We get this question A LOT. The short answer? Tea has caffeine. Herbals and botanicals (mostly) do not.
Now the long answer. “Tea” usually means any hot beverage infusion. But in technical terms, the world’s only “tea” comes from
Camellia sinensis, a plant that thrives in higher elevations within our planet’s equatorial belt. These leaves get harvested and processed into the black-green-oolong-white-puerh teas we know and love. These all contain caffeine (which, fun evolutionary fact, developed in
Camellia sinensis as a pest deterrent). We carry one
decaf black, which goes through a process by which carbon dioxide extracts most of the caffeine—much like the decaffeination process for coffee beans.
If you make an herbal infusion with ANY material besides tea leaves, it’s properly called a tisane. But we still call it “tea”—usually herbal, or botanical tea. Almost all herbal teas contain zero caffeine. (Beware a few exceptions: the South American plant
yerba mate acts as a stimulant. Also, chocolate contains trace amounts of caffeine.) Look at your ingredient list. If your tea doesn’t have any “tea” in it, you can bet it’s caffeine free.
Lake Missoula marks “caffeine” or “caffeine free” on all our labels. On our website we also note “slight caffeine” for herbal-focused blends with just a little true tea.
How Much Caffeine?
The next part of this question—how MUCH caffeine does this tea have—is much harder to answer. Short answer: it depends.
Long answer: we can generalize about different tea types, but you will always find exceptions. Prepared
matcha has the highest concentration of caffeine, since we consume the whole tea leaf in powder form, rather than brewing an infusion. Then the caffeine scale continues to descend: black > oolong > green > puerh > white tea.
However,
terroir means everything in the tea world. Climate, elevation, and seasonal weather patterns affect everything about your tea, including caffeine levels. Other factors:
- What time of year were the leaves harvested?
- Were they newer growth (more caffeine) or older growth (less)?
- How were tea leaves processed? Oxidation levels? Finely cut leaves, or whole?
- How was the tea stored between processing and brewing?
Remember your brewing method makes a difference! Hotter water and longer steeps coax more caffeine from the leaves. If you reduce the water temperature, you'll get a less potent cup. Traditional puerh brewing involves "rinsing" the tea with a short (5-20 second) discarded steep. If you want to reduce your caffeine intake, you can certainly try this method with any tea.
The L-Theanine Factor
Caffeine interacts with the body in complex ways. Tea contains
L-theanine, an amino acid that (among other things) regulates caffeine absorption. While many coffee drinkers experience a frantic high, followed by a sharp crash, tea drinkers tend to experience a smoother, more evenly sustained caffeine high. L-theanine also seems to encourage restful sleep, better concentration, and improved immune function.
I'll drink to that!
Written by Nathan B.
