Short version: a grande hot Starbucks black tea like Royal English Breakfast runs about 40mg of caffeine, a grande green tea like Emperor's Clouds & Mist sits around 16mg, and the herbal teas (Mint Majesty, Peach Tranquility) are a flat 0mg. The matcha and chai lattes are the outliers, climbing to 80mg and 95mg at grande. So "Starbucks tea" covers a range from zero to nearly a shot of espresso, depending on what leaf is in the cup.
I have pulled these off tickets for years, and the number that surprises people most is how little caffeine a straight brewed tea carries next to a Pike Place. If you switched to tea to cut back, you probably did, but not by as much as you think on the black and matcha side.
Why the leaf matters more than the size
Hot brewed teas at Starbucks are made with sachets, not a continuous brew, so caffeine tracks the number of sachets, not the ounces. A short and a tall both get one sachet, a grande and a venti both get two. That is why Royal English Breakfast reads the same 40mg from short all the way to venti: the water goes up, the tea does not. Green teas follow the same pattern at a lower level because green leaf simply has less caffeine to give.
The lattes break that rule. Matcha and chai use a measured powder or concentrate that scales with size, so those climb steadily from short to venti. Herbal blends have no true tea leaf at all, which is why they land at zero no matter what you order. Numbers below are compiled from Starbucks nutrition pages, Oh How Civilized, and Caffeine Informer.
Starbucks tea caffeine by drink and size
| Tea drink | Short | Tall | Grande | Venti |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal English Breakfast (hot) | 40mg | 40mg | 40mg | 40mg |
| Earl Grey / London Fog latte (hot) | 40mg | 40mg | 40mg | 40mg |
| Jade Citrus Mint brewed green (hot) | 16mg | 16mg | 40mg | 40mg |
| Emperor's Clouds & Mist green (hot) | 1mg | 1mg | 16mg | 16mg |
| Matcha green tea latte (hot) | 30mg | 55mg | 80mg | 110mg |
| Chai tea latte (hot) | 50mg | 70mg | 95mg | 120mg |
| Mint Majesty / Peach Tranquility herbal | 0mg | 0mg | 0mg | 0mg |
Iced tea runs on a different build. Iced black and green teas (tall/grande/venti/trenta) come in around 20mg, 25mg, 40mg, and 50mg. Iced matcha latte is roughly 55mg tall, 80mg grande, 110mg venti, and iced chai latte tracks about 70mg tall, 95mg grande, 120mg venti, matching the hot versions since the concentrate is the same.
For context, the FDA cites 400mg of caffeine a day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults. How caffeine affects you depends on your own tolerance and health, so treat these numbers as information, not advice.
Reading the menu like a barista
A few practical notes from behind the bar. If you want the lowest non-zero caffeine, order a green tea, not a black one, and keep it short or tall. If you want zero, the herbal blends are your only true guarantee, since a "green tea lemonade" still carries the green tea's caffeine. And if you ordered a chai thinking tea means mellow, know that a grande chai at 95mg is close to a shot and a half of espresso. It is the most caffeinated thing most people would call a tea on the menu.
One more that trips people up: any Refresher labeled as a "tea lemonade" or "green tea" is still real tea, so it is not caffeine free even though it drinks like a cooler. If a customer wants a truly zero drink, steer them to a Mint Majesty or Peach Tranquility, or an iced version of the same herbal sachet over ice. Everything else on the tea wall has at least a trace, and the black teas and lattes have plenty.
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Related caffeine guides
FAQ
Which Starbucks tea has the most caffeine? The chai tea latte, at about 95mg for a grande and 120mg for a venti, since it uses a concentrate rather than a single sachet.
Are Starbucks herbal teas caffeine free? Yes. Mint Majesty and Peach Tranquility contain no true tea leaf and register 0mg of caffeine at every size.
Does a bigger size mean more caffeine in brewed tea? Not always. Hot brewed teas are made with sachets, so a short and tall share one sachet and a grande and venti share two, which is why Royal English Breakfast reads 40mg from short to venti.