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from Li Xiaoping in Longjing
Does tea have caffeine? Absolutely!
Every tea brewed with leaves from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) always contains caffeine, but the amount of caffeine in tea depends on much more than just the type of tea you choose.
The real science behind tea and caffeine challenges the myth that caffeine content is determined by tea type, and that black tea always has more caffeine than green tea.
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Around the world, we drink tea for both its taste and for how it makes us feel. In tea, caffeine works together with L-theanine, EGCG and more for a nuanced and unique effect unlike any other beverage in the world.
That’s why understanding a tea’s caffeine level is just one of the first steps to understanding how tea affects us. To really get a full picture of how caffeine works in tea, we first need to know how a tea was farmed, when it was picked, and how you’ll brew it.
"Every tea brewed with leaves from the tea plant always contains caffeine."
Does all tea have caffeine?
Caffeine is nature’s most widely-consumed stimulant, increasing blood flow, heart rate, and general alertness. The tea plant (Camellia sinensis, L. Kuntze) naturally produces caffeine as a defense against insects, and tea’s stimulant effect was used even in ancient times as a meditation aid for monks' early morning rituals.
Until recently, we thought caffeine alone was responsible for the alertness and clarity you get drinking tea. Now, we know brewed tea contains a complex combination of caffeine, the related stimulants theobromine and theophylline, and the counterbalancing effect from L-theanine and antioxidants. Caffeine alone can cause a jittery feeling, but in tea, the jitters are usually missing thanks to this complex balance.
All tea made from the tea plant has caffeine, and that amount can vary dramatically:
from about 14 mg up to over 60 mg per cup.
Knowing what causes this variation can help you choose your tea more confidently.
Take note! Measuring caffeine content in tea (or any brewed beverage) requires specialized lab equipment and serious expertise. Because the caffeine content of tea can vary so widely - from tea to tea and from season to season - it is difficult to estimate the specific mg per cup of any specific harvest.
Take any advertised caffeine content of loose leaf tea with a grain of salt. These are often just general estimates that have not been confirmed by food scientists.
What Factors Play a Role in Caffeine Content?
Caffeine content is not defined by tea type. Black tea, green tea and more can all be made from the very same plants. Caffeine content cannot be increased through tea processing, so tea leaves picked to the same standard at the same time and place will have the same caffeine content, regardless of how they have been processed.
It is a common misconception that black tea has more caffeine than green tea. Instead, we have to look at how the tea was farmed, when it was picked, and how you choose to brew it.
Which teas have the most caffeine? Here are the determining factors:
-
• The tea leaves:
1st picking small buds and leaves grown in the shade produce tea leaves with the most caffeine -
• The water temperature:
Hotter water extracts more caffeine. Cooler water extracts less. Brew with boiling water for the most caffeinated tea. -
• Tea size and quality:
Small crushed particles common in tea bags infuse more caffeine faster than whole leaf tea because there is surface area for diffusion -
• Biodiversity:
Tea produces caffeine to fight off insects and natural challenges. A biodiverse environment stimulates more caffeine production than monoculture farming
Caffeinated Tea: The Breakdown
Once we understand what affects tea's caffeine content, we can make informed decisions to find the most and least caffeinated tea and brew style for each tea type. Let’s cut past the common myths and look at where each tea really stacks up for tea caffeine levels.
How Much Caffeine in Black Tea?
-
• Black tea’s caffeine range:
as low as 14 mg per cup for larger leaf, cooler brews
and as high as 61mg per cup for young pickings and hot brews
Black tea has a reputation for being the most caffeinated tea. The old thinking was, the darker the tea, the more the caffeine. It turns out that black tea’s reputation as a high caffeine tea is only observed when the tea is brewed at higher temperatures and with smaller leaf material (crushed tea bag dust).
If you are looking for higher caffeine tea, you can still reach for black tea. There are many small, early harvest buddy black teas out there (like Jin Jun Mei and more). Look for early harvest, small leaf teas growing with biodiverse competition. Many black teas also stand up well to full-boil brew temperatures for the maximum caffeine.
How Much Caffeine in Oolong Tea
-
• Oolong tea’s caffeine range:
between 14mg and 61mg per cup, depending on brew temperature and growing conditions
Oolong tea is one of the most diverse tea types, with countless growing regions and finishing techniques. The caffeine content in oolong can vary just as much.
On the one hand, oolong tea is generally made with larger, later season tea leaves. In general, larger leaves and more mature leaf material contain less caffeine than an younger, small buds harvest from the same plant.
On the other hand, high-quality oolong teas grow in tremendously biodiverse microclimates like Daping village in Anxi or the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve. Biodiversity can stimulate more caffeine production, as can shady (misty mountain) growing conditions.
Finally, oolong loves to be brewed at a full boil, which guarantees a higher caffeine extraction than the same tea brewed cold.
How Much Caffeine in Pu’er Tea?
-
• Pu’er’s caffeine range: between 14mg and 61mg
Pu’er tea (普洱) - sometimes spelled pu’erh or pu-er - is finished with as little heat as possible and allowed to naturally age for many years. Some pu’er teas are stored for decades or more. Does pu’er have any caffeine left when it has been aging for so long?
Caffeine is a fairly stable compound; it does not change or degrade over time like many other elements of tea. This means we can expect the caffeine in pu’er tea to stick around.
Like black tea, pu’er will have more caffeine if it is made from young small bud material grown in the shade (high mountain clouds). Unlike black tea, many people prefer to brew pu’er at a lower temperature, which could mean lower caffeine (at least compared to a hotter infusion).
How Much Caffeine in Green Tea?
-
• Green tea’s caffeine range:
between 14mg and 61mg per cup, depending on picking conditions and brew temperature
Contrary to the old myths, green tea can be just as caffeinated as black tea - if not more! With high-end green tea, there is a strong drive to pick small, early-harvest buds and delicate shade-grown leaves, all of which leads to higher caffeine levels.
However, green tea is also traditionally brewed at a much cooler temperature than black tea. Compared to a hot infusion, cooler brews extract comparatively less caffeine. Of course, sweet, shade-grown green teas like the He Family’s Laoshan Green can stand up to hot water, so you feel free to experiment with temperature and leaf-to-water ratio.
How Much Caffeine in White Tea?
-
• White tea’s caffeine range:
between 14mg and 61mg per cup
White tea is famous for its silvery, downy buds. These early-harvest shade-grown buds give white tea its distinctively sweet flavor and rich texture. The early picking time also produces higher levels of caffeine.
Wait a minute - doesn’t white tea have lower caffeine levels than other teas? Not at all!
White teas often have more trichomes - that silvery down - than other teas. Because trichomes are hydrophobic, they require a longer steep time or hotter brew to release the same amount of caffeine. This is why some earlier investigations seemed to show that white tea produced a low caffeine tea, even though other studies consistently contradict this.
Trichomes are not unique to white tea. Black tea, green tea, and even pu’er can all be made with downy bud material.
Of course, like green tea, white tea also tastes great with a cooler brew. This means you have the freedom to play with both temperature and water-to-leaf ratio.
Non-Caffeinated Tea: The Breakdown
What about tea without caffeine? Sometimes you want to enjoy a hot mug without worrying about the caffeine.
If you do not want to drink caffeine, stay away from chemically-treated decaf tea. These products are not truly caffeine-free and can legally contain up to 2.5% of their original caffeine content. Instead, look for caffeine-free herbal tisanes.
TEA MYTH: Can you decaffeinate tea at home? Although cold brewing can produce a less caffeinated cup than a hot infusion, iced tea does have caffeine. Some people recommend throwing away the first infusion to remove caffeine, but this is also a myth.
The truth is, even expensive commercialized decaffeination processes cannot remove all of the caffeine in tea. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
Herbal Tea
Many herbal teas do not contain caffeine, but not all tisanes are caffeine-free. Look out for cacao, yerba mate, guayusa and yaupon, which all contain caffeine. Instead, look for dried flowers and fruits, garden herbs like mint, and spices like ginger for caffeine-free sipping.
Some herbal teas in China are actually finished using traditional tea craft to give them the same level of complexity as traditional tea, without the caffeine. These include sweet potato leaf, wild crassicolumna, goji leaf, and jujube leaf.
Why Caffeine in Tea Is Unique
Tea is more than its caffeine levels. It is tempting to compare mg/cup to coffee and draw conclusions, but tea is a chemically distinct and complex beverage. In addition to caffeine, tea has the natural stimulants theobromine and theophylline, as well as compounds like L-theanine and EGCG that may counterbalance the effects of caffeine.
In lab studies, L-Theanine introduced alongside caffeine seems to have a counterbalancing effect. Taken together, the speed and focus from caffeine was preserved, but at lower heart rates and less ‘jitteriness’ and anxiousness. EGCG may also have a mild sedative effect. In lab tests, it has been shown to lower anxiety and stress levels.
Both ECGC and L-theanine are seen in higher concentrations in younger, early harvest teas grown in biodiverse climates.
Interestingly, L-theanine is more water soluble at lower temperatures than caffeine. This means a cup of early spring green tea brewed at a cooler temperature could actually produce a cup with more L-theanine and less caffeine.
This complexity, combined with each person’s own unique body response, means that tea is way more complex than its caffeine content alone. The best way to find tea that makes you feel great is to start with great tea, then try playing with brewing techniques to see how your tea affects you.
Explore Verdant Tea’s Wide Range of Caffeinated and Non Caffeinated Teas
Contrary to popular belief, it’s difficult to guess exactly how much caffeine is in your cup of tea. Instead, caffeine is more dependent on your brewing techniques, the quality of the harvest, and then biodiversity of the growing region. Tea’s complex chemistry - including caffeine, L-theanine, EGCG and more - all have their own effect on your experience. So does the ritual and time you take preparing and drinking tea.
Our advice? Find teas you love to drink from sources that are transparent about the growers, then see how they affect you personally. Over time, you’ll find the perfect brew for every occasion.
This article has been updated from an older post, originally published on September 28th, 2012.
Tea is one of the most affordable luxuries in the world.
Learning how to store your loose leaf tea properly will help you get your full value out of each sip, even months after buying.
It is easy to forget, but real people across China are picking your tea by hand, carefully processing it and making sure that it is packed and sealed to survive the long journey to your teacup. This tea storage guide is here to help you extend the care put into each leaf, all the way up to the moment you take your first sip.
Let’s start with some general rules that apply to storing all teas, regardless of type or processing technique.
General Tea Storage
. Store tea in a DRY ENVIRONMENT
Keep your teas dry and away from excess moisture. Dampness and humidity can dramatically reduce the tea’s lifespan, and could even cause mold to form.
. Store tea AWAY FROM STRONG SMELLS
Tea will absorb the aroma of anything stored nearby, which is why we always recommend keeping your loose leaf tea away from strong smells. This may mean that that kitchen cabinet is not your ideal choice for protecting fine looseleaf tea, especially spice cabinets and pantries. Cupboards or bookshelves in living rooms or studies are good candidates, as are clean linen closets away from bathrooms.
. Stay ORGANIZED
Try and keep your teas organized according to a system that makes sense to you. An unorganized pile of tea bags is not ideal storage. Without organization, you won’t know what you have, or when you purchased it. An organized tea shelf helps you quickly identify your options and make choices based both on your taste preferences of the day, and on what is freshest.
. Keep NOTES
This is related to staying organized. When you buy a tea, make sure to write down the harvest season if that information is available from the vendor. Teas do have shelf lives, even when properly stored, so being aware of the amount of time you have to drink a tea can be very helpful.
How to Store
Green Tea and Green Oolong
Keep your tea AWAY FROM SUNLIGHT
Always keep your tea sealed in an airtight container that blocks out all light. Glass jars are not acceptable for tea storage because sunlight over time damages the leaves. Keep the tea in a dark and cool place, like a shelf or drawer out of the sunlight. Sunlight will create heat, subtly changing your teas’ flavor.
Keep your tea SEALED FROM THE AIR
If your tea is sealed in a pouch, make sure that there is as little air as possible when you close the pouch. If you have a vacuum sealer, vacuum-sealed foil bags of tea have the longest shelf life but are not appropriate for every tea. Long leaves that are not curled and rolled can sometimes get crushed under a vacuum. In these cases, be sure to keep your bags sealed between uses, removing excess air whenever possible.
Keep your tea COLD
Can you store green tea in the refrigerator or freezer?
If you have a vacuum-sealer, you can feel free to thoroughly seal your tea in a moisture-free environment, and store it in the refrigerator on a colder setting, or the freezer. This is a contentious point in the tea community, because improperly-sealed tea stored in a freezer will be damaged.
However, all Chinese tea vendors store their green teas and green Anxi oolong vacuum sealed in large freezers. If you have the resources, feel free to do the same. This will extend the freshness of the tea from four months to about a year.
DRINK YOUR TEA
If you are lucky enough to get green teas and green oolongs fresh within a few months of picking, then by all means, drink the tea! Green teas, even fine ones, should not go in the “save for the right occasion” pile. The tea will make the occasion.
Seize the moment: drink your tea and thoroughly enjoy the way the tea wants to be enjoyed.
How to Store
White tea, Black tea + Dark Oolong
. Keep your tea AWAY FROM SUNLIGHT
Use an airtight container that blocks out all light. As with green teas, sunlight and airflow will degrade the tea’s quality over time. Clear glass jars are not an acceptable storage method.
. Keep AWAY FROM SMELLS + DAMP
Keep the tea sealed away from humidity. Drawers and shelves out of the way of the kitchen smells and basement humidity work best.
. Keep WELL SEALED
Unlike pu’er teas, black teas, white teas and darker oolong teas do not need or want an excessive amount of air flow.
Aged Anxi oolong teas does need not be completely sealed from the air; storage in a jar with a piece of cloth underneath the lid usually works well. Most black teas and white teas, however, should be protected from sitting out in the air and the open.
In general, if your tea arrived in resealable bags with food-safe linings, keep using these bags and keep your tea sealed between uses.
. Keep NOTES on your tea
You can find out for yourself if you like black teas better after eight months to a year if you write down your impressions and keep your notes with the tea for later comparison! Your notes will help you form your own informed personal preferences.
How to Store Pu’er Tea
.Allow PROPER AIR FLOW
Do not store pu’er in air-tight containers.
If you have only a few ounces, and you plan to drink your tea in eight months or less, airtight pouches are fine. For long-term investment, slow airflow is needed to encourage further development of the tea’s character. If the tea is looseleaf in a pouch, just leave the pouch partially open, or transfer the tea to a ceramic non-airtight jar.
.Avoid STRONG SMELLS
Keep pu’er away from smells.
Pu’er is a sensitive, growing thing. Any smells you expose it to will be absorbed, and ultimately affect the flavor. This means that wooden boxes (like cigar boxes) are generally not a recommended choice, because they can impart the aroma of their wood onto all of your teas. Cedar chests and storage areas with mothballs, spices, household cleaners, and other strong smells are also not recommended for this reason.
Stabilize HUMIDITY
Keep a relatively stable humidity.
Keep pu’er away from extremely wet or extremely dry environments. Wet air – like a basement or a bathroom – will cause mold, and very dry environments – stored with dessicants, etc – will slow down the tea’s development. Sudden changes in humidity can disrupt the trajectory of a tea’s development.
Pack it and FORGET IT
For long-term investment, get a big paper or wood box, put your pu’er inside, and forget about it in a closet for a year or two. If your tea is accessible and within reach on the shelf, it is too tempting to drink it all right away. Opened cakes of pu’er can be wrapped in more paper or thin clean cloth if the rice paper wrappers are torn or loose.
PROTECT your tea
For long term storage, it is best to leave your pu’er cakes in cake form. Breaking a cake apart is great if you plan to put it in a jar and drink it over the next two years. New leaf will be exposed to air, and the tea will be easy to access any time you want to enjoy with friends. However, if you plan to move your tea around often, leaves can be broken over time. The original cake or brick form protects the tea leaves over many years of storage.
Don’t worry too much!
There are a lot of pu’er fanatics out there that might try to convince you that pu’er storage is a matter of life and death. Well… it isn’t. Pu’er was an accidental discovery to start with- cakes of green tea that fermented under the heat and moisture of mule and camel packs on long journeys. One degree of temperature variation or humidity difference is not going to hurt your tea.
Just try to store the tea somewhere safe, and enjoy it. Remember, you purchased your tea for your own enjoyment.
Keep NOTES
It is extremely fun to start a pu’er logbook for each cake of tea that you have and record the way it changes each year. After several years, you get a full idea of the tea’s trajectory, which will help you understand pu’er aging in general.
Leave a Reply
I've noticed that some teas make me feel more focused, while others make me feel more hyped up and almost jittery, and others yet make me feel sleepy. I've also noticed that most times I brew Gong Fu that I really feel like I could use a nap afterwards; while brewing in bigger mugs and pots give me the more alert to jittery feeling. Thank you for making me realize it's not all in my head!
Yes! Exactly. Teas all have totally different effects, and it can be really hard to predict. That is something that I personally love about tea drinking. The research for this article helped me better understand why this is so.
Of course it's entirely dependent on the tea type, but more often than not I do feel more relaxed from brewing Gong Fu style as well! Although I often feel a calming sense of alertness instead of sleepiness, I know if I went for a nap it would come very easily haha.
This is definitely a case of needing to keep a tea journal close at hand to see what teas affect me in what way - I think I'll make that my late birthday resolution :)
That's an interesting idea. I keep a tea journal for all the teas I try, but I've never written down any symptoms I've had from the teas. I'll have to start doing that now!
I like your take on this! I get so worried lately when I see an article on caffeine from a tea company, because all too often they're full of misinformation (white tea has less than green, a 30s steep will decaffeinate, etc.) but you really get to the heart of the matter here: how much caffeine is in the leaf or the liquid doesn't matter nearly as much as how you feel after drinking it!
Thanks Olivia! I don't get why tea companies make assertions about caffeine without reading any medical studies at all. When you really look at the good work scientists are doing, you can piece together a picture of tea's physiological effects that is pretty interesting.
Thank you for linking the actual studies referenced, that's a rare thing and should be done more by sites that discuss tea and health!
I appreciate your thoughtfulness and enjoyed reading the article.
I agree. The information may be out of my field I can interpret the relevance of the summations the various commenters have made - even just based on the effort to cite their sources.
I know some friends who will react more positively to this support for more tea drinking or supplement taking than the social interaction aspect; as long as it sparks discussion and debate, it's a start.
Great article! Love that you're addressing this. Curious though, in all my research (mind you, internet based) I've always seen green teas, particularly Longjing & Gyokuro, as having the higher theanine content. I've made it a point to seek them out. Curious to know more about fermented teas having more theanine.
Here are a few links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine
http://worldoftea.org/caffeine-and-l-theanine/#to-source4
http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/theanine1.html
http://www.1fast400.com/a96-theanine-science.html
http://www.neurosoup.com/Theanine.htm
But the these articles site black tea:
http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/417
http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/HolisticHealth/FunctionalFoods.aspx?ChunkID=104343
And this article contradicts itself:
http://www.ehow.com/list_7175223_food-sources-theanine.html
And finally here's a fairly level headed response to the question of which tea has the highest quantity of theanine:
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110527230639AAbjXHx
Thanks Mark!
I am going to take a look at all the great links you have shared. I didn't get a chance to research the specific tea-by-tea L-theanine content as thoroughly as the general effects, so I am going to see what studies make the most sense and revise my article to reflect the complexity of the situation.
My general sense is that if you really measured all tea out there, instead of category representation, you would find a lot of overlap among tea types in L-theanine levels. Is it that Gyokuro, Anji White Tea, and Longjing contain more L-theanine, or is it that the samples tested were higher quality, because only higher quality versions are produced on these teas for economic reasons? Very interesting to consider. I will post again when I take a look at the evidence.
Thanks!
David
OMG! Tea and neuroscience! My life is complete. Excellent article, and some wonderful research, sir! I just wanted to comment on a few things I found in my review of some of the literature you cited.
You cite that the Foxe et al. study from this year found increased alpha-band activity and decreased error rate in only the caffeine + L-theanine experimental condition. I'd like to add accuracy and point out that while this combined condition resulted in significantly reduced omission and commission errors, it was not significantly different than the caffeine-only condition, and it was similar to the reduced error rates found in the theanine-only condition. Essentially, all conditions besides the placebo resulted in participants making a similar percent of fewer errors. However, only when caffeine was given by itself did participants have significantly different alpha-band activity. There were actually no effects on alpha-band oscillations in any condition in which theanine was involved (Foxe et al., 2012: page 2326).
Also, most other studies investigating the effects of theanine or theanine + caffeine involve the use of higher-than-average levels of theanine (as compared to a cup of tea). Actually, the other studies Foxe et al. cite (i.e. Gomez- Ramirez et al., 2007 and Rogers et al., 2008) both use concentrations twice as high as the levels Foxe et al. use (100 mg vs. 250 and 200 mg).
This more recent study went with the idea that it seemed to be possible that when concentrations are lowered (100 mg theanine to 50 mg caffeine), there are additive effects that are not seen from either chemical on its own both behaviorally and electrophysiologically (e.g. Owen et al., 2008; Kelly et al., 2008). Yet, when using similar concentrations and methods, the researchers were unable to attain the same results.
So, even when theanine to caffeine ratios are increased to 5-to-1, there still does not appear to be a difference in levels of sustained cognitive attentiveness compared to those derivative of caffeine alone. It may be that additional effects are not seen due to what Foxe et al. surmise as a possible "ceiling effect," hence capping off all potential increases in attentiveness.
This effect may also be present in the Griesbrecht et al. study from 2010 you cite. This study used similar techniques as Foxe et al., but did not include controls of only caffeine or only theanine. In addition, the researchers administered much higher than normal concentrations of theanine (again, compared to one cup of tea).
I think the most interesting aspect of the theanine compound is its ability to mimic effects of caffeine without affecting reaction time (which seems to be consistent across studies) or alpha-band oscillations (at least according to the most recent literature). Since alpha waves are associated with selective attention and activity within the parietal and occipital lobes, but yet the theanine condition's alpha fluctuations appeared the same as the control's, it may indicate that theanine possibly influences attentiveness via processes outside of these brain regions. Perhaps, for example, effects are more salient in the frontal lobe? However, due to the conflicting conclusions in the literature, exactly how theanine helps improve cognitive attention capabilities and in what way alpha wave oscillations are affected is difficult to conclude at the moment. I'll be very interested to see what the effects of closer-to-normal concentrations of theanine will be on vigilence and attention in future research.
Kanarek et al. (2011) found fascinating support for theanine reducing stress and mitigating global processing biases naturally occurring from caffeine. Apparently caffeine can cause one to pay more attention to the larger picture, while ignoring smaller details. Yet, when theanine is introduced in addition to caffeine, this bias is reduced. So perhaps this could help explain how one can become more energetic and attentive after consuming tea, while still being able to focus more on in-depth aspects of an issue.
I can't find a full article, but this is a link to the abstract of that Kanarek study if anyone is interested: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2011.09.228
Dear Cody,
This is an incredible contribution you have made. I am so grateful for your time in helping to clarify some of the studies that I have examined. I have a real armchair interest in molecular biology, but these subjects are certainly outside of my field, so it is great to have such a thoughtful response.
The Kanarek study is great support for the passing mention in the other study I cited of lower reported fatigue levels while performing tasks (regardless of error rates). I am going to look it over, and revise this article to reflect the insight that you have offered. I am really interested in providing an article on caffeine in tea without all the hearsay that is spread around these days.
I will post a reply again when I am able to edit the article.
Best Wishes,
David
Hi David,
So glad I could help! I think this is a fantastic literature review that you've posted here, and I love that you took the time to find the most recent primary studies on the subjects instead of regurgitating old, outdated reviews of studies. I've been helping with research at my university concerning EEG patterns and responses to high/low action verbs, so the alpha-band study really caught my interest. If I happen on any other interesting articles concerning tea-related chemicals and their effects, I'll pass it along to you!
Cheers,
Cody
If you like the calming effects I'd highly recommend giving yerba mate a try too
I have never found that one to be calming. That's one that I drink when I want to wake up! Perhaps it's a psychological thing though, I have no idea what the contents are of Yerba Mate.
I do enjoy it when scientific studies are cited in the context of tea.
Have you heard of tea having increasing or decreasing effects on habitual tea drinkers? Does the body become more receptive of these benefits over time?
excellent article. along with calm and alertness, it seems that 'freshness' is another main characteristic of the experience that is evoked from a good cup of tea. Freshness is perhaps closely related to antioxidants. anti-oxidant rich foods tend to elicit a fresh feeling, and greener, more antioxidant rich teas often provide a strong fresh feeling. such as the laoshan green.
There's such little real knowledge being shared about the beautiful and complex benefits tea has to offer. Sure everyone knows that green tea has antioxidants, but so do the others! Tea really is a wonder. This article is so important and inspires me to find out even more. I've been quoting it to all of my friends ;)
I always end the day with a nice green tea brewed up gong fu. The ritual and the tea itself is so soothing that by the end of it I'm ready to go to sleep. I couldn't possibly imagine ending the day without my "sleep ritual" now. :)
Totally agree with this from personal experience. I haven't had coffee in 7+ weeks, but instead 4-5 cups of tea (mostly black) a day. But yet the difference is undeniable. I think this article really hits the nail on the head by relating coffee vs. tea to quality of sleep. Its not the coffee that made me a nervous wreck necessarily, but the lack of quality sleep the coffee was causing. Thanks for sharing the research! This is something I've thought inside for a while but its nice to see some evidence that there is a difference between tea and coffee :)
Nice article David. I do think that we all react differently to tea too. I personally only experience being "tea drunk" when having long tea sessions with friends.
Great article, David. I'm a coffee drinker and roast my own beans at home. It's more about the process from green bean, to roasted bean, to being ground up, and brewed. It is relaxing for me and I get a strong sense of alertness, happiness, and fulfillment from the resulting cup. That said, I only drink a cup of coffee a day and sometimes I pass on that cup all together. It depends on my mood. Tea has really taken hold throughout my day - I enjoy taking a break while at work to brew up some green tea improv Gong Fu style (small mason jar as gaiwan/strainer/small tea cup) and love it's impact on me. Over the course of multiple steepings I find a strong sense of calm alertness.
Tea has been a great companion to my mindfulness meditation!
WOAH! Not only a WONDERFUL and through article here but even the follow up comments have a heap of info as well.
Much to read and much to study! Thank you David and everyone who has posted follow up comments with helpful links, and information. Its wonderful we can all learn from each other.
Thanks for all the links to the studies! I can't help but wonder if the reason that people can react differently to the same tea is the same reason that they react differently to different anxiety/depression meds or just have different moods in general, if there is this type of relationship between tea and things that can play with your neurotransmitters. I really wish I knew more about this
This is an excellent article! I love the citations to relevant sources, and it is very well written. This makes me optimistic about caffeine, as last year I was having trouble with my stomach due to it. It's nice to hear that I should actually be seeing how different tea varieties affect me, rather than just basing my choices on caffeine content alone. Thank you for your insight!
I don't know if it's caffeine or something else, but Golden Fleece, as much as I liked it, delivers a huge dose of jitters for me. I have to be super careful when I drink it.
Thanks for the links to the studies.
i've been thinking how tea may be the answer to a better study disposition at school :D
Is it true that it is possible to remove most of the caffiene from tea by doing a first infusion for thirty seconds and throwing out the tea, then using the leaves for a second infusion to drink?
This popular urban tea legend is actually not true. It turns out that after a 30 second steeping, the amount of caffeine in your second cup is only reduced by about 9%... if you wanted to decaffeinate this way, you would first have to throw out a full 15 minute steeping!
If you're interested in reading more on the subject, check out the original Hicks, et. al study:
http://www2.hcmuaf.edu.vn/data/lhquang/file/Tea1/Tea%20preparation%20and%20its%20influence%20on%20methylxanthine.pdf
Tea is de-caffeinated industrially using either the "direct method" or the "CO2 process," but even these methods leave trace amounts of caffeine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination#Direct_method
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination#CO2_process
Thanks, Lily. Do you know if the same amount of green tea produces the same amount of caffeine when used to make a pot as it does when it is used to make a cup?
Jim Hersh
Great blog. Thanks for sharing.
Great blog
it's always interesting to get into the discussion of caffeine content in teas, it seems there is never really consistent answers. this article was super interesting though, I hadn't heard much about that other compound!
any ideal where i can get the reql deal info on " yaupon" i have lots of it growing and let me tell you its loaded with ccaffeine. i would like to mix it with something it and sell it.
We are such unique creatures, thank goodness! Three cups of delicious Qingming Long Jing landed me in the hospital with a coronary vasospasm. I just skirted a heart attack.
So, go easy and do keep a tea journal of your experiences. Obviously, we all react to different teas, well... differently.
A source of wisdom that brought me back to tea (one of my deepest pleasures and hard to walk away from entirely) is the Tea School on the site of Camellia Sinensis, an amazing tea house in Montreal. Check out the antioxidant and caffeine findings they amassed after a scientific study of their own teas. It led me to my two safe teas, their Kukicha and Verdant's Autumn Anxi Tieguanyin. I'm not missing anything!
In my opinion, the amount of caffeine in tea varies, so it's important for drinkers to know how much caffeine is in their favorite teas.