tea and coffee comp image
Spilling the tea on caffeine (Picture: Getty)

Is there a better way to start your morning than with a nice cup of tea or coffee?

No, is the answer. Nothing beats a warm drink, a dose of much-needed caffeine, and the sound of a boiling kettle to wake you up.

Or perhaps you get yours on the way to work via Pret, Starbucks, Costa, or an independent café, and add in a pastry too – a small but appreciated treat to start the day.

Your routine is probably set in stone by now, as is your hot beverage of choice: tea or coffee.

One’s got a reputation for being chock-full of caffeine (coffee) while the other is seen as a more mellow approach to perking up.

But out of curiosity, is it really true that tea is less caffeinated than coffee? Let’s find out.

Is there more caffeine in coffee or tea?

Different choices of tea and coffee
What’s the buzz? (Picture: Getty)

The answer is probably to be expected: typically, there’s more caffeine in a cup of coffee.

A single coffee could have as much as 93mg of caffeine in it.

Though it does depend on what type you drink. A shot of espresso will have less, as it’s a much smaller beverage.

Meanwhile, black tea with milk tends to have around 47mg of caffeine per mug, according to BBC Good Food. Herbal teas naturally don’t contain caffeine, nor do fruit teas.

And of course, you can get decaf versions of tea and coffee if you like a warm drink without the caffeine kick.

Interestingly, tea brand Twinings points out that it’s been shown that a tea leaf technically has more caffeine than a coffee bean – but those numbers go out the window when you consider how each drink is brewed.

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The amount of caffeine that customers get per cup differs drastically from cafe to cafe.

Research from VoucherCloud shows a Mocha from Greggs has 233mg of caffeine in a cup, while the equivalent from Caffè Nero has just 85mg.

This is worth keeping in mind when choosing where to purchase your morning pick-me-up.

For those of you looking for something a little more hardcore, you should try theDevil Mountain Coffee Company’s Black Label coffee.

This drink packs a serious punch, boasting a whopping 1555 mg per 350 ml – about the size of a large coffee.

Drinker discretion is advised.

MORE : How to make the perfect cold brew coffee, according to a head roaster

MORE : Three iced tea recipes that are perfect for keeping you cool (even beyond summer)

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