Are ALL green teas low in caffeine?

I would have to disagree with this if the poster gets high-quality teas that are decaffeinated using carbon dioxide instead of ethyl acetate. This method removes 99% of the caffeine and leaves no residual chemicals. I'll go way out on a limb and say that leaving 1% of the caffeine in the leaf ain't gonna hurt nobody, nohow.

-- Randy (if replying by e-mail, remove SPAMFREE and DeLeTe from my address)

I'd agree with you except that I don't know precisely what the situation is. The OP does and will choose accordingly.

Where would I buy such teas?

Or how would I know they've been treated this way?

Here's a couple to get you started.

From

"For a tea to be legally labeled "decaffeinated" in the United States, 98% of the caffeine must be removed...

All of Upton Tea Imports' decaffeinated teas are processed with CO2 to ensure that you are offered only the safest and highest quality teas on the market."

From

"Our Green and Black teas are decaffeinated using Carbon Dioxide (CO2), the same compound that plants breathe in daily. This process is also known as effervescent decaffeination...."

I got curious about teas that I purchased in the past...

From

"What makes our decaff tea special? We only use top quality teas but more importantly our process is free of chemicals (we do not use methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, despite the fact the USFDA and CFIA allow up to

10ppm of these two). We use what we term "Canadian Chemical Free CO2 Process". The tea tastes better and does not have residual chemicals."

From

"Unlike other decaffeinated tea products, Lipton Teas are decaffeinated naturally with pure spring water and effervescence that gently washes caffeine away."

From

"Twinings decaffeinated teas are decaffeinated using carbon dioxide under super critical conditions. Carbon dioxide is a natural substance (it is in the air we breathe) which leaves no residues in the decaffeinated tea. Carbon dioxide is generally recognised as safe (GRAS) and is widely used within the food industry - it is the "fizz" in carbonated beverages and is the product of yeast fermentation which causes bread to rise."

From

"Salada's decaffeination process preserves the antioxidants found in green tea by using only spring water and effervescence (CO2 method) to take the caffeine out. Some other tea brands use the chemical, ethyl acetate, which can destroy most of the best antioxidants found in green tea."

From

"Our Black Teas are decaffeinated using a natural ethyl acetate process. Ethyl acetate is naturally contained in such products as peaches, watermelons, citrus fruits, tomatoes and in trace quantities in black tea. The ethyl acetate process is fully approved by U.S. Government agencies to remove caffeine from black teas. Our Green Tea is decaffeinated using a CO2 decaffeination process."

On

the decaf process was not specific:

"Our natural decaffeination process removes 99.5% of the caffeine, while retaining rich tea flavor."

Original poster (me): can you tolerate any caffeine at all? Is the equivalent of a couple of sips of Coke too much?

If so, then you should probably avoid the "first steep trick" that some people have mentioned, and possibly also decaffeinated teas.

I would try rooibos (red bush), which is readily available nowadays, and is rich in antioxidants, and devoid of any caffeine. It has a sweetish taste, kind of like Thai tea (similar color, too), and it's not very expensive. Excellent iced, too. The quality doesn't vary as much, in my experience, as standard green and black teas--rooibos is rooibos.

It has a number of health benefits, like green tea, if that's what you're looking for. (just Google it and you'll see)

I personally like it, some whites, and smokier Chinese greens, but the latter two have caffeine in them. :-(

-Jason