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Adagio Tea, Black Tea, caffeine content in tea and coffee, decaffeination, Green Tea, home decaffeination, Larry Brown, Tea for health
POST UPDATED ON 6/21/2013
More than 60 varieties of plants contain caffeine. The better known ones are Tea, Coffee, Cocoa and Kola Nuts. Cocoa is fairly low in caffeine but is high in a compound called ‘Theabromine’ which has a caffeine like effect and explains the ‘lift’ one feels after eating chocolate!
Take a look at this caffeine breakdown (FYI drip filter coffee tops the list)Drip Filter Coffee 150 mg per cup.
Percolated Coffee 120 mg per cup
Instant Coffee 100 mg per cup
Black Tea 30 to 70 mg per cup
Green Tea 10 to 40 mg per cup
Soda/Cola 45 mg per can
In moderation, caffeine is a benefit - stimulating the metabolism, increasing brain function and alertness. Because caffeine from tea does not take effect for 10-15 minutes, it provides a subtle lift not the sudden jolt of coffee. (Four cups of tea does not allow the caffeine level to go beyond the 250 mg stipulated by the American Psychiatric Association.)
WHY DECAF DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD
Caffeine is removed from tea using industrial processes and strong chemicals which may be more harmful to health in the long run than the caffeine itself. You may be surprised to learn what the chemicals used in decaffeination are:
1. Ethyl Acetate–this is nail polish remover!
2. Methylene Chloride–by another name it’s a paint stripper!
3. Liquid CO2– This method is expensive and the equipment to liquefy the CO2 operates at 300 bars (the pressure in a car tyre is 3 bars).
Practically all the decaffeinated teas on Supermarket shelves have undergone methods 1 and 2. There is no mention of residuals etc – and the teas taste awful.
Here is a simple home decaffeination method: Because caffeine is readily soluble in hot water, if you infuse a regular tea bag or loose leaf tea for 20 seconds, discard the brew and pour fresh boiling water over the partially spent leaves, the resultant cuppa will have 75% less caffeine. It’s that simple to do your own decaffeination! But would the producers of decaffeinated teas tell you this?”
READ MORE ABOUT TEA AND HEALTH ON THIS ADAGIO TEA WEBSITE
Larry Brown
These pearls of wisdom were gathered from Larry Brown, ex Assam tea planter from the “good old days” now retired and dividing his time between the Gold Coast, Australia and Shillong, India. Larry is a walking encyclopedia: the “Google” of tea; full of serious knowledge, funny stories and interesting trivia. I constantly bother him with pesky questions.
I tend to agree with Larry. Decaf tastes AWFUL!
I thought decaf tasted awful until I discovered some wonderful decaf leaf tea, which was really flavoursome. I then found that Cafe Direct and Twinings both produced decaf teabags that had some taste, unlike all the other brands I’d tried. I don’t drink caffeine in the evening because I have found it to keep me awake, which was why I switched to decaf. I hope it’s not doing me any harm, but I’m pretty sure I sleep better for it.
Oh I must try Cafe Direct and Twinings, Lorna, more out of curiosity than anything else but far I have not found a reason to switch to Decaf. Many thanks.
I can understand that, it’s not as good as caffeinated, even Cafe Direct and Twinings, but to my mind they are a step up from Tetley and Yorkshire, both of which are woefully tasteless.
Reblogged this on Tea Buddy and commented:
Reblogging this because I just added some updated information on this interesting topic.
Although the chemicals you mentioned are not the sort of thing you’d naturally want to ingest, they are present in very small amounts in decaffeinated tea. I agree that, even so, you might not want to consume them, but then how many other nasty chemicals do we ingest without thinking about it? I’m not sure if processed foods might be far worse for us than decaf tea. Having read a bit about this elsewhere after reading your original post, I would like to find some tea that’s been decaffeinated using CO2, to see how it tastes, as that would certainly be preferable to the chemically decaffeinated teas.
True, decafs for all I know may be a lesser evil than processed foods. The thing about food modification (low fat etc) when you take something out you gotta put something in. It’s the “something” that is suspicious. Oh hey, we’re all gonna die anyways. I just hope I die drinking regular tea, not decaf!
I just found this Assam tea, which is organic and decaffeinated using CO2. I had this a while back and as far as I can remember the flavour wasn’t too great but I’m going to try it again. http://shop.clipper-teas.com/teas/everyday/organic-decaf-everyday-tea-1
Thanks for the link. The funny thing about organics is that it may not necessarily taste great. There is a lot that goes into making fine teas – the stock of the tea plant itself, selective plucking, experienced tea processing, tasting and blending. It’s a complex art and science like wine making and requires serious expertise and know how. Just organic won’t do it. I think the whole organic hoopla is a lot of marketing bull anyway and an excuse to peddle sub-standard products. I am waiting to be proved otherwise. Here’s my theory: when you make an alternative-energy car that is stylish and efficient as an Apple computer, I will buy it. When organics become better tasting than the regular “baddies” on my grocery shelf, I’ll eat/drink it. Till then I am going to snap my fingers and whistle at the sky.
Wow glad to learn this information..I will certainly stop drinking decaf soy latte’s what is the point anyway….ick I just finished one after my detoxifying workout. Thank you for reposting this I hadn’t read the first time around!
Steph
The detox workout cancels out the decaf. So not ALL bad and no good, if that makes any sense! Hahha~
I’m not a fan of decaffeinated tea or coffee, because one of the main reasons I drink them is the lift, but I accidentally purchased a decaf tea a while back, and it was awful! I couldn’t even drink it. It surprised me how terrible it tasted.
Now I know why. Paint stripper and nail polish remover? What mad scientist thinks of these things in relation to our food? Especially when the home method you describe is so simple?
Thanks for posting this, Shona.
Home decaf works for the tea – I guess it’s not quite as simple for coffee. Thank god I am a tea drinker!
Shona,
I’m an admitted coffee snob. The idea of decaffeinated anything, makes as much sense as non-alchoholic beer, or low-fat milk, or artificial sweetener. What’s the point in partaking of any of this stuff? I do have to limit myself to 6 cups a day however…
Oooo you are a Java Junkie!!! I drink around 4-6 cups of Assam tea myself. Full caffeine. Agree with you about the modified stuff. I’d rather do without it. Cheers!