Most of the benefits you get from drinking tea comes from the antioxidants you receive from it. The principle function of these antioxidants are to give the free radicals that are produced by your body's metabolism a place to safely offload the electrical charge they get through allowing your cells to produce energy. Without something to offload this charge onto, these free radicals instead attack your body and DNA in an attempt to get back to a stable state.
Without antioxidizing compounds, your body ends up taking the hit and your overall health suffers as a result. So, needless to say, antioxidants are important. The relationship between antioxidants and free radicals sounds fairly straight forward; free radicals get produced, antioxidants take care of them, but it is far more complicated than that.
The term "antioxidant" describes a broad category of different chemical compounds, and their varying chemical structure makes the different types of antioxidants more or less suitable to be used by the different types of cells throughout your body. Because of this, different types of antioxidants can be beneficial for certain body functions, and by extension, certain antioxidants can be beneficial for things like combating joint inflammation or promoting liver function, for example.
As it relates to tea, the camellia sinensis, or tea bush, is jam packed with a specific group of naturally occurring plant compounds called catechins. A member of the flavonoid family, these catechins give plants their color, and when we consume them as part of the tea we drink, they function as antioxidants that can benefit our bodies in a number of ways. The most commonly discussed compound in this family is EGCG, or epigallocatechin galloate, which has been shown in countless peer reviewed articles to have benefits for everything from brain health to combating cancer cells, but this is not the only one.
Along with EGCG, there are a number of other polyphenol compounds in tea like p-coumaroylquinic acid and gallic acid, that all work together to help to lower cholesterol, promote digestive health, slow down aging via reducing the amount of damage your DNA receives, as well as a wide variety of other health benefits.
With all of this in mind, you obviously want to get a healthy dose of these antioxidants, and if you are going to be drinking tea for it's health benefits, these are the go-to molecules that you want the most of. Many of our caffeine-sensitive customers come in and tell us that they would like decaf. While decaffeinated tea does have a reduced quantity of caffeine, many of our customers are surprised to hear that decaf tea still contains some caffeine.
This means that each cup of decaf tea should contain about 2 mg per properly brewed cup. Click here to see our Caffeine Free Tea Collection. Click here to see our Decaffeinated Tea Collection. For these customers, we recommend our caffeine-free teas. These are teas which have never at any point contained caffeine. Here, we'll tell you how decaf tea is made and what it means for you. Made from flowers, leaves and roots of a variety of plants, decaf tea allows you to drink your favorite beverage without worrying about feeling wired or full of energy.
Relax with floral blends or invigorating mints any time of day thanks to decaf teas. Decaf tea simply means there is no caffeine present in the tea. This can be important for people who suffer from caffeine sensitivity or if you want to enjoy a tea before bedtime. It's important to note that decaf tea may still contain very low caffeine levels depending on how its produced — more on that in a minute.
Too much caffeine can interrupt the sleep cycle and cause side effects including nausea, upset stomach, aggravate acid reflux, and trigger migraines. All types of tea can be decaffeinated, although black tea, oolong tea, and green tea from the Camellia sinensis plant are the most popular and widely available varieties.
While these two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a significant difference between caffeine-free teas and those which are decaffeinated. Caffeine-free teas don't contain any amounts of caffeine, while decaf teas contain caffeine which is later removed in order to appeal to wider populations.
Decaffeinated tea is distinct from naturally caffeine-free teas as there are still trace amounts of caffeine in these teas. Typically decaffeinated tea contains 2 milligrams of caffeine, as the decaffeination process can't totally remove it all. The amount of caffeine will vary depending on the method used for decaffeination and the quality standards of the company that removes the caffeine from tea. Caffeine-free teas don't have any caffeine to begin with thanks to their natural composition.
Caffeine-free teas are generally herbal teas or tisanes such as jasmine tea , chamomile tea and mint tea. Caffeine-free herbal teas like chamomile are popular bedtime teas since they produce a natural calming effect. So how does one get the caffeine out of tea? Well, there are four different methods used to take the naturally occurring caffeine out of tea leaves.
There are methods using chemical solvents, carbon dioxide, and water. Each method works a little bit differently and produces a different effect on the flavor and consistency of the tea. This method also is the most effective at helping the tea maintain its flavor profile and removing the caffeine content without altering any potential health benefits.
This method is nontoxic and generally more expensive, but it's the best at preserving the composition of the tea.
Tea leaves are subjected to high pressure and high temperatures until the carbon dioxide reaches what is termed the super-critical state. At this point, the carbon dioxide transforms into a solvent and attracts the caffeine molecules in the leaves. The flavor molecules within the leaves are larger than the carbon dioxide and caffeine molecules, which is why they are unaffected by this decaffeination method.
Featuring a low toxicity and a lower cost than alternative methods, this is a popular process, although it is known to alter flavor profiles of tea. Tea leaves are soaked in ethyl acetate to remove the caffeine. After the caffeine is removed, it is near impossible to remove the ethyl acetate from the loose tea leaves. But many of my clients, who often travel for work or simply keep unconventional hours, struggle with the same issue: an erratic caffeine intake can lead to spikes and drops in energy that ultimately zap your get-up-and-go.
Like many of my clients, when I gave up caffeine, I felt better within days. I fell asleep faster and slept more soundly. For me, ditching caffeine greatly improved my quality of life and overall wellness. But I was not about to give up my beloved coffee—or tea, for that matter. Fortunately there are delicious caffeine-free options for enjoying both, with health benefits to boot. Keeping these on hand means I can simply order a hot water or steamed almond milk , sprinkle in my crystals and a bit of cinnamon, and enjoy a deliciously smooth and organic decaf coffee anytime.
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