How to lower the amount of caffeine in your cup of tea?

Here are few tips if you are sensitive to caffeine or simply want to reduce caffeine intake.

If you want to reduce the amount of caffeine, you can use a little less leaf and brew our teas with slightly cooler water for a shorter period. Green, white and oolong teas are good choices, because they are lightly oxidized. These teas are processed with lower water temperatures and shorter steeping times and therefore they retain high levels of substances responsible for its health benefits.

There are claims that state nearly 70 - 80% of the caffeine can be extracted within 30 seconds of steeping. However, is it true that you can have a decaf cup of tea by pouring out the first infusion after steeping for about 30 seconds?

Some studies and experiments have shown that steeping for about 5 minutes removes about 70% of the caffeine.

Caffeine in your tea cup

Steeping for:

30 seconds - remove 9% of caffeine

1 minute - remove 18 % of caffeine

2 minutes - remove 34% of caffeine

3 minutes - remove 48% of caffeine

4 minutes - remove 60% of caffeine

5 minutes - remove 69% of caffeine

10 minutes - remove 92% of caffeine

15 minutes - remove 100% of caffeine

However, this is not general rule. There are many factors to consider.

The easiest method to try is:

First, steep the tea in hot water for 45 seconds and then discard the liquid. After that, add water to the leaves and brew for the amount of time that is appropriate for your tea.

This method will surely remove the most of the caffeine in your tea.

Note: All figures are approximate, this site does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Caffeine in your tea cup
Caffeine in your tea cup