Minimize Green Tea Caffeine

Green tea is delicious and very high in antioxidants. It has one drawback, however, and that is its caffeine content, which can surprise and affect some tea drinkers deleteriously. Instead of foregoing the health benefits of this tea, here are some simple and effective measures to enjoy green tea without suffering from its caffeine side effects.

Steps

 * 1) [[Image:Green_tea_leaves_102.jpg|200px|right]]Know your green tea.The younger the tea leaves, the more caffeine will be produced in the tea. 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).
 * 2)  Become familiar with your level of tolerance. 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 and there are few reports of common caffeine side effects, such as nervousness or headaches.  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 an average of 30-60 mg of caffeine per a 6-8 oz cup of green tea, drinking the recommended amount translates into 90-105 mg of caffeine per day (much less than 300 mg), and even that caffeine level can be reduced by following these instructions.
 * 3) [[Image:Tea addicted 2373.jpg|200px|right|]]  Avoid green tea teabags. 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, so after you've thrown out the first infusion (as described below), you still have two more cups of green tea to enjoy.
 * 4) [[Image:Green_Tea_15.jpg|200px|right|]]Start slowly. 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.
 * 5) Brew your green tea half strength. 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.
 * 6)  Throw away the first infusion. Caffeine is quicker to dissolve than the other tea compounds. Throw away the first infusion, as it soaks up 70% of the caffeine within the first five minutes. The length of the first infusion can affect the strength of the second infusion--the longer the infusion, the blander the next, but also the lower the caffeine presence. Try to find the longest first infusion time that still preserves enough green tea flavor for your liking.
 * 7)  Drink it hot. 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.

Tips

 * If drinking green tea still has undesirable effects, consider the alternatives. Flower and herbal infusions are not Camellia sinensis and do not contain caffeine. Rooibos and honeybush, both from South Africa, do not contain caffeine but do contain high levels of antioxidants, however, so you still get the health benefits minus the caffeine.
 * If green tea is steeped in cooler water (158 degrees F), relatively more caffeine and antioxidant polyphenols will be extracted in the second infusion. When hotter water (about 185 degrees F and above) is used, more caffeine and polyphenols will be extracted during the first infusion. (See Source by Yang et al below.)
 * Be aware that the green tea polyphenols, such as epigallocatechin gallate, are the primary antioxidants that are found in green tea. These antioxidants have been consistently shown to protect liver function due to their antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. The polyphenols may also protect against certain types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disease. It is also assumed that the polyphenols help to protect against the deleterious effects of caffeine. It has been theorized that when caffeine is consumed in moderation, especially as a natural part of a polyphenol-rich beverage such as green tea, the caffeine actually provides health benefits. (See Sources by Zhen et al, Chen et al, Wang et al, and Paganini-Hill et al below.)
 * Theanine is calming and has been shown to partially counteract the rise in blood pressure that can occur with caffeine intake. (See Source by Rogers et al below.)

Warnings

 * Decaffeinated green tea contains less than 5 milligrams of caffeine a cup, or 0.4% in dry weight. Tempting as it may seem, most commercially available decaf tastes pretty awful. Today, the best decaffeinated green tea is made from the carbon dioxide method. Avoid the so called "natural decaffeinated", which pulls nutrients out of the green tea as well.
 * [[Image:The Enviga Amigos 8469.jpg|180px|thumb| Enviga |right]]Avoid any green tea energy drink. Many, but not all soft drink versions of green tea contain a high concentration of caffeine. Coca-cola’s Enviga, for example, contains 100 milligrams of caffeine per serving. They also contain quite a high amount of sugar that doesn't provide any health benefits (although some brands like Enviga contain no sugar).
 * If you are pregnant or have a medical condition and have been advised to reduce your caffeine intake, consult with your doctor before consuming green tea on a regular basis.
 * Don't go overboard. The caffeine in green tea isn't the only thing that might be bad in large quantities. The polyphenols found in green tea, when consumed excessively, can cause liver and kidney damage. Don't drink more than 10 cups per day, and be careful with green tea supplements, which can contain 50 times the polyphenol found in one cup of green tea.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Brew Gaiwan Tea
 * How to Make Ginger Tea or Tisane
 * How to Buy Thai Tea
 * How to Make Chai Tea
 * How to Enjoy a Cup Of Japanese Green Tea
 * How to Carve a Watermelon Tea Pot
 * How to Brew White Tea

Sources and Citations

 * Amazing-green-tea.com - Seven ways to drink green tea without caffeine. Original source of this article. Shared with permission.
 * Yang DJ, Hwang LS, Lin JT. Effects of different steeping methods and storage on caffeine, catechins and gallic acid in bag tea infusions. J Chromatogr A. 2007 Jul 13;1156(1-2):312-20. PMID 17161409
 * Hayashi N, Ujihara T, Kohata K. Binding Energy of Tea Catechin/Caffeine Complexes in Water Evaluated by Titration Experiments with 1H-NMR. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2004 Dec;68(12):2512-8. PMID 15618622 http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bbb/68/12/2512/_pdf
 * Zhen MC, Wang Q, Huang XH, Cao LQ, Chen XL, Sun K, Liu YJ, Li W, Zhang LJ. Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits oxidative damage and preventive effects on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis. J Nutr Biochem. 2007 May 2; PMID 17481882
 * Chen JH, Tipoe GL, Liong EC, So HS, Leung KM, Tom WM, Fung PC, Nanji AA. Green tea polyphenols prevent toxin-induced hepatotoxicity in mice by down-regulating inducible nitric oxide-derived prooxidants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Sep;80(3):742-51. PMID 15321817 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/80/3/742
 * Wang S, Noh SK, Koo SI. Epigallocatechin gallate and caffeine differentially inhibit the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and fat in ovariectomized rats. J Nutr. 2006 Nov;136(11):2791-6. PMID 17056802
 * Paganini-Hill A, Kawas CH, Corrada MM. Non-alcoholic beverage and caffeine consumption and mortality: the Leisure World Cohort Study. Prev Med. 2007 Apr;44(4):305-10. PMID 17275898
 * Rogers PJ, Smith JE, Heatherley SV, Pleydell-Pearce CW. Time for tea: mood, blood pressure and cognitive performance effects of caffeine and theanine administered alone and together. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2007 Sep 23; PMID 17891480
 * Seven Cups "Oolong in a gaiwan" videocast demonstrates how to remove caffeine from oolong tea