Matcha Caffeine

The short version: a 2 g bowl of matcha carries roughly as much caffeine as an espresso, but most drinkers experience it very differently.

How much caffeine is in matcha

A standard 2 g bowl holds around 60 to 70 mg of caffeine. An espresso lands at 60 to 80 mg, a filter coffee often higher. So matcha is not the light option, it is the even option.

Why it feels different

Matcha is whole leaf, ground. You drink the leaf instead of an extract, so the caffeine releases more gradually. It also comes paired with L-theanine, an amino acid naturally present in shaded tea leaves. Most drinkers describe the combination as steady focus without the spike and crash.

How to dose it

• One bowl in the morning is the standard. A 30 g tin is 15 bowls, a 100 g refill is 50.
• A second bowl works in the early afternoon. After 16:00 it will keep most people up.
• For a gentler start, make a latte: same 2 g, softened by milk. See Matcha for Lattes.

New to whisking? The 4-step guide covers everything from water temperature to the W motion.