- Default serving240 ml8.1 fl oz · Tea
- Counts toward goal240 mlthe full serving
- Hydration factor1.00same as water
- Calories2 kcal1 kcal per 100 ml
Move the slider to see what a bigger or smaller herbal infusion does to the numbers. The app uses the same figures.
Work out your daily drinking target with the water intake calculator.
Almost pure water
USDA figures for brewed chamomile and for other brewed herbal teas show 99.7 g of water per 100 g, 1 kcal or less, and no caffeine. (USDA FoodData Central) Hibiscus tea also shows 0 mg of caffeine. (USDA FoodData Central)
The Beverage Hydration Index trial tested black tea, hot and iced, and both were no different from still water. (Maughan et al., 2016) Herbal tea was not tested, and it has no caffeine at all. WaterChamp counts it at a hydration factor of 1.00, the same as water.
Which herbal drinks have caffeine
Most herbal teas have no caffeine. The common exceptions:
- Blends that include green or black tea leaves. The ingredients list says so.
- Yerba mate, an infusion from a South American holly, which releases caffeine and related stimulants (methylxanthines) into the cup. (Meinhart et al., 2010) It is logged as its own drink, with caffeine.
Decaf tea is real tea with most of the caffeine removed, and the FDA notes that decaf teas still contain some. (FDA) A cup of Decaf Tea counts as 2 mg.
Herbal drinks you can log
Herbal Infusion, Rooibos, Fruit Tea and Barley Tea all count at 0 mg of caffeine and a factor of 1.00. Turmeric Latte, made with milk, sits at 1.10. Since herbal tea has no caffeine, a late cup adds nothing to the bedtime figure in the caffeine calculator.
Questions
Does herbal tea count as water intake?
Yes. A cup counts in full toward your daily goal, the same as water.
Does herbal tea have caffeine?
Chamomile, hibiscus and most other herbal teas have none. Yerba mate and blends with tea leaves do.
Is herbal tea as hydrating as water?
Yes. It is 99.7% water and counts at the same factor as water.
Is rooibos caffeine-free?
Yes. Rooibos is a South African herbal tea with no tea leaves in it, and it counts at 0 mg.
Hydration factors follow the Beverage Hydration Index: Maughan RJ, Watson P, Cordery PA, et al. “A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016;103(3):717-723. Read the paper on PubMed. In WaterChamp a herbal infusion counts the same as plain water.
