How can you tell if tea has caffeine?

if they test that batch before packing and put the test result on the label

which i've never seen. and it would be expensive and time waste for the tea company.

caffeine is caffeine

usually hope that black tea has more caffeine, but YMMV

Tea has one ingredient: tea. If it contains tea, it contains caffeine unless a process has been used to specifically remove it. If it does not contain tea, it is not a tea at all but a tisane.

--scott

I have understood that tea with a lot ot tips has more caffeine. Toci

It contains caffeine if there's no indication that it's decaffeinated.

If it's a green, black, oolong, white (or any other kinds of TEA varieties), it will have caffeine. If it does not have caffeine, it will say so explicitly on the label (and even then, there are probably traces of caffeine)

If it's an herbal or rooibos blend, then it is caffeine free. Anything fruity is generally caffeine free as well. Of course, if it is combined with a green, black, etc. then it will have some caffeine.

Generally, tea bags will make a big deal if something is caffeine free (Celestial Seasonings and Tazo I know do this). If they don't mention it, it probably isn't.

Remember that you can easily "decaffeinate" any tea by steeping it for a minute and pouring off the contents. The next cup you steep will have 65-80% less caffeine (the numbers get kinda screwy here, but that's the general idea). I don't recommend doing this, though, as you will lose a lot of the flavor if it's a flavored tea.

It isn't tea because it didn't come from the Camilla sinensis "tea" plant.

Unless it's Yerba mate which has caffeine.

After 30 seconds, you lose too much flavor for practically no additional benefit.

The last time I mentioned DIY decaffeination, I got jumped for propagating a myth. I still don't understand it because, not only is it fairly common knowledge by now among tea people, the first time I heard about it, I was told the name of the man who discovered it and that there was a website. Since that was about 10 years ago, there's no way I can remember the details of who discovered it or the URL and the man who told me about it, a former instructor, has since died so I can't go back to him and ask.

So, now I'm in the position of wondering if the myth about DIY decaffeinating is a myth since apparently anybody can put up a webpage with the scientific basis for whatever's being touted.

"I know it's true; I read it on the Internet!"

The paper doesn't really give a reason, just notes that there is a difference. They are using bagged teas vs. loose leaf, though, so one might suspect that the extra surface area to volume ratio of tea bag fannings would be the culprit.

-Brent

Okay, thanks.

I think this is a more complex issue than just the caffeine, there are other stimulants in tea (I believe at least two other ones). Green and white and oolong teas can have as much or more caffeine than blacks, but blacks have a far different 'buzz' (and stronger) than the other teas, as far as I can tell. There are a huge number of variables that may affect this. The difference in taste itself can have a stimulating effect. The difference in aroma may have an effect as well. Various non-stimulating chemicals may have effect on how stimulants are absorbed. The ratio of the three stimulants may have an effect too.

As far as I'm concerned, second, third, etc steeps make tea with notably less stimulating effect but also not as tasty, unless you're talking about gong-fu method. I usually don't bother. I'm so used to white and green tea that I don't get any stimulating effect from 8-9 oz, and the first steep tastes much better to me, even for very good teas, although it may be that I use less leaf than is common..

good point. If they used bagged tea that means that even less will be released in loose leaf in the same period.

I am very puzzled about the origin of the "30 second" myth too.

I read about another study which uses hot water decaffeination, but using semi-processed leaves, which are then pan roasted later. Now that is real decaffenation that not only removes caffeine but keep the nutrients intact.

By the way caffeine is good for you so a few cups a day do an awful good....

Oops! Did I just say that?

Julian

Thanks for pointing that out Lew, I see how the language in the abstract is unclear. However, in the full text they make it more obvious that they are talking about successive steeps with the same leaf/bag. The full article is available on ScienceDirect (http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/0963-9969(96)00038-5) if you have a subscription or university access.

-Brent

Sorry, I can't get to the original in the near future. But if they really mean it that way, then what they represent as the Asian (at least *East* Asian) way of steeping leaves is wrong. Resteeping the same leaves is the norm in East Asia.

/Lew

I traced it back to a U.S. Department of Nutritional Services report and quit to go out and get more spring water before it starts sleeting.

Will continue to look.

That is what I meant to say- they did successive steeps (resteeps, if you will) of the same leaves or bags. No "fresh" leaves/bags were used except in the first steeps.

-Brent

I've heard mixed things about the decaffeinating as well.

Basically, I believe that if you're sensitive to caffeine, drink tisanes (herbal, rooibos, etc.) Don't bother with this decaf-tea stuff, because either the flavor was lost, or they used chemicals to decaffeinate.

But some pe> >