Brewed green tea is mildly acidic, with a pH that typically falls between 5.3 and 6.6 depending on the brand and water used. That puts it close to neutral on the pH scale, making it one of the least acidic beverages most people drink regularly. For context, pure water sits at 7.0 (neutral), and anything below 7 counts as acidic.
How Acidic Green Tea Actually Is
A study published in the Journal of Food Science tested multiple brands of green tea brewed with different types of water. The results showed pH values ranging from about 5.38 (brewed with tap water) to 6.63 (brewed with mineral water). The type of water made a noticeable difference: mineral water produced a less acidic cup, while tap water pulled the pH lower.
These numbers place plain brewed green tea in the “weakly acidic” category. It’s far closer to water than it is to soda, juice, or even most bottled teas. Matcha, which uses the whole ground tea leaf rather than steeped leaves, falls in a similar range of roughly 5.5 to 7.0.
Green Tea vs. Coffee, Soda, and Bottled Tea
The gap between plain green tea and other popular drinks is significant. A large dental study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association measured the pH of hundreds of beverages available to American consumers. Here’s how green tea compares:
- Plain brewed green tea: pH 5.3 to 6.6
- Brewed coffee (Starbucks medium roast): pH 5.11
- Coca-Cola Classic: pH 2.37
- Pepsi: pH 2.39
- Mountain Dew: pH 3.22
- Sprite: pH 3.24
So plain brewed green tea is actually less acidic than coffee and dramatically less acidic than soda. Colas clock in around 2.3 to 2.4, which is roughly 1,000 times more acidic than a cup of green tea (each full point on the pH scale represents a tenfold difference).
Bottled and Flavored Green Teas Are a Different Story
This is where things change. The same dental study found that commercially bottled green teas with added flavoring were far more acidic than plain brewed green tea. Lipton Green Tea with Citrus measured at 2.93, nearly as acidic as a cola. Other flavored options like Crystal Light Green Tea Raspberry (3.11) and Arizona Diet Green Tea (3.29) were similarly low. The culprit is citric acid and other flavor additives, not the tea itself. If you’re concerned about acidity, the distinction between plain brewed green tea and bottled flavored green tea matters a lot.
What Affects Green Tea’s Acidity
Several factors shift the pH of your cup in either direction.
Water type is one of the biggest variables. Mineral water can push the pH of green tea up by more than a full point compared to tap water, based on the brewing study mentioned above. If you want a less acidic cup, mineral water is a simple fix.
Brewing temperature and time also play a role. Research in the journal Molecules found that brewing at higher temperatures (95°C/203°F) releases more organic acids, including gallic acid, especially as steeping time increases. Brewing at a lower temperature (60°C/140°F) produces a gentler extraction with lower acid levels. Green tea is traditionally brewed at lower temperatures than black tea or coffee, which is part of why it tends to be less acidic. Steeping for a shorter time, around two to three minutes rather than five or more, also keeps acidity lower.
Additives can change the picture entirely. Adding lemon drops the pH dramatically since lemon juice sits around pH 3. Milk, on the other hand, can nudge the pH slightly upward. Plain green tea without fruity additions stays in its naturally mild range.
Green Tea and Tooth Enamel
Tooth enamel starts to dissolve at a pH of about 5.5. Plain brewed green tea sits right around or above that threshold, meaning it poses minimal risk to your teeth compared to sodas, fruit juices, or flavored teas that drop well below 5.5. One lab study actually found green tea had a protective effect against enamel erosion, likely because of its fluoride content (the tea in that study measured 0.87 mg of fluoride per liter) and its natural plant compounds.
Flavored bottled green teas in the 2.9 to 3.3 pH range are a different matter. At those levels, they’re acidic enough to contribute to enamel erosion with regular consumption, putting them in the same category as sodas.
Green Tea and Acid Reflux
If you’re wondering whether green tea will trigger heartburn, the evidence is mixed but generally reassuring. A large survey study published in the Tzu-Chi Medical Journal found that drinking tea was not associated with reflux symptoms or damage to the esophagus. The researchers looked at tea, coffee, and added sugar or milk and found no significant link to reflux in either simple or complex statistical analysis.
That said, one cross-sectional study of nearly 2,900 participants did find that green tea drinkers had a slightly higher risk of gastroesophageal reflux, with an odds ratio of 1.44. The relationship is likely complicated by other dietary and lifestyle factors. Green tea contains caffeine, which can relax the valve between the esophagus and stomach in some people. If you already experience reflux, it’s worth paying attention to whether green tea seems to trigger it for you personally, but most people tolerate it without problems.
Keeping Your Green Tea Low in Acid
If you want to minimize acidity, you have several practical options. Brew with mineral or spring water instead of tap water. Use water around 70 to 80°C (160 to 175°F) rather than boiling, and keep steeping time to three minutes or less. Skip the lemon. And choose plain loose-leaf or bagged green tea over bottled varieties with added citrus flavoring, which can be three orders of magnitude more acidic than a simple home-brewed cup.