People are often trying to reduce their caffeine content, especially if they’re drinking lots of tea in a day. I normally recommend herbal teas, which sometimes raises the question of if there’s caffeine in herbal teas – such as peppermint tea.

So here’s the guide on the question does peppermint tea have caffeine … Starting with a quick answer!

How much caffeine does peppermint tea have? When made authentically, peppermint tea contains no caffeine content. The only way any tea can have caffeine is if it’s made using the tea plant “Camellia Sinensis”. Peppermint tea is made using the peppermint plant, which has zero caffeine, therefore, peppermint tea is caffeine free.

But, I should also caveat this by stating that many beverages can contain trace elements of many other ingredients.

Minerals for example would also be present in peppermint tea in small trace elements. This is because peppermint is of course a plant and plants obtain minerals from the ground when growing, this is then passed through to any type of end product that uses the peppermint as the source.

That said, the caffeine content is likely to be so low that you would need to run a science experiment to ascertain the quantity.

So let’s get into a few more details…

Although we call it peppermint “tea”, it is actually a herbal infusion. This is because peppermint tea is made by infusing the flavor of peppermint leaves into hot water. 

This zero caffeine content doesn’t apply only to peppermint tea but to pretty much most of the herbal drinks or any tea that’s made without using the “Camellia Sinensis” tea plant

When can your peppermint tea have caffeine?

Depending on your purchase, some peppermint tea could potentially contain caffeine.

This is because some peppermint teas are blended with caffeine-based teas, i.e, one of the four types of tea black, green, white, or oolong.

Black, green, white or oolong tea are made using different varieties of “Camellia Sinensis”. 

So if you want a peppermint tea with a kick of caffeine over an authentic peppermint tea, be sure to check the label and go through the ingredient and nutrient list.

If the nutrient list shows no caffeine, then it’s an authentic peppermint tea. 

Again the content of caffeine in each of the true tea varieties differs, so depending on what other types of tea are added to your peppermint tea and the ratio (Peppermint leaves to tea leaves ratio) the caffeine content in your peppermint tea can vary. 

Below is a comparison of the caffeine content in other types of tea.

This can help you better analyze which type of peppermint tea – with additional tea varieties added – could have the least caffeine content. 

Comparison of caffeine content in other types of tea

• Black Tea – 40-70 milligrams of caffeine for an eight-ounce serving.
• Green Tea – 35-45 milligrams of caffeine for an eight-ounce serving. The caffeine content in green tea is less than black tea and may add a moderate caffeine kick to your peppermint tea. 
• Oolong tea – 37-55 milligrams of caffeine for an eight-ounce serving. This is similar to the range of caffeine in green and black tea.
• White tea – 15-30 milligrams of caffeine for an eight-ounce serving. This tea has the lowest caffeine content and if you want only a mild caffeine flavor for your peppermint tea, this could be a good choice. Along with all the other benefits of white tea. 

But what if you wanted to include a “caffeine hit” into your peppermint tea? Well here’s how to add caffeine. 

How to add caffeine to peppermint tea

If you’re making an authentic peppermint tea at home and want to add a punch of caffeine to it, it’s easy.

First, make a regular black tea using tea leaves of your choice – or tea bags if you must! and the amount of caffeine you want – based on the type of tea chosen, black tea has the most caffeine content, so this would probably be an ideal choice.

Adding caffeine with fresh peppermint leaves

Once the tea has steeped long enough, strain the tea if you’re using tea leaves and add fresh peppermint leaves to your tea …and let it infuse for a further 5-8 minutes.

If you’re using tea bags, you can “dunk” the tea bag and let it steep …while at the same time adding the fresh peppermint leaves to let the flavor infuse.

Once complete, you can take away both the tea bags and the leaves and enjoy your tea – or you can leave the peppermint leaves in. 

Adding caffeine with dried peppermint leaves

If you’re using dried peppermint leaves and loose leaf tea leaves, you can add both of them together and let them steep for between 3-8 minutes, depending on the mint flavor and the strength of the tea you want.

Note – the more tea bags or tea leaves you use, the more the caffeine your peppermint tea will contain.

So …peppermint tea with a shot of caffeine? Why not give it a try? This is the beauty of tea, there are so many ways to try it and enjoy it.