I drink Organic White Tea – it really helps me sleep calmly at night as it is has low caffeine

I prefer Green Tea – I was told that Green Tea is very calming as it also has low caffeine

I go for Decaff tea – this has lowest caffeine amongst all teas

Who is right? And who is wrong?

The question of caffeine content in tea has been one of the most discussed and debated over the recent years. Sweeping generalisations, aided by skilful marketing, seem to have created a common consensus among tea drinkers that Black Tea has highest caffeine, followed by Green Tea and White Tea, which has the lowest caffeine content. 

These are nothing but well propagated and well positioned myths!

Join us as we bust these myths by delving deeper into the what is caffeine and its effect on the human brain, before we go on to understand the complex relationship between tea and caffeine.

What is Caffeine

Simply put, caffeine is a psychoactive compound that acts as a stimulant. Caffeine is naturally found in many plants like tea, coffee and chocolates. Like any stimulant, caffeine relieves fatigue, improves alertness and cognitive abilities and enhances overall performance. 

Caffeine is Bad for us – Busting the Top Myth!

Caffeine is NOT bad for us – too much caffeine is bad for us.

Moderate intake of caffeine is beneficial to us. Not only does it improve cognition, helps stay alert and relieves fatigue, it is also known to protect against cardio-vascular disorders, Parkinson’s disease and even certain kinds of cancers. But, like everything else, it is when we cross the limits that caffeine starts becoming detrimental, and then…dangerous.

According to numerous studies, generally recommended safe intake of caffeine in adults is between 400-500mg per day. During pregnancy, the prescribed limit is 150-200mg. It is not recommended in diets for children under four years of age. However, please remember that each one of us has a different metabolism rate, and how one person’s system processes caffeine is different to another.

When the intake of caffeine doubles to around 1000mg per day on a regular basis, it starts to have a detrimental effect on health. And it is when intake becomes ten-fold, that caffeine becomes dangerous to the human body. 

Caffeine in Tea

The tea plant produces caffeine as a natural defence to ward off insects and pests. The highest concentration of caffeine occurs in the youngest leaves, typically found at the top of the plant. This is because insects tend to attack young shoots and leaves, which are juicier, compared to leave in the middle and lower plants of the plant. Generally, as one does down, the chemical concentration decreases.

Compared to coffee, tea has significantly less caffeine. While one shot of espresso has 80mg of caffeine and one cup of coffee has 120 mg of caffeine, a cup of tea has between 10-60mg of caffeine. The wide variance in caffeine content in tea – from 10-60mg, is because the caffeine content in tea depends on multiple factors like the season of plucking, the type of tea bush, the kind of leave plucked and the variety of cultivar of the tea plant. And this is why, there can and should never be sweeping generalisations about caffeine in tea. Generalisations give way to myths, and it is now time to bust these myths!

#1 Both Tea And Coffee Have Caffeine…And Similar Effects

Agreed.

But unlike coffee, tea has antioxidants, polyphenols and the amino acid – L-Theanine. High levels of antioxidants and polyphenols slow down the absorption of caffeine. Also, the L-Theanine is proven to activate alpha brain waves, connected with a relaxed state of mind. 

So, while coffee and tea both have caffeine, the synergy of L-Theanine and antioxidants in tea create mindful alertness extended for a longer time, while coffee creates that short burst of energy, followed by a lull and craving for more! 

The synergistic combination of caffeine and L-Theanine brings out the best of caffeine – resulting in a state of mindful and meditative state of alertness. This is why in ancient times, tea was the only drink permitted for meditating monks, as it allowed them to remain mindfully alert.

#2 White Tea and Green Tea have less caffeine than Black Tea

All teas are made from the leaves of the same plant – Camellia Sinensis. White, Green, Oolong and Black teas are result of the processing of tea leaves, specifically, a stage in processing known as Oxidation. White and Green teas are not oxidized, while Oolong teas are partly oxidized and Black Teas are fully oxidized. 

Processing has nothing to do with caffeine content. In fact, processing has no impact on the caffeine in the tea leaves. In fact, it is possible to have White Tea and Green Tea with higher caffeine content than Black Tea!

#3 Caffeine in Tea Causes Dehydration Like Coffee

Caffeine is a diuretic. But unlike in a cup coffee where 10 gms of coffee power are used, a cup of tea is made with only 2 gms of tea leaves. Also, tea has a higher content of water than coffee. And, the antioxidants in tea ensure caffeine is absorbed slowly and over longer period of time, almost like a time-lapse. Tea, therefore, is only mildly diuretic and tea does not cause dehydration like coffee, but is actually a very good hydrating drink.

# 4 All Teas Have Same Caffeine Content

Not really. Teas are grown in a variety of countries, regions, elevations and climates using different types of tea bushes. The caffeine content in each of these tea changes based on whether the leaves are new leaves or old, whether the elevation is high or low, whether the bush is seed-grown or clonal, whether the weather was spring or summer!

Based on where they are grown and how they are grown, the best we should do is to classify popular teas as either High Caffeine Teas or Low Caffeine Teas. Here is quick-and-easy reference table :

Relatively low caffeine  Genmai Cha (Green)/Japan  Gunpowder (Green) / China Hojicha (Green)  / Japan Kukicha (Green)  / Japan Keemun (Black) / China

Relatively high caffeine  Silver Needles (White) / China, India Gyokuro (Green) / Japan Matcha (Green) / Japan Assam (Black) / India Ceylon (Black) / Sri Lanka Darjeeling (Black) / India

# 5 Loose Tea Has More Caffeine Than Tea Bags

Generally speaking, it is the other way around : tea-bags, particularly the non-pyramid tea-bags, have a higher caffeine content. This is because these tea-bags contain finer grades of teas like fannings and dusts, which give us our infusion quickly. Loose leaf teas, on the other hand, infuse slowly, and give you a higher degree of control on brewing. You can do a quick brewing of loose leaf, say 1 minute, to make a cup of tea with lesser caffeine. In case of tea-bags, even in 1 minute, all the caffeine would be extracted. 

# 6 Decaffeinated Teas Are Caffeine Free

This is another of those popular myths propagated by shrewd marketeers. Decaffeination is an industrial process where a solvent is used. What the process does is it strips the caffeine molecules. But in doing so, a lot of the goodness of the teas – the antioxidants and the flavour is also stripped off. Even after the decaffeination process is over, the tea is still not 100% caffeine free – it has about 5-10mg of caffeine per cup!

# 7 Washing A Tea Can Make It Decaffeinated

‘Washing’ means to steep the tea for a quick 30 seconds and throw out the liquid. Many people believe that washing will get rid of the caffeine in tea, and thus, the next cups you brew will be caffeine free! 

The truth is totally different. Caffeine in loose leaf tea is extracted slowly. It takes about five minutes for all the caffeine, the antioxidants and the flavours to come out. The first washing of 30 seconds will only extract about 10-20% of caffeine, but worse, when you throw away this liquid, you will also be throwing away the goodness of the tea! To completely extract the last bit of caffeine, you will need to steep the tea for 15 minutes, and then throw out the liquid. But by then, nothing is left is tea – no flavour, no taste, no antioxidants, no polyphenols…nothing!

Other Factors That Impact Caffeine in Tea

Season

Because caffeine is produced by the tea plants as a defence mechanism against insects and pests, the quantity of caffeine increase during summer. This is to ward off the higher incidence of pest and insect attacks during summer, which are relatively higher than, say in spring our autumn. What this means for the caffeine conscious tea drinker is that a spring tea will have less caffeine than a summer tea.

Top Leaves versus Lower Leaves

The concentration of caffeine and other chemical compounds is higher in the top leaves and buds, and reduces as one goes down. This is due to the fact that insects and pests tend to attack the top level leaves more as they contain more ‘ juices’. As one goes lower down, the leaves become less ‘juicy’ and hence, are not attacked as much. Hence, the amount of caffeine in lower leaves is lesser compared to top leaves. This means that teas like Oolong which are generally manufactured from middle section of the tea buses, will have lower caffeine content. 

Plant Cultivar

There are two kinds of tea plants : Camellia Sinensis Sinensis (China) and Camellia Sinensis Assamica (Assam). The Chinese tea plants are native to China and the Assam ones grew wildly in the jungles of Assam before being discovered by the East India Company in 1823. 

The Assam tea plants have higher caffeine content compared to the Chinese tea plants. This is perhaps the reason why the Assam tea bushes could survive the harsh and hostile conditions of tropical rainforest, but Chinese bushes perished when they were planted in Assam. 

Also, it has been found that tea bushes planted using the cloning method (Clonal Teas) have a higher content of caffeine than seed grown tea bushes.

Growing Conditions

Shade grown teas like Gyokuro and Matcha have a tendency of higher caffeine compared to teas grown in sunshine. But shade grown teas also have a higher concentration of amino acids that have been linked to the generation of alpha brain waves that result in a relaxed state of mind.  

Steeping Process

This is where you can control the caffeine in your tea. Here are simple things you should keep in mind :

1. Use Loose Leaf Teas 

It takes around 4-5 minutes for the caffeine and other compounds from loose tea to be get completely extracted during steeping. In case of non-pyramid tea-bags, which are generally made using finer grades, the infusion comes out almost instantly, giving you no chance of control the caffeine. 

1. Steeping Temperature

The higher the temperature of the water, the higher will be the caffeine extracted. This is one big reason why green teas are recommended for low-caffeine teas as they are steeped at lower temperatures. The only exception is Matcha, which is the only completely soluble natural green tea, and all the goodness is imbibed. 

So, The Final Question…

What is the best low-caffeine tea?

The answer is in choosing the correct tea and steeping it correctly.

• Select a tea that is produced during the Spring season
• Use loose-leaf tea
• Prefer Oolongs tea
• Use a bit lesser leaf than recommended
• Steep the tea at lower temperature than recommended
• Steep half-way than recommended

This would make a weaker cup of tea, but at least ensure that a much lower caffeine tea is enjoyed. 

But Also Remember…

Caffeine content is tea is a very complex subject and issue. There has been a lot of scientific research on the topic, which continues to fascinate scientists and researchers. As more and more studies are conducted, new facts get discovered. As a complicated and continuously evolving field, we have tried to synthesize the latest research and present it in simple and easy terms for every tea lover. In case you have anything new or different to add, please do reach out us and we shall update this.