Does matcha have more caffeine than coffee?

Usually not, per serving. A 2020 review in the journal Molecules reports that matcha powder contains about 18.9–44.4 mg of caffeine per gram, so a typical 1–2 g serving of whisked matcha supplies roughly 19–89 mg, while an 8-ounce cup of brewed or drip coffee has about 100 mg (MedlinePlus puts four 8-ounce cups at about 400 mg). Gram for gram, though, matcha powder is richer in caffeine than coffee beans (about 10–12 mg/g in the same review), and because you consume the whole ground leaf it delivers more caffeine than steeped green tea. A large café matcha latte made with 3–4 g of powder can therefore match or exceed a regular cup of coffee.

Source: Kochman et al., “Health Benefits and Chemical Composition of Matcha Green Tea: A Review,” Molecules 26(1):85 (2020), via PubMed Central; coffee figure from MedlinePlus, “Caffeine in the diet”.

Image: “Matcha” by rumpleteaser from Nagoya, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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