Green tea
The default pick. Leaves are 30-40% polyphenols by dry weight, mostly catechins such as EGCG, and a 240 ml cup brewed at 70-80°C for 2-3 minutes carries 20-50 mg of caffeine.
Tea for clear skin, measured
Green tea has the clearest skin case of any brew: its leaves are 30-40% polyphenols by dry weight, mostly catechins such as EGCG, and a 240 ml cup carries only 20-50 mg of caffeine. Black tea and matcha earn their place inside a daily caffeine budget, chamomile covers the caffeine-free evenings, and the routine that goes with them is three morning steps ending in SPF 30 plus two evening steps built around a beginner retinol. Everything below is measured — milligrams per cup, degrees, percentages and weeks.
This is not a shop, a clinic or a detox plan — it is an independent reference on what brewed tea and a minimal topical routine can and cannot do.
Scroll the strip sideways — 6 cards.
The default pick. Leaves are 30-40% polyphenols by dry weight, mostly catechins such as EGCG, and a 240 ml cup brewed at 70-80°C for 2-3 minutes carries 20-50 mg of caffeine.
The whole leaf is consumed, so the catechin content arrives intact — along with 60-70 mg of caffeine per 2 g serving. Count it as a strong cup, not a light one.
The strongest common brew at 40-70 mg of caffeine per 240 ml cup. Four to five cups reach the 400 mg daily ceiling on their own, so it earns its place by being counted.
True herbal infusions contain no tea leaf and carry 0 mg of caffeine. They fill the evening slot once the day's caffeine budget is spent.
Blocks about 97% of UVB at the tested dose of 2 mg/cm² — roughly a quarter teaspoon for face and neck. SPF 50 adds about one percentage point, not double the protection.
Start at 0.25-0.5% inside the 0.1-1% over-the-counter range. The classic failure is the retinol burn — redness and flaking from starting nightly instead of twice weekly.
Three parts
Green tea first, matcha when you want the strongest serving, black tea inside a budget, chamomile after dark.
Green tea is the default answer because of what the leaf itself holds: 30-40% polyphenols by dry weight, mostly catechins such as EGCG. Brewed at 70-80°C for 2-3 minutes, a 240 ml cup delivers those catechins for only 20-50 mg of caffeine — the cheapest caffeine price per cup among the true teas covered here.
Matcha is the concentrated form of the same idea. Because the powder is whisked into the water and the whole leaf is consumed, the catechin content of the leaf arrives in the cup intact — along with 60-70 mg of caffeine per 2 g serving, more than a standard cup of green tea. It is the richest serving and the heaviest spend at the same time.
Black tea at 40-70 mg per cup is a perfectly reasonable daily brew as long as it is counted, and chamomile or other true herbal infusions carry 0 mg because they contain no tea leaf at all. The full comparison, including what this reference declines to guess about white and oolong teas, sits on the companion page /teas-for-skin.
| Brew | Serving size | Caffeine | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green tea | 240 ml cup | 20-50 mg | Leaves are 30-40% polyphenols by dry weight, mostly catechins such as EGCG |
| Matcha | 2 g powder, whisked | 60-70 mg | The whole leaf is consumed, so the leaf's catechin content arrives in the cup |
| Black tea | 240 ml cup | 40-70 mg | The strongest common brew; four to five cups alone reach the daily ceiling |
| Chamomile and true herbals | 240 ml cup | 0 mg | No tea leaf and no caffeine — the caffeine-free evening option |
| Daily reference point | per day | 400 mg | The commonly cited caffeine ceiling for healthy adults |
Each card carries the numbers that decide where the item fits in the day.