Pu-erh tea: caffeine, brewing and taste

A cup of pu-erh tea (237 ml) usually has 13–40 mg of caffeine, about 27 mg on average (28% of a cup of filter coffee).

At a glance

Type	Microbially fermented tea
Caffeine per cup	13–40 mg
mg / 100 ml	11.4
Cups to reach 400 mg a day	14
Water temperature	95–100 °C
Steeping time	2–3 min

How it is made

From Yunnan, China. Pu-erh is fermented by moulds, bacteria and yeasts (not the enzymatic oxidation of black tea). Raw (sheng) pu-erh is aged for years; ripe (shou) pu-erh is made by "wet piling", which takes about 45–60 days.

Taste

Young raw pu-erh is often strong, bitter and astringent; well-aged it turns smoother and earthy. Ripe pu-erh has a fermented, earthy taste.

How to brew

About 95–100 °C; in traditional gongfu brewing (85–99 °C) the first infusion lasts just 12–30 seconds and later ones get slightly longer.

For caffeine figures we assume 2 g of dry tea per cup (237 ml).

Brewing timer →

Steeping time and caffeine

Longer steeping releases more caffeine. Calculated for 2 g of tea per cup.

Time	Caffeine per cup
2 min	8–26 mg
3 min	11–34 mg
4 min	12–37 mg
5 min	13–40 mg

When to drink it

Caffeine's half-life is usually 3–7 hours (we use about 5), so after 5 hours roughly half a cup's caffeine can still be in the body. About 100 mg before bed may affect sleep (EUFIC).

Last cup tool →

Frequently asked questions

How much caffeine is in pu-erh tea?

A cup of pu-erh tea (237 ml) usually has 13–40 mg of caffeine, about 27 mg on average (28% of a cup of filter coffee).

How do you brew pu-erh?

About 95–100 °C; in traditional gongfu brewing (85–99 °C) the first infusion lasts just 12–30 seconds and later ones get slightly longer. For caffeine figures we assume 2 g of dry tea per cup (237 ml).

Is pu-erh tea good in the evening?

A cup has about 27 mg of caffeine. After 5 hours roughly half can remain, so sensitive people may prefer earlier in the day. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others.