Matcha has roughly 25 to 35 mg of caffeine per gram of powder. What that means for your cup depends on serving size, which varies more than most people realize. A light morning bowl, a strong afternoon bowl, a sweetened cafe latte, and a tablespoon-heavy smoothie are not the same caffeine experience.
That per-gram rule anchors everything below. The exact number depends on cultivar, harvest, shading time, and how much powder you actually use. If "the exact number" is what you came here for, the caffeine table below gets you most of the way there.
One caveat first: a "heaping teaspoon" is not a unit. Put twenty heaping teaspoons on a kitchen scale and you'll see anywhere from 2.1 to 3.4 grams (level teaspoons run 1.4 to 2.0), which is why the table says "about 2 to 3 grams" for a heaping scoop rather than something more confident. If you're doing caffeine math by teaspoon, the variation in your scoop is bigger than the variation in the matcha.
Buy a scale.
Quick caffeine guide
| Serving | Approximate matcha | Estimated caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Light bowl (usucha) | 1 gram | 25 to 35 mg |
| Typical daily bowl | 1.5 to 2 grams | 40 to 70 mg |
| Strong bowl or latte | 2 to 3 grams | 50 to 105 mg |
| Koicha (thick) | 4 grams | 100 to 140 mg |
| 1 teaspoon | About 1.5 to 2 grams | 40 to 70 mg |
| 1 heaping teaspoon | About 2 to 3 grams | 50 to 105 mg |
| 1 tablespoon | About 6 grams | 150 to 210 mg |
| 1 ounce (28 g) of matcha powder | About 28 servings | About 700 to 980 mg total in the tin |
These are estimates, not lab values. Matcha is an agricultural product, and two tins from the same brand can vary 10 to 20 percent in caffeine content.
Why the variability
Three things move the number inside that 25 to 35 mg window. Cultivar sets the baseline: samidori and okumidori run typical-to-high, and some older cultivars run lower. Shading does most of the rest; the weeks under shade before harvest concentrate both L-theanine and caffeine, so a hyperpremium matcha shaded for six weeks sits at the top of the range, while culinary grades, shaded less, sit lower.
Grind and freshness matter too. Stone-milled, fresh matcha extracts more efficiently than older or coarser-ground powder. Same gram, slightly more bioavailable caffeine.
Matcha vs coffee caffeine
A standard 8-ounce drip coffee has 95 to 200 mg of caffeine. A typical matcha bowl (1 to 2 grams of powder) has 25 to 70 mg, so coffee usually carries three to five times the caffeine per serving. The difference in how matcha caffeine feels (slower onset, longer duration, no crash) is covered in our piece on why matcha caffeine lasts longer.
How to adjust your serving
Want less caffeine? Use 0.5 to 1 gram of matcha per cup. Cold-brew tastes milder, but don't count it as less caffeine: you consume the whole gram of powder no matter the water temperature.
Want more? Move to 2 to 3 grams. A strong bowl gets you into single-espresso territory. I wouldn't go above that for daily drinking without watching how you sleep.
If you're pregnant, the math changes. The standard 200 mg daily caffeine cap leaves room for two or three light (1-gram) bowls of matcha. Always check with your doctor. More detail in our pregnancy guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much caffeine is in 1 gram of matcha?
About 25 to 35 mg.
How much caffeine is in a teaspoon of matcha?
A level teaspoon is roughly 1.5 to 2 grams, so 40 to 70 mg. A heaping teaspoon can run higher. We keep a short page on caffeine in a teaspoon of matcha if the teaspoon is your unit of choice.
How much caffeine is in a tablespoon of matcha?
About 6 grams of matcha, which works out to 150 to 210 mg of caffeine. Most people don't drink a tablespoon at once; smoothie recipes that call for one are quietly delivering coffee-strength caffeine.
Does matcha have more caffeine than green tea?
Per gram of leaf, yes. Steeped green tea only pulls 12 to 22 mg per gram into the cup (25 to 45 mg per 8-oz serving); matcha delivers its full 25 to 35 mg per gram because you consume the whole leaf. Per cup, a light bowl and a steeped cup land in the same range.
Is matcha caffeine the same as coffee caffeine?
Chemically, yes. It absorbs and feels different because of L-theanine, which matcha has and coffee doesn't. See our L-theanine piece.
The number to remember
Estimate 25 to 35 mg of caffeine per gram of matcha. Most daily drinkers use 1 to 2 grams per bowl, which puts a typical cup in the 25 to 70 mg range. For the broader explainer, see "does matcha have caffeine?". And if you're calibrating your serving for the first time, our daily-drinking matcha collection is the place to start.