tea, and in the Ayakdaş data black tea released more caffeine than white at 80 °C for 2 minutes (14 vs 5.8 mg per 200 mL). For sweet tea's own figures, see the sweet tea caffeine breakdown.
When Tea Is Too Light for the Afternoon
White tea is built for subtlety, and that is what makes it appealing. But when you need a reliable, known dose of caffeine after lunch and a cup of white tea could be anywhere from 6 to 36 mg, subtlety is a problem.
Roon is an oral pouch you place under the lip. Each pouch delivers 80 mg caffeine, 60 mg L-theanine (the same amino acid found in tea, at a stated dose), 25 mg methylliberine (Dynamine) and 5 mg theacrine (TeaCrine). Zero nicotine, zero sugar, Cool Mint flavor.
The reason for the methylliberine: in a randomized, double-blind crossover PK study (n=12), co-administering methylliberine with caffeine extended caffeine's half-life from 7.2 to 15 hours and cut oral clearance from 41.9 to 17.1 L/hr, with no increase in peak concentration (study). That study used 100 mg methylliberine and 150 mg caffeine, about 4x and 1.9x the amounts in a single Roon pouch. Roon's felt window of 6 to 8 hours reflects the same mechanism directionally, not the study's exact numbers. And a longer half-life means caffeine lingers: allow at least 8 hours between your last pouch and bedtime.
Roon runs from $9.16 per tin on a 12-tin subscription, as little as $0.61 per pouch. If white tea is your morning ritual, keep it. But when the afternoon calls for something with a fixed dose and a longer tail, Roon is worth a look.
Sources
- Ayakdaş G, Ağagündüz D. "Determination of L-Theanine and Caffeine Contents in Tea Infusions with Different Fermentation Degrees and Brewing Conditions Using the Chromatographic Method." Foods 2025;14(13):2313. PubMed / PMC
- Boros K, Jedlinszki N, Csupor D. "Theanine and Caffeine Content of Infusions Prepared from Commercial Tea Samples." Pharmacogn Mag 2016;12(45):75-79. PMC
- Chin JM, Merves ML, Goldberger BA, Sampson-Cone A, Cone EJ. "Caffeine Content of Brewed Teas." J Anal Toxicol 2008;32(8):702-4. PubMed
- Pan J et al. "Comparison of the Main Compounds in Fuding White Tea Infusions from Various Tea Types." Food Sci Biotechnol 2018;27(5):1311-1318. PubMed
- USDA FoodData Central: Green tea, brewed, Coffee, brewed
- FDA. "Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?" fda.gov
- Ito En. Teas' Tea Organic Green + White Tea. itoen.com
Written by Roon Team
