Does green tea have caffeine? The answer is yes.
But before you snap your fingers and opt for a different beverage, let’s cover the question more fully; there are nuances to green tea of which you may not be aware.
Your typical green tea has between 24 and 45mg (milligrams per 8-ounce cup) of caffeine.
Compare that to black tea (which comes from the same plant; the difference is how the leaves are processed that makes black tea black), which contains 14 to 70mg. Steep time affects how much caffeine stays in your cup. Then compare these to coffee at 95 to 200 mg of caffeine.[1]
1. Less Caffeine
If your aim is to reduce caffeine intake, green tea is an easy switch. It can be drunk hot or cold, sweetened or not. If you replace one cup of coffee with one cup of green tea, you’ve reduced the amount of caffeine you would have ingested by two thirds.
2. Breathe Easier
In addition to caffeine, green tea contains two alkaloids called theobromine and theophylline that are similar in molecular structure and noticeable effect as caffeine.
Theobromine stimulates the heart and is a mild diuretic. It is the stimulant naturally found in cocoa as well.
Toxic to dogs, theobromine has been found to be an effective cough suppressant because it soothes the muscles of the respiratory system.[2] Theophylline also relaxes bronchial muscles, making it easier to breathe.