For a lot of tea drinkers out there, the caffeine content in tea is becoming an increasing concern. Whether you have to stop drinking caffeine for a while or for a longer time, all tea made from Camellia Sinensis naturally contains caffeine. Of course, it is always less than the amount of caffeine you find in coffee, yet it is still caffeine. (Read more: Caffeine: Tea vs Coffee)
Many factors influence the levels of caffeine you will find in tea. You can read more about this here.
There has been a common misconception that you can decaffeinate tea by yourself at home. Unfortunately for some, this is not true. Furthermore, even commercial decaf teas still contain a tiny amount of caffeine.
The common misconception is that rinsing tea with boiling water washes most of the caffeine away, while all the good nutrients stay. So if you have been rinsing your teas to get less caffeine in your brew, chances are it hasn’t affected it much.
How Is Decaf Tea Usually Made?
A variety of methods are used to decaffeinate teas, all of which involve chemicals such as ethyl acetate, carbon dioxide (CO2), or methylene chloride. Then, after being processed with these chemicals, the tea leaves are thoroughly rinsed.
These methods typically reduce caffeine content by 97–99%, leaving only a small residual amount.
Now, if trying to make the tea “decaf” at home by rinsing it with boiling water, the best result you may get is a less flavorful tea with a slightly lower caffeine content and significantly fewer nutrients. We personally do not recommend this method.
Some research suggests that a prolonged steep in boiling water can reduce caffeine content by a significant amount, but at the cost of completely destroying the flavor of the tea. We personally don't recommend this approach.
What Are The Options For Those Trying To Avoid Caffeine?
There are a number of things you can do to avoid larger amounts of caffeine when drinking tea. For example:
- lower water temperatures (70–80°C) reduce both bitterness and caffeine extraction
- steep for shorter amounts of time, as you would do in GongFu Cha. Skip grandpa style and western-style if you are monitoring your caffeine intake.
- brew loose leaf tea. Tea bags typically contain finely broken leaf particles with greater surface area, which extract caffeine more quickly – loose leaf tea gives you more control over extraction.
- check out some of the teas that are naturally low in caffeine, for example, some (but not all!) white teas
- skip caffeine altogether by trying some of the delicious and invigorating tisanes (herbal blends)
Is Decaf Tea Bad for You?
Commercial decaf tea is generally considered safe. The main concern has historically been with the decaffeination method, which uses a solvent that is tightly regulated – residual levels in the final product are extremely low and considered safe by food authorities. CO2 decaffeination is widely regarded as the cleanest method and preserves more of the tea's original flavor and antioxidant content.
One thing to note: commercial decaffeination reduces antioxidant content along with caffeine, since both are extracted during the process. If antioxidants are a priority, naturally low-caffeine teas or herbal tisanes may be a better choice than commercially decaffeinated tea.
As for dehydration, tea, including decaf tea, is hydrating. The mild diuretic effect of caffeine in regular tea is minimal at normal consumption levels, and decaf tea has even less of it.
