Does tea type predict caffeine?
Almost every source states that white tea is lowest and black is highest. The catalogue cannot support that ordering, and this comparison explains why rather than substituting a different ranking.
tea type
What is being compared
Why these get confused
This comparison makes no health claim and gives no figures. It exists to explain why the ordering everyone has heard is not reliable.
Point by point
| Aspect | White tea | Black tea |
|---|---|---|
| The common belief | Lowest in caffeine. | Highest in caffeine. |
| Why it is unreliable | Bud-only grades use the part of the plant with the highest concentration. | Brewing, leaf grade and cultivar move the figure more than category does. |
| What actually matters | Leaf weight, water volume, temperature, steep time and which infusion. | The same five variables. |
| What TeaHQ records | An estimate for 11 of 261 teas, each with its five-part basis stated. | The same. |
| What TeaHQ will not do | Infer a figure from category. | Infer a figure from category. |
The short answer
Category is a poor predictor. Matcha and gyokuro measure above many black teas, and a confident ordering by type is the most commonly repeated wrong thing about tea.
Not a ranking. TeaHQ publishes no ratings and does not know your occasion.