How much caffeine does milk tea hide as a stimulant?
A cup of milk tea can carry roughly the caffeine of 3.5 cups of americano, and sometimes more. The Shanghai Consumer Council tested dozens of local milk tea products and found an average of 270 mg of caffeine per cup, with a high of 428 mg. That already tops the 400 mg daily limit recommended by the USDA and the European Food Safety Authority.
Coffee as a stimulant works through caffeine, which temporarily blocks drowsiness and boosts alertness. Milk tea, energy drinks, and tea beverages are all hidden sources. For sensitive people, intake can bring insomnia, anxiety, and irritability, and heavy long-term use may speed calcium loss and raise fracture and osteoporosis risk. Sugar and toppings add further burden.
In recent years, milk tea has become a daily drink for young people, but its hidden caffeine content is often overlooked. Studies have shown that a cup of milk tea may contain as much caffeine as three or more cups of Americano, and may even exceed the recommended daily intake. This article reviews the sources of caffeine in milk tea, its health effects, and consumption tips to help coffee lovers and milk tea enthusiasts make more rational drink choices. At the same time, it also reminds readers to pay attention to the extra health burden brought by sugar and toppings. Whether you choose coffee or milk tea, understanding the ingredients is the only way to drink with peace of mind.
For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)
For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex
Today, the topic #The caffeine in 1 cup of milk tea exceeds that in 3 cups of Americano# made it onto Weibo's trending list. In fact, caffeine is not only found in coffee; milk tea also contains a considerable amount of caffeine, and even some energy drinks and tea beverages are hidden sources of caffeine.
Under normal circumstances, the caffeine content in a cup of milk tea is roughly equivalent to that in about 3.5 cups of Americano. Many people have had this experience: after drinking milk tea, they find it hard to fall asleep at night, and the culprit behind this is very likely caffeine.
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that can temporarily dispel drowsiness and help boost alertness. However, for sensitive individuals, caffeine intake may cause discomfort such as insomnia, anxiety, and irritability. Excessive intake can also accelerate calcium loss and increase the risk of fractures and osteoporosis, and long-term heavy consumption may even affect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
Previously, the Shanghai Consumer Council tested dozens of local milk tea products, and the results showed that the average caffeine content in a cup of milk tea reached 270 mg, with the highest value at 428 mg, already exceeding the daily upper limit of 400 mg of caffeine intake recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the European Food Safety Authority.
The Shanghai Consumer Council also specifically reminded that the caffeine content in tea leaves is 2%-4%, higher than that in coffee beans. Because new-style milk tea is affected by the types of ingredients and on-site preparation techniques, its sugar content is also generally high, and special groups such as children, pregnant women, and patients with high blood pressure or heart disease should especially avoid excessive consumption.
It can thus be seen that the way people consume caffeine in daily life is not necessarily coffee, but may also be milk tea or other beverages on the market, such as Red Bull, cola, and lemon tea, all of which contain a certain amount of caffeine. Usually, the caffeine in one bottle of beverage will not be excessive, but if you drink two to three cans every day over the long term, you may experience problems such as insomnia due to excessive intake. Therefore, when choosing drinks, be sure to pay more attention to their caffeine content and avoid taking in too much.
Moreover, more and more toppings are appearing in new-style tea drinks today, such as pearls, boba, taro balls, taro paste, sago, grass jelly, nata de coco, and so on. These choices are enough to dazzle the eyes and have long become a beloved part of milk tea culture. But their sugar content is immeasurable, and consuming large amounts of sugar and trans fat can cause health risks such as obesity.
CCTV also once reported an investigation into the health index of milk tea. Through the investigation, it was found that among mainstream tea beverage brands on the market, a cup of milk tea actually contained an average of 13 sugar cubes, with caffeine equal to 3/4 cup of Americano, and its sugar content and caffeine content had already far exceeded expected limits.
As young people pursue higher standards of health and quality, new-style tea beverage brands have now begun to attach great importance to the selection of ingredients, and the consumer era of "fresh milk, fresh tea, fresh fruit" has become standard in this new-style tea beverage industry. At the same time, they are also paying more attention to making drinks healthier and tend to choose low-sugar and low-fat products. Concepts such as zero sucrose, plant-based, and no additives have brought more inspiration to new tea beverage companies when launching new products.
But no matter how it changes, milk tea still cannot do without tea leaves, so consumers who are very sensitive to caffeine still need to be extremely careful. When buying milk tea, it is recommended to avoid milk tea with a strong tea flavor as much as possible, or to choose a small cup of milk tea as much as possible, and the choice of toppings must also be controlled, controlled, and controlled again.
Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
