Is Green Tea Acidic or Alkaline?
Green tea (prepared) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Green tea is practically zero at −0.2 per 100 ml. Only a small amount of potassium passes from the leaves into the water, and almost no protein. The brew is almost entirely water, with 0 kcal per 100 ml. For your daily balance it's as neutral as mineral water, no matter how many cups you drink.
In the Drinks category, green tea (prepared) ranks #53 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Radler (beer with lemonade) (−0.2), Mineral water, still (−0.2), Mineral water (−0.2). More acid-forming are Tonic water (−0.2), Iced tea (lemon, sweetened) (−0.2), Orange soda (−0.2).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is green tea acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Green tea (prepared) has a PRAL of −0.2 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does green tea count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At −0.2 per 100 ml, green tea is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Green Tea logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
Free for Android · iPhone coming soon
Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.