Kafein berperan dalam menentukan pahit/sepetnya teh. Perbedaan genotipe dan jenis pemetikan menyebabkan perbedaan kandungan kafein dan kualitas teh. Penelitian bertujuan mengetahui kandungan kafein dan karakteristik morfologi pucuk (peko) dengan 3 daun muda di bawahnya (P+3) pada beberapa genotipe teh. Penelitian dilaksanakan di perkebunan teh Tambi dan di laboratorium pengujian Balai Besar Industri Agro (BBIA) Bogor mulai April sampai Juni 2013. Ekstraksi kafein menggunakan kloroform dan diukur pada panjang gelombang 276,5 nm. Analisis kafein dilakukan terhadap pucuk (peko) dengan 3 daun muda di bawahnya (P+3) yang disusun dalam rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) dengan 6 genotipe teh sebagai perlakuan (Tbs 1, Tbs 2, RB 3, Kiara 8, Cin 143, dan Hibrid) dan 4 ulangan. Karakterisasi terhadap pucuk teh dilakukan terhadap karakter morfologi kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan genotipe berpengaruh nyata terhadap kandungan kafein. RB 3 merupakan genotipe yang memiliki kadar kafein P+3 tertinggi (3,58%) yang diikuti oleh genotipe Cin 143 (3,43%). Berdasarkan kadar kafein, Tbs 1 dan Tbs 2 merupakan genotipe harapan dengan kualitas lebih baik dibandingkan dengan RB 3 dan Cin 143. Keragaman antar genotipe terdapat pada karakter bentuk daun, pangkal daun, tepi daun, ujung daun, permukaan atas daun, warna daun, bulu pada peko, panjang daun, lebar daun, rasio panjang terhadap lebar daun, panjang tangkai daun, jumlah tulang daun, tebal daging daun, dan panjang peko. Kadar kafein berkorelasi negatif nyata terhadap rasio panjang dan lebar daun. Kata kunci: Teh, kafein, karakter kualitatif, karakter kuantitatif Caffeine plays an important role in determining a bitter flavor of tea. Different genotype and picking types cause differences in caffeine content and quality of tea. The research aimed to determine the caffeine content and morphological characteristics of shoots (peko) with 3 young leaves below (P+3) on several tea genotypes. The study was conducted at Tambi tea plantation and Laboratory of Testing, Center for Agro-based Industri (CABI), Bogor from April to June 2013. Caffeine was extracted using chloroform and measured at a wavelength of 276.5 nm. Caffeine analysis was carried out using shoots (peko) with 3 young leaves below (P + 3), which were arranged in a completely randomized design with 6 tea genotypes as treatments (Tbs 1 Tbs 2, RB 3, Kiara 8, Cin 143, and Hybrid) and replicated 4 times. Characterization on tea shoots was done by observing quantitative and qualitative characters. The results showed that genotypes had significant effect on caffeine content. RB 3 genotype had the highest caffeine content (3.58%) followed by Cin 143 genotype (3.43%). Based on caffeine content, Tbs 1 and Tbs 2 are promising genotypes with better quality than RB 3 and Cin 143. The diversity among genotypes revealed by shape, base, edges, and the tips of the leaves; the upper surface of leaves, leaf color, feathers on shoots (peko), leaf length and width characters, the ratio of the length and width of leaf, petiole length, number of leaf bones, flesh thick leaves, and shoots (peko) length. Moreover, caffeine content was negatively correlated with the ratio of the length and width of leaf.