Verified
“100 mg of each per serving.”
The panel declares 100 mg caffeine anhydrous and 100 mg L-theanine per capsule.
Nutricost Caffeine with L-Theanine 100 mg / 100 mg Review
SAC StudioBest Value 1:1CONSIDER
7.7/10SAC Product Score™
How the score breaks downHide breakdown
SAC Product Score™ — how it breaks down
- Ratio & Dose vs the Trials30%6.5
- Ingredient Sourcing & Form20%6.8
- Testing & Manufacturing20%8.6
- Dosing Flexibility & Practicality15%8.4
- Value15%9.4
Buy it if you want cheap caffeine with some theanine; know it is not the studied ratio
✓ Buy if…
- You want the cheapest caffeine capsule with theanine in it
- You already take extra L-theanine and want to top up caffeine
✗ Skip if…
- You want the 1:2 ratio the trials used
- You are vegan; the capsule is gelatin
Read the full analysis
✓ Also buy if…
- You want third-party testing at a budget price
✗ Also skip if…
- You want natural caffeine
Nutricost's combo is the value buy: 240 capsules of 100 mg caffeine anhydrous and 100 mg L-theanine for around $14, with non-GMO, gluten-free, third-party tested and GMP marks in the gallery. The catch is on the panel: 100 mg of theanine to 100 mg of caffeine is a 1:1 ratio, half the theanine the placebo-controlled trials paired with their caffeine, and the capsule is gelatin with rice flour, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate and silica.
How we built the SAC Product Score™ — 7.7/10
Ratio & Dose vs the Trials30%6.5/10
100 mg caffeine to 100 mg L-theanine is a 1:1 ratio, half the theanine the trials paired with caffeine; the weakest trial match on the list.
Ingredient Sourcing & Form20%6.8/10
Anhydrous caffeine and unbranded L-theanine in a gelatin capsule with rice flour, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate and silica.
Testing & Manufacturing20%8.6/10
Third Party Tested, GMP compliant facility, non-GMO and gluten-free marks in the gallery quality panel.
Dosing Flexibility & Practicality15%8.4/10
One 100 mg capsule per dose, 240 per bottle; adding a second capsule doubles the caffeine, not just the theanine.
Value15%9.4/10
About $0.06 per capsule, the lowest price on the list.
The product at a glance
- Form
- Gelatin capsule
- Serving
- 1 capsule
- Count
- 240 capsules (240 servings)
- Per serving
- 100 mg caffeine anhydrous, 100 mg L-theanine
- Other ingredients
- Rice flour, gelatin capsule, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate (vegetable source), silica
- Seals
- Non-GMO, gluten-free, third party tested, GMP compliant facility (gallery)
- Cost per dose
- ~$0.06 per capsule
Marketing claims vs. reality
Verified
“Third party tested.”
Third Party Tested and GMP compliant facility appear in the gallery quality seals alongside non-GMO and gluten-free.
Partial
“The smart caffeine stack.”
Caffeine plus theanine is the studied stack, but at 1:1 this product carries half the theanine per milligram of caffeine that the trials used.
What our test actually found
01Right idea, wrong ratio
Every trial that showed the combination beating caffeine alone used more theanine than caffeine, usually twice as much. Nutricost's equal split is a caffeine pill with a theanine garnish, not the studied pairing.
02Unbeatable on price
Six cents a capsule with third-party testing is hard to argue with if caffeine is what you are actually buying. Add your own theanine and it becomes a workable 1:2 stack for about twelve cents.
Pros & cons, no sugar-coating
Pros
- About $0.06 per capsule, 240 per bottle
- Third-party tested and GMP in the gallery
- Simple, quantified formula
Cons
- 1:1 ratio, half the studied theanine
- Gelatin capsule, not vegan
- Generic anhydrous caffeine with five excipients
A good caffeine pill that is not quite the combo the trials used
Buy it as cheap, tested caffeine with a little theanine. Do not buy it expecting the smooth-focus effect of the 1:2 products; add a separate 100 mg theanine if you want that.
Affiliate link — Super Achiever Club earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
If this doesn’t fit — try these
Zhou Energy + Focus
8.8/10Natural coffee-bean caffeine and 200 mg L-theanine in a vegetable capsule with three excipients, lab-verified in Utah, at thirty-five cents a dose — the cleanest 1:2 capsule on the list.
See it on the list →Natural Stacks Smart Caffeine
8.7/10The same 100/200 pairing with green-coffee-bean caffeine, a third-party-lab-tested mark on the bottle and a QR code to the batch results — the most verifiable label here.
See it on the list →Sports Research L-Theanine + Caffeine
8.6/10Branded AlphaWave L-theanine and organic PurCaf caffeine from green coffee beans in a coconut-MCT softgel — the best-sourced actives on the list, in a form you cannot split.
See it on the list →Sources & further reading
- Haskell CF, Kennedy DO, Milne AL, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB. Biol Psychol. 2008;77(2):113-22.Haskell CF, Kennedy DO, Milne AL, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB · 2008 · Biological Psychology · PMID 18006208
The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood
150 mg caffeine with 250 mg L-theanine improved speed and accuracy of rapid visual information processing and reduced susceptibility to distraction versus placebo, while theanine alone slowed some reaction times.
- Rogers PJ, Smith JE, Heatherley SV, Pleydell-Pearce CW. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008;195(4):569-77.Rogers PJ, Smith JE, Heatherley SV, Pleydell-Pearce CW · 2008 · Psychopharmacology · PMID 17891480
Time for tea: mood, blood pressure and cognitive performance effects of caffeine and theanine administered alone and together
200 mg L-theanine blunted the blood-pressure rise produced by 250 mg caffeine, while caffeine's alerting effect on cognition was preserved, in a placebo-controlled study.