# Tea & Your Health: Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to our tea wellness FAQ. We get a lot of questions about what's actually in your cup and how it affects your body. Below are the answers we give most often, in plain language. None of this is medical advice, but it should help you understand why tea makes you feel the way it does.

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**Is tea actually good for me, or is that just marketing?**

It's genuinely good for most people in moderation. Tea is mostly water, it's naturally low in calories when unsweetened, and the leaf carries a handful of compounds that researchers find interesting. The two worth knowing about are the antioxidants and a calming amino acid called L-theanine.

**What are the antioxidants in tea?**

The headline antioxidants in tea are a family of compounds called catechins. The most studied one is EGCG, short for epigallocatechin gallate, which is especially concentrated in green tea. These catechins are the reason tea shows up so often in conversations about everyday antioxidant intake.

**What is L-theanine?**

L-theanine is an amino acid that is nearly unique to the tea plant. You will not find it in most of the foods you eat day to day, which is part of what makes tea special. It dissolves into your cup as the leaf steeps, and it's responsible for a lot of the "settled" feeling people describe after a good brew.

**Does L-theanine actually do anything, or is it a buzzword?**

It does something, and it's our favorite thing about tea. On its own, L-theanine nudges you toward a calm, relaxed state. The interesting part is what happens when it teams up with the caffeine that's also in the leaf.

**So how do caffeine and L-theanine work together?**

This is the magic of tea. Caffeine gives you alertness, but on its own it can feel sharp. L-theanine smooths out that edge. Together they produce a calm, focused alertness, what we like to call "awake without the jitters." It's a steadier, gentler lift than coffee's jolt, and it's why so many people can drink tea and still feel composed rather than wired.

**Does tea have caffeine at all? I thought it was the "calm" drink.**

Yes, tea absolutely has caffeine. The tea plant produces it naturally, just like the coffee plant does. Tea earns its calm reputation from the L-theanine working alongside that caffeine, not from being caffeine-free.

**How much caffeine is in a cup of tea versus a cup of coffee?**

A cup of tea generally has noticeably less caffeine than a cup of coffee. As a rough rule, a cup of black tea carries about 47 mg of caffeine, while a standard cup of drip coffee comes in around 95 mg. So cup for cup, your tea is delivering roughly half the caffeine of the coffee sitting next to it.

**Why does that difference matter?**

It matters because it gives you more room to enjoy multiple cups across the day without overdoing it. With coffee at around 95 mg a cup, two or three cups add up fast. With black tea at about 47 mg, you can sip more freely and still keep your total intake comfortable.

**Will drinking tea late at night keep me up?**

It can. Because tea contains caffeine, drinking it too close to bedtime can disrupt your sleep, just as coffee can. The dose is gentler, but it's still a stimulant. If you're sensitive, treat that evening cup with the same caution you'd give an evening coffee.

**What can I drink in the evening instead?**

Reach for a caffeine-free herbal infusion, sometimes called a tisane. Things like chamomile, peppermint, rooibos, or lemon balm aren't made from the tea plant, so they carry no caffeine and won't interfere with winding down.

**How late is too late for regular tea?**

It depends on the person. Caffeine can linger in your system for hours, so a good general habit is to switch to caffeine-free options in the late afternoon or early evening. If you metabolize caffeine slowly, give yourself even more of a buffer before bed.

**Can tea stain my teeth?**

It can, and the culprit is a group of compounds called tannins. Tannins are part of what gives tea its body and that slightly drying, brisk mouthfeel, but over time they can leave staining on tooth enamel, especially with strong, frequent brewing.

**How do I keep tea from staining my teeth?**

A few simple habits help: rinse with water after your cup, don't let strong tea sit on your teeth all day in slow sips, and keep up your normal brushing routine. Adding a splash of milk can also soften the effect for some drinkers.

**Does tea affect how I absorb iron?**

Yes, and this is another tannin story. The tannins in tea can bind iron in your digestive tract and reduce how much of it your body absorbs, particularly the plant-based (non-heme) iron from foods like beans, lentils, and leafy greens.

**Should I be worried about the iron thing?**

For most people eating a varied diet, no. But if you've been told you're low in iron or you're prone to deficiency, it's smart to separate your tea from your iron-rich meals. Drinking tea between meals rather than alongside them sidesteps most of the binding effect.

**Is green tea healthier than black tea?**

They come from the same plant; the difference is processing. Green tea is less oxidized, so it tends to hold onto more of those catechins like EGCG. Black tea is more oxidized, which develops different compounds and a bolder flavor. Both are good choices, so drink what you enjoy.

**Does tea count toward my daily water intake?**

Yes. Despite an old myth that tea dehydrates you, a normal cup of tea is mostly water and contributes to your hydration. The caffeine levels in everyday tea are far too low to have any meaningful dehydrating effect.

**Can I drink too much tea?**

You can have too much of anything. The main thing to watch is total caffeine, since it adds up across cups. Very heavy tea drinking can also mean a lot of tannins, which circles back to the staining and iron points above. Moderation keeps tea firmly in the "good for you" column.

**Does adding milk cancel out the benefits?**

This comes up a lot. Milk changes the mouthfeel and can soften the tannins, but for everyday drinkers it doesn't meaningfully erase the value of your cup. Drink it the way you like it.

**Is sweetened tea still healthy?**

The tea itself is fine; it's the added sugar that changes the math. A heavily sweetened tea or a sugary bottled tea can carry a lot of calories. If health is your goal, lean toward unsweetened or lightly sweetened brews.

**Bottom line: why do people say tea makes them feel good but not wired?**

Because of the pairing we keep coming back to. Tea gives you caffeine for alertness but at a gentler dose than coffee, and it gives you L-theanine to keep that alertness calm and focused. The result is steady, smooth energy rather than a spike and crash. That balance, more than anything, is why tea has earned its reputation as the thinking person's pick-me-up.
