Decaffeinating Tea Myth

Hi all,

I have to admit, I’m very disappointed in a new research study about decaffeinating tea. For years I’ve been telling my customers that you can decaffeinate tea by steeping it first for 30 seconds and then resteeping it for the correct amount of time (black 4 minutes, greens/oolongs 3 minutes). Now after reading a recent article from a well respected colleague Bruce Richardson, it was found that it takes 6 minutes to remove 80% of the caffeine -which will take out most of the flavor of the tea. The study didn’t give an exact percentage for the 30 second method but two other studies cited said the 30 second method only decaffed the tea 9-20% which is much less than previously thought.

So I guess the 30 second method does take out a bit of the caffeine and it’s better than nothing. But for those very sensitive to caffeine I’ll definitely have to recommend an herbal tisane such as Rooibos. Luckily at least tea contains much less caffeine than coffee, so for those trying to cut down on their caffeine intake, tea is a great way to go.

To read more about the decaf research read the article.

Have a wonderful day!

Amy