Coffee vs green tea: calories compared

Caffeine is the clear difference. In USDA survey data an 8 fl oz cup of brewed coffee has about 96 mg, and a cup of hot green tea, 8 fl oz (240 g), about 29 mg, under a third as much. The FDA cites 400 mg a day, about two to three 12 fl oz cups of coffee, as an amount not generally linked to negative effects in most adults.

Coffee's effect on cholesterol depends on the filter. Across 14 trials, unfiltered coffee raised total and LDL cholesterol, while filtered coffee raised it very little. Boiled, Turkish and French press coffee carry similar amounts of cafestol, enough to predict a cholesterol rise at 5 cups a day. Green tea lowered systolic blood pressure by only about 1.1 mmHg across 36 trials.

Green tea has one catch. A single 5 fl oz (150 mL) cup taken with the beta blocker nadolol cut the drug in the blood by about 63% in 11 volunteers, and tea an hour before still cut it by 46%. If you take nadolol, ask your prescriber about green tea.

In pregnancy, stay at or below 200 mg of caffeine a day: about two 8 fl oz cups of coffee or roughly 7 cups of green tea. If you keep coffee, filtered brewing is the change that counts.

Both drinks are close to zero. What you add is what counts. In three large US cohorts, each extra daily cup of unsweetened coffee went with about 0.26 lb (0.12 kg) less weight gain over 4 years, while each teaspoon of added sugar went with 0.2 lb (0.09 kg) more. These are observational links, and they are small.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E A cup of hot brewed green tea (240 g) carries about 29 mg caffeine and 2.4 calories in US survey data. USDA FNDDS, Tea, hot, leaf, green, FDC 2710490
2. Level E The FDA cites 400 mg of caffeine a day, about 2 to 3 cups of coffee, as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most adults. US Food and Drug Administration, Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much? (consumer update)
3. Level A A meta-analysis of 14 coffee trials found that unfiltered coffee raises total and LDL cholesterol in a dose-dependent way, while filtered coffee does not. Am J Epidemiol, 2001
4. Level A In the same meta-analysis of 14 trials, filtered coffee produced very little rise in blood cholesterol. Am J Epidemiol, 2001
5. Level A Across 36 RCTs in adults, green tea supplementation lowered systolic blood pressure by about 1.1 mmHg and diastolic by about 1.1 mmHg. Blood Press, 2025
6. Level B One cup of brewed green tea taken with the beta blocker nadolol cut its blood exposure by about 63% in 11 healthy volunteers, and by 46% when drunk an hour before. Br J Clin Pharmacol, 2020
7. Level E According to the same Nordic review, pregnant women should keep caffeine at or below 200 mg a day, the EFSA safe level for the fetus. Food Nutr Res, 2024
8. Level C A cup of hot brewed green tea has about 29 mg of caffeine in USDA survey data, so 200 mg a day equals roughly 7 cups. USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 92303010, Tea, hot, leaf, green (fdc_id 2710490)
9. Level C In three large US cohorts, each extra daily cup of unsweetened coffee was linked to 0.26 lb (0.12 kg) less weight gain over 4 years, for both caffeinated and decaf. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2023 (Henn et al., changes in coffee intake, added sugar and long-term weight gain)
10. Level C In the same cohorts, each teaspoon of sugar added to coffee was linked to 0.2 lb (0.09 kg) more weight gain over 4 years, while cream or whitener was not. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2023 (Henn et al., changes in coffee intake, added sugar and long-term weight gain)
11. Level C In dual radioisotope studies, one cup of coffee with a hamburger meal cut non-heme iron absorption by 39%, compared with 64% for tea. Am J Clin Nutr, 1983
12. Level C Coffee drunk 1 hour before a meal did not reduce iron absorption, but coffee drunk 1 hour after the meal reduced it as much as coffee drunk with the meal. Am J Clin Nutr, 1983
13. Level E US survey coding puts brewed coffee at 40 mg caffeine per 3.5 oz (100 g), so an 8 fl oz cup carries 96 mg and a large 600 g cup 240 mg. USDA FNDDS, Coffee, brewed (FDC 2710375)
14. Level C Lab measurement of 27 coffee samples found about 4.4 mg of cafestol per cup in unfiltered coffee, similar to boiled, Turkish and French press coffee, enough to predict a 0.33 mmol/L cholesterol rise at 5 cups a day. Nutr J, 2011

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Coffee: the paper filter is the health intervention
• Green tea: small measured effects and two drug clashes

What the studies say

• Does black coffee help with weight loss? Barely: 0.26 lb (0.12 kg) less gain per daily cup in 4 years
• Does coffee cause anxiety? Caffeine does, and the dose decides how much
• Does coffee cause bloating? It moves the gut, and no trial has measured bloating
• Does green tea help with weight loss? About a kilo, and Cochrane found none outside Japan
• Is green tea safe during pregnancy? A few cups, likely yes. Extracts are another matter

Rankings and guides

• Calories: what it does and what the evidence shows
• Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories?
• Dietary fat: what it does and how much you need
• Coffee: full nutrition facts
• Green tea: full nutrition facts

More comparisons

• Coffee vs tea
• Green tea vs black tea

• Coffee: USDA FoodData Central, Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water, FDC ID 171890 · full profile · all forms of coffee
• Green tea: USDA FoodData Central, Beverages, tea, green, brewed, regular, FDC ID 171917 · full profile · all forms of green tea

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.