Leafreport Study Finds That Over Half of Tested CBD Teas & Coffees Had Inaccurate CBD Levels

These days you can find CBD in almost anything, including tea and coffee. But do these products contain as much CBD as advertised? Are you getting what you paid for?

To answer these questions, we bought 29 CBD-infused tea and coffee products and sent them for independent testing at SC Labs, one of the leading cannabis testing labs in the country.

We compared the test results to the amount and type of CBD listed on the product label and description. Here’s what we found.

Note: We’ve done similar third-party testing investigations of CBD oils, drinks, edibles, topicals, pet products, and even delta-8 THC. We also report on product prices to help people save money on CBD.

Discover our list of the best CBD drinks, based on criteria such as price, company reputation, and customer service. We also listed the best CBD gummies, best CBD oil, and other buying guides you can find here.

Summary

A little over half (52%) of the 29 products we sent for testing contained the wrong amount of CBD. They were off from the labeled CBD content by anywhere from 11.5% to 62%.

Here’s a look at the other key findings:

• Brands with multiple products scored well for one but had lower scores for another product, suggesting problems with consistency
• Out of 14 teas and coffees that were advertised to contain broad or full-spectrum hemp extract, 11 (79%) were accurate and 3 only carried CBD
• 14 (48%) of the tested products had CBD levels within 10% of the label, which is required for an A rating

In addition, we tested three hemp-containing teas and coffees that didn’t claim to provide a specific amount of CBD. The tests found CBD and other cannabinoids in all three.

Take a look at our buying guides

With such a wide variety of available CBD products, it’s not always easy to make a choice and find the right product for your needs.

Therefore, we examined dozens of brands, comparing their prices, third-party testing results, potency, hemp quality, and other factors.

We researched CBD products for different consumption methods and for different health conditions to help you find the most suitable ones.

• Best CBD oil – We chose these CBD oils from a list of over 3000 CBD products and 150 brands, comparing them by third-party lab test results, hemp quality, reputation, price, and other criteria.

• Best CBD gummies – Because there are so many CBD gummies out there, it can be difficult to figure out which product is suitable for your needs. We’ve compiled a list of some of the finest CBD gummies on the market. For those seeking a sleeping aid, we have also compiled a comprehensive list of the best CBD gummies for sleep. We did the same for the best CBD gummies for pain.

• Best CBD capsules – One popular delivery system is CBD capsules and softgels. These are used like any other capsule or softgel, which makes it a simple, convenient way to take CBD

• Best CBD for dogs & cats – There are a wide range of CBD products for pets out there, from tinctures and treats to balms, salves, and creams. Because interest in CBD has increased, more companies are creating pet-specific CBD items, which means we’re spoiled for choice. If you’re shopping for CBD pet products, you might be overwhelmed by all the choices out there

• Best CBD for pain – Many people use CBD products for pain relief. This isn’t surprising as research has shown that CBD can help with various types of pain. As part of our research, we compared dozens of CBD products in order to determine the most effective ones for treating pain. We also created a list of the Best CBD for Arthritis.

• Best CBD for anxiety – Our team of medical doctors, nutritionists, and other health experts chose these products based on their quality, transparency, price, and other criteria. For example, all of the products we recommend are tested by a third party lab to verify their potency and safety.

• Best CBD for sleep – However, the wide variety of available CBD products can be overwhelming. That’s why we researched and compared dozens of brands to find the best CBD ones for sleep.

• Best full spectrum CBD oil – Full-spectrum CBD is a whole-plant hemp extract. It contains the complete range of cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and potentially other compounds naturally present in hemp. We used our database to compare hundreds of CBD oils based on objective criteria. In this post, we’ll review the most effective full-spectrum CBD tinctures that we found.

Accuracy Rating

We measured the accuracy of CBD tea and coffee products by comparing how much CBD they’re advertised to have to the amount found by the third-party lab tests.

While some variation is expected for a natural product like hemp-derived CBD, it should still be within reasonable levels. Industry experts recommend that cannabis products should contain cannabinoid levels that are within 10% of the advertised amount.

In other words, CBD products should contain anywhere from 90% to 110% of the amount stated on the label to be considered accurate.

Using this 10% cutoff, we assigned products one of four ratings to represent their accuracy:

1. A (Excellent): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that were within 10% of what was stated on the label.
2. B (Decent): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that were within 20% of the label.
3. C (Poor): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that were within 30% of the label.
4. F (Fail): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that differed from the label by more than 30%.

CBD Third-Party Testing Explained

Third-party tests are done by an independent lab to confirm the safety and potency of CBD products. These tests are important because some products have incorrect CBD levels or might carry contaminants.

CBD companies choose to pay for testing to reassure customers that their products are safe and accurate.

The most important third-party test is called a cannabinoid profile or potency test. It measures the levels of CBD and other cannabinoids in a product.

This is the main test we order for our reports. Verifying the potency of a CBD product is important for several reasons:

• You want to know you’re getting exactly what you paid for
• A product with less CBD than claimed will be less effective
• A product with more CBD than claimed will make it harder to figure out your dosage

Certificate of Analysis (CoA)

We bought 29 CBD tea and coffee products and sent them to SC Labs, a reputable cannabis testing lab. The lab technicians tested the products and recorded the results in documents called certificates of analysis (CoAs).

Next, we compared the level of CBD shown on the CoAs to the advertised amount. We also looked at what other cannabinoids were detected by the tests, especially if the manufacturer claimed to use broad-spectrum or full-spectrum hemp extract.

For example, if a company sold CBD coffee that should contain 300 mg of CBD but the tests only showed 200 mg, that means it contained 33% less CBD than claimed.

This poor result would receive an F rating since you’d be getting much less CBD than you paid for.

How to Read CoAs

Most CBD companies publish third-party CoAs directly on their website. This way, it’s easy for you to confirm that a CBD product is safe and accurate before buying it.

Reading a CoA may seem difficult because of the scientific jargon and abbreviations, but it’s not that complicated. The main thing to look for is the section called “cannabinoids,” “cannabinoid profile,” “potency,” or something similar.

Here, you’ll see columns and graphs with names of cannabinoids such as CBD, THC, and others, and their amounts in percentages or milligrams (mg) per milliliter (ml), gram, serving, or unit.

If you want more tips for reading CoAs, check out our detailed guide.

Summary Table

Below is the summary of the test results for the 29 tea and coffee products we sent to SC Labs. Note that products with a minus sign under the variance column contained less CBD than stated on the label, while others had more.

You can see the detailed test results for each product at the bottom of the report, including three hemp-containing products that weren’t included in our analysis because they didn’t claim to provide a specific amount of CBD.

Disclaimer: Our report is based solely on the test findings. Test results may vary due to the natural variation of CBD levels in hemp, degradation of CBD and other cannabinoids over time, and other factors. Our findings should not be seen as conclusive, complete, error-free, or at all times methodologically or scientifically accurate.

Conclusion

A little over half (52%) of the tested tea and coffee products had inaccurate CBD levels. This means they had less than 90% or more than 110% of the labeled CBD content.

Despite this, the most common rating was an A, given to products that were within 10% of the advertised CBD amount.

Out of 29 tested products, 14 (48%) got an A, 8 (27.5%) got a B, 1 (4%) got a C, and 6 (20.5%) received an F. We also found that 11 of 14 products (79%) claimed to contain broad or full-spectrum hemp extract were accurate, while the remaining 3 only had CBD.

Considering that CBD tea and coffee products use smaller amounts of CBD and are harder to formulate than oils, these results are better than expected. For comparison, in our 2020 report on the related category of CBD beverages, only 18% of the products got an A.

Nonetheless, having more than 50% of products contain inaccurate amounts of CBD is not great. We also found that consistency remains a major issue. For example, when we tested two different products from the same brand, one always performed better than the other.

To sum up, our findings suggest that manufacturers are getting better at formulating CBD tea and coffee products. Still, they’re not as accurate as CBD oils and there’s plenty of room to improve.

If you’re planning on buying CBD tea or coffee, be sure to look for third-party tested brands and compare the label to the provided test results.

Detailed Test Results

Steve’s Goods CBD Coffee

Colorado’s Steve’s Goods offers many difficult-to-find hemp cannabinoid products. Its CBD coffee is advertised to have 360 mg of CBD, while our tests found 388.8 mg.

That’s a difference of 8%, which falls within the 10% cutoff for our A rating.

While that’s a good result, Steve’s Goods needs to do a better job of explaining how much CBD is in this product. The label and product description say “360 mg full-spectrum hemp extract” so it’s not clear if this is only including CBD.

The tests also showed THC and minor cannabinoids, confirming that this coffee is made with full-spectrum hemp extract.

Strava CBD Coffee

Strava specializes in CBD-infused coffee so we had high expectations. The company’s dark roast coffee should contain 250 mg of broad-spectrum CBD and actually had 230.5 mg.

That’s 7.8% less, so it gets a well-deserved A for accuracy.

The tests also found other minor cannabinoids but zero THC, verifying that this coffee is made with broad-spectrum hemp extract.

FloChi CBD Tea

FloChi is a brand of CBD-infused beverages owned by Irwin Naturals, a popular supplement company. We sent its Oolong CBD tea for testing, finding that it contained 31 mg of CBD.

That’s only 1 mg (3.3%) more than the advertised amount of 30 mg — one of the best results we saw.

Having said that, the tests didn’t detect any THC or minor cannabinoids, which should be present since FloChi claims this tea is made with full-spectrum hemp extract.

Diamond CBD Chill CBD Assorted Coffee & Tea

Diamond CBD is an established brand with a wide array of CBD products. Its Chill CBD assorted coffee & tea comes with 4 packs of 25 mg CBD for a total of 100 mg.

Our independent tests found 100.6 mg, which is only 0.6% higher than the label. That’s one of the best results out of any product we tested.

CBD Living CBD Matcha Tea

CBD Living is best known for its CBD-infused beverages so we had high hopes for its tea. We sent the company’s CBD matcha tea for testing, finding that it contains 240.9 mg of CBD — 3.6% less than the labeled 250 mg.

That’s a solid result that’s deserving of an A. The tests also found other cannabinoids and no THC, confirming that this tea is made with broad-spectrum hemp extract.

CBD American Shaman CBD Sparkling Tea

CBD American Shaman is a major brand whose product lineup includes CBD sparkling tea. It should contain 10 mg of CBD per bottle and our tests showed 9.8 mg, which is a difference of only 2.5%.

That’s a great result, especially since it’s harder to maintain accuracy when working with such small amounts of CBD.

Allo Bean & Bud CBD Coffee

The Bean & Bud coffee from CBD brand Allo should contain 320 mg of CBD. The test results came back with 299 mg, which is 6.6% lower.

That falls within the 10% cutoff needed for an A rating so it’s a great result.

Coldfire Roasters Nano Hemp Coffee

Coldfire Roasters is a small, veteran-owned company offering different kinds of CBD-infused ground coffee. We sent its Cuban espresso blend hemp coffee pods for testing, which should have a total of 60 mg CBD.

The tests found 59.7 mg, which is only 0.6% less than the label. That’s one of the best results we saw from any brand.

One Love Tea Blazin’ Berry Black Tea

One Love Tea specializes in a wide array of CBD-infused teas. We sent its Blazin’ Berry loose leaf black tea for testing.

The tests showed 202.6 mg of CBD, which is only 1.3% higher than the 200 mg listed on the label. That’s a great result so it gets an A.

There was also some THC and other cannabinoids detected in this product, suggesting that this tea is made with full-spectrum hemp extract.

Sun State Hemp CBD Ground Coffee

Sun State Hemp is a Florida-based CBD company. Its ground CBD coffee is advertised to have 300 mg of CBD.

Our tests found 294.6 mg, a difference of only 1.8%, so we gave it an A for accuracy. That’s a great result, especially since the brand is not that well known.

Glow Water Restore CBD Tea

Glow Water is a small company that only sells CBD-infused teas so we expected good results. Its Restore tea should contain 125 mg of CBD in total and the tests detected 127.9 mg, which is 2.3% higher.

That’s a relatively small difference so this product gets a well-deserved A.

Tranquility Tea Company CBD Coffee

The Tranquility Tea Company is an Oregon-based CBD beverage brand. Its ground CBD coffee should provide 900 mg of CBD and our tests found 953.6 mg, which is 6% higher.

That’s well within the 10% range for an A rating, which is a good result. The tests also detected THC and minor cannabinoids, confirming the company’s claim that this coffee is made with full-spectrum hemp extract.

Cadence Iced Cold Brew CBD Coffee

Cadence is a small, family-run cold brew coffee company. We sent its iced cold brew CBD coffee for testing, revealing a CBD content of 9.1 mg.

That’s 9% less than the advertised amount of 10 mg per can, so it falls within the 10% variance needed for an A rating.

The Brothers Apothecary Mellow Mint Hemp CBD Tea

The Brothers Apothecary is a popular CBD brand, especially if you’re looking for CBD-infused teas and superfoods. Its mellow mint hemp CBD tea is advertised to contain about 150 mg of CBD in total.

The tests found 150.84 mg, which is only 0.6% more than the label. That’s tied for the best result out of all the teas and coffees we tested.

The tests also detected THC and minor cannabinoids, confirming that this tea contains whole hemp.

CBD Living CBD Instant Coffee

Seeing how CBD Living is one of few brands offering a variety of CBD beverages, we also decided to test its instant coffee. Like the tea, it’s advertised to have 250 mg of CBD.

The tests showed an actual content of 283.1 mg, which is 13.3% higher. That’s not a bad result but it does fall short of the 10% cutoff so we gave it a B.

The tests also found small amounts of minor cannabinoids and zero THC, verifying that this is a broad-spectrum CBD product.

FloChi CBD Iced Coffee

FloChi offers both CBD tea and coffee, so we wanted to test both types of products. Its iced coffee should contain 30 mg of full-spectrum CBD but the tests detected only 24.2 mg.

That’s 19.4% less, which is just enough to get a B rating for accuracy. Not the greatest result but also not the worst, especially since it’s harder to make accurate products when using small amounts of CBD.

However, like FloChi’s tea, the tests didn’t find any THC or minor cannabinoids, which should be present in a full-spectrum CBD product.

Koi CBD Hemp Peach Iced Tea Shot

California’s Koi CBD is one of the biggest CBD brands on the market. We sent its peach hemp iced tea shot for testing, finding that it carried 27.9 mg of CBD.

That’s 11.5% more than the 25 mg stated on the label. Although this isn’t a bad result, it’s just shy of the 10% difference we expect for an A rating, so it gets a B.

Willie’s Remedy Hemp Infused Coffee

Willie’s Remedy is a CBD brand launched by famed country musician Willie Nelson. We sent its hemp-infused coffee for testing, finding that it contained 297.1 mg of CBD.

That’s 18.9% more than the advertised amount of 250 mg, so we gave this product a B. Not a bad result but not quite good enough to be considered accurate.

The test results also found THC and multiple minor cannabinoids, confirming that this is a full-spectrum hemp product.

Swiss Cannalife CBD Coffee Beans

The CBD coffee beans from Swiss Cannalife should contain 300 mg of CBD. Our tests found 345.6 mg, which is 15.2% higher.

That’s not a bad result but it does fall short of an A so we gave it a B. The tests also found the minor cannabinoid CBG and zero THC, confirming that this is a broad-spectrum hemp product.

Omni Oil CBD Infused Yerba Mate Tea

The CBD-infused yerba mate tea from Omni Oil doesn’t list the CBD content. Instead, the company tells shoppers to look at the attached lab results to see how much CBD they’re getting.

Our tests found a total of 223.8 mg of CBD, while the tests posted on the company’s website detected 195.7 mg. That’s a difference of 14.3%, which isn’t a bad result and falls under our B rating.

The tests also found THC and minor cannabinoids, verifying that this is a full-spectrum hemp product.

Humble Harvest Lemon CBD Tea

Humble Harvest is a brand offering USDA-certified organic CBD products. We bought its lemon CBD tea, which should have 30 mg of full-spectrum CBD per bottle.

The tests showed 26.3 mg, which is 12.2% lower. Not a bad result but a few percent short of our A rating.

However, the tests didn’t find any THC or minor cannabinoids, which should be present in a full-spectrum CBD product.

One Love Tea Mango Magic Honeybush CBD Tea

This was the second product we tested from One Love Tea, a small company selling a wide variety of CBD-infused tea. This mango magic honeybush tea should contain 200 mg of CBD but the tests found 161 mg, which is 19.5% less.

That’s a little below a 20% difference from the label, which is quite sizable and gets a B rating.

The tests also showed THC and minor cannabinoids, verifying that this is a full-spectrum product.

Buddha Teas CBD Chamomile Tea

Buddha Teas is an established tea company with both regular and CBD-infused tea options. We sent its chamomile CBD tea for testing, finding that it contained 111.7 mg of CBD.

That’s 24% higher than the advertised content of 90 mg. While it’s nice to get more CBD than you paid for, this difference is fairly high so we gave this product a C.

Still, we can cut the company some slack since each tea bag contains only 5 mg of CBD so it’s harder to maintain accuracy.

Kickback Cali Haze CBD Infused Coffee

California’s Kickback is a brand selling CBD beverages. We sent its CBD-infused ground coffee to be tested, finding that it contained 77.1 mg of CBD.

That’s 35.8% less than the advertised content of 120 mg, which is a fairly poor result. We gave it an F since you’re getting less than two-thirds of what you paid for.

Bearded Man French Fork CBD Coffee Pods

Bearded Man Coffee is a small, Colorado-based coffee company. Its French Fork CBD coffee pods are supposed to carry 240 mg of CBD in total but our tests only found 122.9 mg, which is 48.8% less.

That’s a poor result since you’re getting roughly half of what you paid for, so we gave it an F.

Creating Better Days CBD Coffee Pods – Rise N Relief

Creating Better Days has a full lineup of CBD products, including CBD coffee pods. They should contain 120 mg of CBD in total but our tests only found 72.2 mg.

Since that’s almost 40% less than advertised, we gave this product an F.

Cue Rise CBD Shot

The CBD shot from Cue Rise should provide 20 mg of broad-spectrum CBD per bottle. However, our tests showed that it actually has 32.5 mg, which is 62.3% more.

That’s a poor result since it’s more than 50% off the mark. The tests also found a small amount of the minor cannabinoid CBG and no THC, confirming that this is a broad-spectrum product.

The Hemp Division Lift Ground Coffee

The Hemp Division is a tea company founded by two brothers. We bought its CBD ground coffee, which should carry 252 mg of CBD. However, our tests only found 161.2 mg, which is 36% lower.

That’s a poor result that’s deserving of an F rating.

Willie’s Remedy Peppermint Pyramid Bag Herbal Supplement

Since Willie’s Remedy offers both coffee and tea products, we decided to also test its pyramid bag tea. It should have 25 mg of full-spectrum CBD in total but our tests found 38 mg.

While it’s always nice to get more CBD than you paid for, that’s a difference of over 50%.

As such, we have to give an F for being so far off from the label.

However, the tests also detected THC and many minor cannabinoids, verifying that this is a full-spectrum hemp product.

Test Results for Other Hemp Products

We also tested three more hemp-containing products that didn’t claim to provide a specific amount of CBD. We didn’t include these products in our analysis since we had nothing to compare the test results to.

Still, the tests are helpful because we found that all three products contained either whole hemp or the advertised type of hemp extract.

Hemptealicious Hemp Tea

Hemptealicious offers multiple varieties of tea with added hemp. Although the company says each tea bag contains at least 30% hemp leaves and flowers, it doesn’t state how much CBD there is.

Our tests found 211.3 mg of CBD, as well as THC and minor cannabinoids, confirming that this tea is made with whole hemp leaves and flowers.

Traditional Medicinals Hemp + Herb Tea

Traditional Medicinals is a supplement company that sells many products, including hemp-infused tea. We sent its hemp + herb tea for testing, finding that it contained 100.4 mg of CBD.

However, this product doesn’t make any claims about its CBD content and only lists the amount of broad-spectrum hemp extract per tea bag.

Our tests also found no THC and two minor cannabinoids, confirming that this tea is made with broad-spectrum hemp CBD.

Omni Oil CBD Coffee with CBD Flower

This is the second product we tested from the brand Omni Oil. This coffee did not claim to provide a specific amount of CBD, only noting that it contained hemp flower.

Our tests found 460.5 mg of CBD alongside THC and many minor cannabinoids, confirming that this coffee is made with whole hemp flower.