How much caffeine is in Pu erh tea?

How much caffeine is in Pu erh tea?

The caffeine content in Pu erh tea can vary significantly. Various factors such as the specific harvest, type of tea, processing and even the season can affect how much caffeine ends up in your cup.

Factors affecting caffeine content in Pu erh tea

The caffeine content in Pu erh tea is not fixed. It depends on a series of variables that can affect the final result.

The species

There are two main types of Pu erh tea: Sheng (raw) and Shou (boiled). Sheng Pu erh is traditionally produced by drying and naturally fermenting the leaves. This type of tea usually has a higher caffeine content. On the other hand, Shou Pu erh undergoes an accelerated fermentation process, which lowers the caffeine conten^[1].

Processing

The process of harvesting and processing the tea can also affect its caffeine content. For example, tea leaves that ferment longer tend to have less caffeine.

The season

The season in which tea is harvested can also affect its caffeine content. A study in the journal European Journal of Pharmacology found that tea leaves picked in spring tend to contain more caffeine than leaves picked in other seasons^[2].

Order Pu erh tea

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Hugs,

Admar

Footnotes

1. Langley-Evans S. C. (2000). Antioxidant potential of green and black tea determined using the ferric reducing power (FRAP) assay. International journal of food sciences and nutrition, 51(3), 181–188.
2. Lin, J. K., Lin-Shiau, S. Y., Lin, C. L., & Chen, H. F. (1996). Theaflavin-3,3'-digallate from black tea blocks the nitric oxide synthase by down-regulating the activation of NF-kappaB in macrophages. European Journal of Pharmacology, 308(2), 219-224.