More and more people are drinking green tea these days due to the widely publicized health benefits of this tasty beverage. Green tea is a rich source of polyphenols which are thought to play a role in preventing chronic disease including cancer and heart disease. Although rich in polyphenols, green tea also has caffeine which some people would like to avoid. In fact, some people give up coffee and turn to green tea with the mistaken belief that green tea has little caffeine. Surprisingly, in some cases, green tea caffeine levels can almost equal those of some coffees, although most green teas will only have about a third the caffeine found in the average expresso. Green tea caffeine levels will vary depending upon the location of the tea leaves on the plant, how large the tea leaves are, the type of processing and how the tea is prepared in your kitchen. If you want the health benefits of green tea but don’t want to consume high levels of caffeine along with it, here are some ways to reduce green tea caffeine levels.
Choose loose leaf green tea leaves
As a generalization, loose leaf green tea leaves will have lower caffeine levels than green tea brewed from tea bags. As a bonus, it’s usually less expensive to purchase green tea in loose leaf form than it is to purchase it in tea bags. There are a variety of tea pots and accessories available to help you brew loose leaf tea easily with minimal cleanup. Generally, you’re generally going to get a tea richer in polyphenols if you brew loose leaf as opposed to brewing from a tea bag.
Choose a lower quality green tea
Higher end green teas such as gyokura are made from younger tea leaves and buds picked from the top of the tea plant. This gives these teas a higher caffeine content. Green teas that are lower in caffeine include Bancha and Genmai cha which are made from larger tea leaves harvested from the lower parts of the plant. Higher end teas such as gyokura are usually grown in the shade which also increases their caffeine levels. If you want to reduce green tea caffeine levels in your prepared tea, stick with Bancha and Genmai cha.
Prepare your green tea properly
One way you can reduce green tea caffeine levels in your own kitchen is to steep the tea leaves for thirty seconds and discard the water. Using this method you should pour around eighty percent of the caffeine down the sink. You can then proceed to steep two more times before the leaves are spent. The caffeine level should drop with each steeping and you should end up with green tea with a very low caffeine content.
Avoid decaffeinated green tea
Although decaffeinated green tea has lower green tea caffeine levels, usually less than 5 mg, it also has lower levels of polyphenols so you’ll get less health benefits. It also may not taste as good as caffeinated green tea. For this reason, it’s best to avoid decaffeinated green teas and lower the green tea caffeine levels in your own kitchen.
Green tea can be a healthy beverage alternative and in most cases green tea caffeine levels will be lower than those found in coffee. With green tea caffeine levels ranging from 10 to 30 milligrams and coffee averaging 60-100 milligrams, green tea is the clear winner when it comes to lower caffeine levels. If you’re sensitive to even lower levels of caffeine, give some of these tips a try. If you have a medical condition that necessitates avoiding caffeine entirely, it’s best to stick with herbal teas instead.
