How to Minimize Green Tea Caffeine
Know your green tea.The younger the tea leaves, the more caffeine will be produced in the tea., Become familiar with your level of tolerance., Drink green teas known to be naturally low in caffeine., Purchase Green Tea that is decaffeinated., Avoid...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know your green tea.The younger the tea leaves
The most prized part of green tea is the terminal bud and the adjacent two leaves, also called the tea flush.
They are the sweetest, but also contain the most caffeine.
Color is a poor indicator of caffeine levels
- Gyokuro, a top level Japanese green tea, contains more caffeine than a dark tea such as Lapsang Souchong.
High grade teas are made from the bud and two adjacent leaves (the tea flush), where the caffeine content is highly concentrated.
On the plus side, these are the sweetest part of the tea and also contain the catechins and the theanine (mentioned below). -
Step 2: the more caffeine will be produced in the tea.
Many experts recommend consuming no more than 300 milligrams of caffeine a day.
When compared to black teas, coffee and soft drinks, green tea has been found to provide a gentle and steady source of stimulation with few reports of common caffeine side effects, such as nervousness or headaches.
Caffeine in green tea works differently in the body because unlike coffee, green tea also contains L-Theanine.
Theanine is an amino acid that produces a calming effect on the brain (Yokogoshi et al. 1998b).
Japanese researchers have discovered that theanine is a caffeine antagonist, offsetting the "hyper" effect of caffeine (Kakuda et al. 2000).
Of the 20 different types of amino acids in tea, more than 60% are theanine.
This is unique to green tea and white tea because the steaming process does not eliminate it.
Theanine also provides the elegant taste and sweetness in green tea.
To realize the cancer-fighting benefits of green tea, researchers generally agree that drinking 14-16 ounces (415-475 mL) per day is reasonable..
If there's is 30 mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup of green tea, drinking the recommended amount translates into 60 mg of caffeine per day (much less than 300 mg), and even that caffeine level can be reduced by following the instructions in this article.
Here is a comparison of caffeine content is various beverages.
Coffee (5 oz.cup) 40
- 170 mg.; Cola (12 oz. can) 30
- 60 mg.; Black Tea 8 oz. cup 25
- 110 mg.; Oolong Tea 8 oz. cup 12
- 55 mg.; Green Tea 8 oz. cup 8
- 30 mg.; White Tea 8 oz. cup 6
- 25 mg; Decaf Tea 8 oz. cup 1
- 4 mg. , Some green tea's are processed in such a way as to be naturally low in caffeine.
Here are three: 1) Japanese houjicha green tea is pan-fried or oven roasted.
The tea is fried at high temperature and the roasted flavor predominates this blend.
The main types of Houjicha are light and deep-fried.
The deeper fried leaf produces a deeper roast aroma and taste. 2) Japanese genmaicha is a blend of bancha green tea and Genmai (roasted rice grain).
The proportioning of tea to rice is important, the more aromatic Genmaicha teas have a higher amount of rice. 3) Japanese Bancha is a coarser and heavier grade of green tea, representing a late season crop.
Bancha is a class of sencha harvested as a second flush tea between summer and autumn containing less caffeine.
Caffeine comparisons per serving are as follows:
Black Tea
0.05%; Gyokuro Green Tea
0.02%; Sencha Green Tea
0.015%; Houjicha Green Tea
0.008%; Genmaicha Green Tea. , There are two types of de-caffeination processes used for tea.
Be sure to purchase green tea that uses the far healthier natural decaffeination process called “effervescence.” It use no chemicals, and instead relies on a natural process using water and carbon dioxide (C02) that retains 95 percent of the polyphenols.
The other process sometimes somewhat cynically referred to as "natural decaffeination" uses the chemical solvent ethyl acetate, retaining only 30 percent of the healthy polyphenols.
Both coffee beans and tea leaves are chemically decaffeinated with ethyl acetate as a solvent/diluent, because of its low cost, low toxicity, and agreeable odor.
However its other uses are to clean circuit boards, in some nail varnish removers and in paints as an activator .
Note that any decaffeination process will alter the taste to some extent.
Always check the label to ensure the effervescence or C02 process is used. , Green tea teabags contain a lot more caffeine
- and you will suffer some loss of quality as the teabags are poorer in flavor than the loose green tea leaves.
Try to buy loose green tea leaves.
You can use the same high-quality leaves three times before throwing them away. , Some tea drinkers claim that steeping tea for 45 seconds, then pouring out the liquid, can remove a significant amount of caffeine.At least one study shows that this is probably not an effective method, and that you will need to steep your tea for 3 minutes to remove roughly half of the caffeine.
This is worth considering if you are using especially strong-flavored tea, but weak green tea will lose much of its flavor and aroma after steeping it for this long. , One cup of green tea can contain anywhere from 15 to 75 milligrams of caffeine.
The best thing that you can do is to try green tea in small doses and monitor your own reactions.
Start with a half of a cup per day and increase the amount gradually, observing your reaction to the increase and adjusting accordingly.
If you feel calmly stimulated and content, you will know that green tea works for you. , This can be a helpful solution if you are suffering from caffeine intolerance.
Purchasing loose green tea will allow you to adjust how many leaves are brewed in your tea.
Most people brew approximately one to two teaspoons of loose green tea per cup;you can try cutting that in half.
If the resulting brew is too weak, increase it little by little. , Green tea contains catechins (location of the antioxidants) and theanine (provides sweetness and freshness) that reduce caffeine activity.
Brewing green tea allows these molecules to combine with caffeine in hot water, rendering the caffeine less effective.
If you let it cool off too much after brewing, the catechins break down and more caffeine is released. -
Step 3: Become familiar with your level of tolerance.
-
Step 4: Drink green teas known to be naturally low in caffeine.
-
Step 5: Purchase Green Tea that is decaffeinated.
-
Step 6: Avoid green tea teabags.
-
Step 7: Throw away the first infusion.
-
Step 8: Start slowly.
-
Step 9: Brew your green tea half strength.
-
Step 10: Drink it hot.
Detailed Guide
The most prized part of green tea is the terminal bud and the adjacent two leaves, also called the tea flush.
They are the sweetest, but also contain the most caffeine.
Color is a poor indicator of caffeine levels
- Gyokuro, a top level Japanese green tea, contains more caffeine than a dark tea such as Lapsang Souchong.
High grade teas are made from the bud and two adjacent leaves (the tea flush), where the caffeine content is highly concentrated.
On the plus side, these are the sweetest part of the tea and also contain the catechins and the theanine (mentioned below).
Many experts recommend consuming no more than 300 milligrams of caffeine a day.
When compared to black teas, coffee and soft drinks, green tea has been found to provide a gentle and steady source of stimulation with few reports of common caffeine side effects, such as nervousness or headaches.
Caffeine in green tea works differently in the body because unlike coffee, green tea also contains L-Theanine.
Theanine is an amino acid that produces a calming effect on the brain (Yokogoshi et al. 1998b).
Japanese researchers have discovered that theanine is a caffeine antagonist, offsetting the "hyper" effect of caffeine (Kakuda et al. 2000).
Of the 20 different types of amino acids in tea, more than 60% are theanine.
This is unique to green tea and white tea because the steaming process does not eliminate it.
Theanine also provides the elegant taste and sweetness in green tea.
To realize the cancer-fighting benefits of green tea, researchers generally agree that drinking 14-16 ounces (415-475 mL) per day is reasonable..
If there's is 30 mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup of green tea, drinking the recommended amount translates into 60 mg of caffeine per day (much less than 300 mg), and even that caffeine level can be reduced by following the instructions in this article.
Here is a comparison of caffeine content is various beverages.
Coffee (5 oz.cup) 40
- 170 mg.; Cola (12 oz. can) 30
- 60 mg.; Black Tea 8 oz. cup 25
- 110 mg.; Oolong Tea 8 oz. cup 12
- 55 mg.; Green Tea 8 oz. cup 8
- 30 mg.; White Tea 8 oz. cup 6
- 25 mg; Decaf Tea 8 oz. cup 1
- 4 mg. , Some green tea's are processed in such a way as to be naturally low in caffeine.
Here are three: 1) Japanese houjicha green tea is pan-fried or oven roasted.
The tea is fried at high temperature and the roasted flavor predominates this blend.
The main types of Houjicha are light and deep-fried.
The deeper fried leaf produces a deeper roast aroma and taste. 2) Japanese genmaicha is a blend of bancha green tea and Genmai (roasted rice grain).
The proportioning of tea to rice is important, the more aromatic Genmaicha teas have a higher amount of rice. 3) Japanese Bancha is a coarser and heavier grade of green tea, representing a late season crop.
Bancha is a class of sencha harvested as a second flush tea between summer and autumn containing less caffeine.
Caffeine comparisons per serving are as follows:
Black Tea
0.05%; Gyokuro Green Tea
0.02%; Sencha Green Tea
0.015%; Houjicha Green Tea
0.008%; Genmaicha Green Tea. , There are two types of de-caffeination processes used for tea.
Be sure to purchase green tea that uses the far healthier natural decaffeination process called “effervescence.” It use no chemicals, and instead relies on a natural process using water and carbon dioxide (C02) that retains 95 percent of the polyphenols.
The other process sometimes somewhat cynically referred to as "natural decaffeination" uses the chemical solvent ethyl acetate, retaining only 30 percent of the healthy polyphenols.
Both coffee beans and tea leaves are chemically decaffeinated with ethyl acetate as a solvent/diluent, because of its low cost, low toxicity, and agreeable odor.
However its other uses are to clean circuit boards, in some nail varnish removers and in paints as an activator .
Note that any decaffeination process will alter the taste to some extent.
Always check the label to ensure the effervescence or C02 process is used. , Green tea teabags contain a lot more caffeine
- and you will suffer some loss of quality as the teabags are poorer in flavor than the loose green tea leaves.
Try to buy loose green tea leaves.
You can use the same high-quality leaves three times before throwing them away. , Some tea drinkers claim that steeping tea for 45 seconds, then pouring out the liquid, can remove a significant amount of caffeine.At least one study shows that this is probably not an effective method, and that you will need to steep your tea for 3 minutes to remove roughly half of the caffeine.
This is worth considering if you are using especially strong-flavored tea, but weak green tea will lose much of its flavor and aroma after steeping it for this long. , One cup of green tea can contain anywhere from 15 to 75 milligrams of caffeine.
The best thing that you can do is to try green tea in small doses and monitor your own reactions.
Start with a half of a cup per day and increase the amount gradually, observing your reaction to the increase and adjusting accordingly.
If you feel calmly stimulated and content, you will know that green tea works for you. , This can be a helpful solution if you are suffering from caffeine intolerance.
Purchasing loose green tea will allow you to adjust how many leaves are brewed in your tea.
Most people brew approximately one to two teaspoons of loose green tea per cup;you can try cutting that in half.
If the resulting brew is too weak, increase it little by little. , Green tea contains catechins (location of the antioxidants) and theanine (provides sweetness and freshness) that reduce caffeine activity.
Brewing green tea allows these molecules to combine with caffeine in hot water, rendering the caffeine less effective.
If you let it cool off too much after brewing, the catechins break down and more caffeine is released.
About the Author
Teresa Harris
A passionate writer with expertise in pet care topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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