Does coffee have more caffeine than tea?

The common misconception that tea is 'more caffeinated' stems from looking at the raw material: dry tea leaves contain roughly 3.5% caffeine by weight, whereas green coffee beans typically hold 1.1–2.2%. However, this ignores the reality of the producer’s supply chain and the consumer’s brewing method. In practice, coffee preparation requires a much higher mass of plant material per unit of water than tea. A standard 8-ounce cup of coffee uses roughly 10–15 grams of ground beans, while a cup of tea uses only 2–3 grams of leaves. Furthermore, coffee extraction is highly efficient at the temperatures used in standard brewing, pulling the alkaloid into the solution rapidly. From a producer’s perspective, caffeine is a natural pesticide for both the Coffea and Camellia sinensis plants, evolved to deter herbivores. While farmers manage these crops for flavor profiles—such as the delicate amino acids in shade-grown tea or the complex sugars in high-altitude Arabica—the caffeine content remains a byproduct of the plant's defense mechanism. The 'jolt' associated with coffee is not just a result of higher total caffeine, but also the speed of extraction and the volume of solids dissolved in the cup. While steeping time and water temperature can manipulate caffeine levels in tea, they rarely bridge the gap created by the sheer density of coffee grounds used in a standard brew.