Matcha vs. Coffee: The Caffeine Numbers
The assumption that coffee has more caffeine than tea holds up — when you compare brewed liquids.
Per 100 ml, Japanese composition data gives:
| Drink | Caffeine |
|---|---|
| Coffee | 60 mg |
| Instant coffee | 57 mg |
| Black tea | 30 mg |
| Sencha | 20 mg |
| Hojicha | 20 mg |
| Oolong | 20 mg |
| Genmaicha | 10 mg |
Coffee runs roughly three times sencha.
Matcha does not fit the table
Matcha is not brewed. You consume ground leaf, so a per-volume figure does not describe it.
Reference data quotes roughly 48 mg for 1.5 g of matcha in 70 ml of water — per serving rather than per 100 ml. The amount depends on how much powder you used.
Sweetened products depend on the blend
Only part of the powder is matcha; the rest is sugar, contributing nothing.
A sugar-heavy blend delivers less caffeine per 20 g than a matcha-forward one. Ingredient order gives a rough indication.
Different kinds of control
Coffee strength varies with dose, but extraction also responds to temperature, grind, and time.
Matcha has one variable. Halve the powder, halve the caffeine — the relationship holds cleanly, which makes it easy to plan around for evening drinking.
They occupy different roles
Coffee is usually taken alone, after a meal or during work.
Sweetened matcha carries sugar — about 4 kcal per gram, so 15 g of sugar in a 20 g serving is roughly 60 kcal. That places it closer to a snack.
Compared against black coffee, the categories do not align. Coffee with sugar and milk is the fairer comparison.
