The 9 Best High Caffeine Teas

If you want a tea bag that hits like coffee, Zest Blue Lady is the one to try. Zest says each pyramid bag holds about 150 milligrams of caffeine, on par with a mug of brewed coffee, in a black tea scented with passion fruit, orange and hibiscus. It brews well hot or poured over ice. The fruity aroma can seem sweet to plain-tea drinkers, and two cups before lunch add up fast.

Republic of Tea HiCAF gets its extra kick from green tea extract and caffeine drawn from tea leaves, blended here into a cinnamon toast black tea. The maker rates this flavor at 116 milligrams per small cup and posts a figure for every HiCAF flavor, so you can plan your day. Fifty bags come in a tall canister. Stevia sweetens the mix, and its aftertaste can put some drinkers off.

For a gentler morning lift, Bigelow Peak Energy Plus pairs about 75 milligrams of caffeine per cup with extra L-theanine, a compound tea already contains that Bigelow pitches for steady focus. The base is a plain black tea that takes milk well. Every bag is sealed in its own foil pouch, handy for a desk drawer or a gym bag. Heavy coffee drinkers may find the lift too mild, and it comes only as a six-box case.

Chai drinkers who want coffee-strength caffeine can turn to Kubo Lion's Mane Chai. It mixes black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and orange peel with added green tea caffeine, and Kubo claims 155 milligrams per bag. The spices come through warm without much bitterness, and it brews hot or over ice in bags made from plants rather than plastic. The lion's mane mushroom is pitched for brain support, but that idea rests on thin research.

A low-cost way into strong tea, Tazo Awake is a bold, malty organic English breakfast blend with no caffeine added. Tazo puts it in its top caffeine tier, at more than 60 milligrams a cup, and asks for a full five-minute steep, which draws out more of it. The flavor stands up to milk and sugar. Underneath, it's still a plain breakfast tea, so it won't hit like a boosted blend.

Coffee drinkers who like an earthy, dark cup often settle on Numi Emperor's Pu-erh. It's a fermented tea from old tea trees in China's Yunnan province, and Numi labels it high in caffeine without giving a number, since harvest and brewing change each cup. It holds up to milk and also works iced. The deep, almost woodsy taste divides people, so a single box is a sensible first try.

Assam is the malty black tea that gives breakfast blends their punch, and Taylors of Harrogate Assam serves it straight. The leaf comes from estates in India's Brahmaputra valley, picked in the strong second flush, and each tagless bag holds a generous two and a half grams of tea. That makes a full, dark cup that takes milk well. Taylors gives no caffeine figure, and with no strings you'll want a spoon.

Here's a breakfast tea with nothing added: Numi Breakfast Blend mixes Assam, Ceylon and Darjeeling leaf, and Numi labels it high in caffeine from the leaf alone. The tea is organic and Fair Trade certified, and the bags are made from plants. It's bold enough for milk and steeps quickly for iced tea. Numi gives no caffeine number, and a box of 18 bags runs out fast for daily drinkers.

If you drink several mugs a day, Yorkshire Tea Red keeps the cost per cup low with 160 bags in one box. It's a British everyday black blend built for a strong, full brew, and the maker says to let it steep four to five minutes. Milk suits it well. Its caffeine comes from the leaf alone, and Taylors publishes no figure, so expect a sturdy mug rather than a coffee-level jolt.