Decaf Inexperienced Tea Advantages: Advantages, Dangers, and Recipes

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Everyone knows green tea is pretty great. It is widely recognized by science as The Right Stuff. So does this mean that decaffeinated green tea has benefits too?

After all, decaf black teas are pretty popular and limit the amount of caffeine you have in your system. This means you may be able to fall asleep even before 4 a.m. Decaffeinated green tea went through the same decaffeination process – it was soaked in a solution to remove the naturally occurring caffeine – before it was packaged and put on sale.

How does decaffeinated green tea stack up in terms of benefits and how does it compare against its caffeinated cousin?

Okay, the main reason people are so excited about green tea is because it has a slew of potential health benefits. Some are more specific than others, but here are three of the things that food eaters get excited about the most.

Antioxidants

The really good news is that green tea is full of delicious, juicy antioxidants!

Free radicals are unstable molecules that form in your body when you’re exposed to cigarette smoke, air pollution, or too much sunlight.

They cause a process called “oxidative stress,” which is believed to be involved in all sorts of nasty diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Antioxidants can counteract the damage caused by oxidative stress.

A possible cancer buster?

There is hope that drinking green tea may lower your risk of cancer thanks to these antioxidant superheroes.

With nothing set in stone yet, more studies need to be done. The evidence is largely based on laboratory results and the lower cancer rates in countries that tend to have high green tea drinkers.

However, there is hope that green tea could help stop cancer cells from multiplying, which would be a huge win. (Just remember, the National Cancer Institute doesn’t recommend using tea as a treatment.)

It is good for your heart!

Studies in Japan and China seem to show regular green tea drinkers have slower decreases in HDL-C cholesterol. We’re used to thinking of any cholesterol as bad, but this one is actually a “good one” that helps keep your heart healthy, which means that green tea could potentially help you live longer.

But there’s always a catch, isn’t there?

Remember, all of the above health benefits apply to regular green tea. The process of decaffeinating green tea strips away a significant amount of its antioxidants, which means the free radical destroying benefits aren’t as potent in decaffeinated versions.

But what about that decaffeinated tea? It must have some advantages, right? Otherwise why should they make it? That would be just insane!

Good news! Blessed are the tea makers because decaf green tea can bring you some pretty sweet health benefits.

1. Less caffeine

Somehow it goes without saying, isn’t it? But if you’re one of those people cursed with a caffeine sensitivity (it gives you palpitations, tremors, restlessness, and headaches) and you still want those nifty green tea health benefits, decaf green tea is a great way for you to do so do get them without the negative caffeine effects.

2. It could improve your memory

A recent study in Japan looked at whether consuming decaffeinated green tea daily could improve memory – and so far the results are looking pretty good! Researchers found that people given a daily dose of the decaf greens appeared to improve working memory.

3. It can help you lose weight

Green tea is widely associated with weight loss, but the truth is, no one is entirely sure. And even if you do, it could be partly due to the caffeine in regular green tea.

So what about decaf? The jury is out again. Studies seem to suggest that there is some effect in both humans and laboratory mice, but more studies need to be done before we can fully place our weight management hopes on it. Bah!

4. It can relieve stress

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated green teas contain theanine, an irritating little chemical that studies show can help you reduce mental stress. Pour a cup of coffee and relax!

Okay, let’s get back to the decaf versus regular green tea debate. We’ve already seen that decaf tea has fewer antioxidants than caffeinated green tea – so why bother drinking it?

The good news is that not all is bad!

It’s true that the decaffeination process removes some antioxidants, as well as other healthy chemical compounds known as flavanols. But it doesn’t remove all of them. And some are better than none, right?

According to a 2003 study, antioxidant levels ranged from:

  • 728 to 1,686 Trolox equivalents (the thing you measure antioxidants in) per gram in regular tea
  • 507 to 845 Trolox equivalents per gram decaffeinated

So it’s a reduction, but you’re still getting a nice amount of antioxidants in your cup.

Also, keep in mind that caffeine increases blood pressure slightly. So if you’ve had problems with that, switching to decaf tea may actually be better for you than drinking caffeinated green tea!

Okay, decaffeinating isn’t just about the joy. There are a few things to look out for:

  • Caffeine sensitivity. Decaffeination doesn’t completely remove the caffeine from a drink. You will still experience some exposure. If your sensitivity to caffeine is quite high, you might want to avoid tea entirely.
  • Liver damage. Studies have shown that the risk of liver damage from green tea extract is very low. The risk seems to be highest when you mix green tea with other ingredients in herbal remedies. Your morning cup of coffee shouldn’t hurt you – just be careful with herbal supplements or discuss them with a health professional before taking them.
  • Overdo it. It’s best not to drink more than 8 cups a day (or 6 if you’re pregnant).

Are you tempted to brew and decaffeinate your own green tea at home?

Bad news, we fear – green tea is not easy to argue about! Some people decaffeinate at home with a hot water rinse, which is essentially boiling your tea in water before throwing away the liquid and using the damp leaves to make a cup of coffee as you normally would.

The problem with this is that it gets rid of the caffeine. But many nutrients are also withdrawn. Oh, and the taste. Oops.

In general, it is better to buy decaf coffee from the store. You can also choose green tea based on its processing methods. Leaves soaked in ethyl acetate are generally considered to be “naturally decaffeinated”.

You can also buy green tea that has been processed with carbon dioxide. CO2 is the most effective way to remove caffeine while preserving the taste, but it tends to be more expensive.

Storage / cooling tips

After you’ve bought yourself a delicious decaffeinated green tea, one question remains: where the hell do you keep it?

Well, if you bought it from one of those fancy shops that keep the tea in a glass jar … we’re really sorry to tell you it might not be a bueno by now. It is certainly drinkable, but light is not the friend of dried tea, and the rays of the sun filtering through the glass have probably already degraded it a bit. Meh.

Instead, it’s best to choose tea from a can or box and put it straight in the refrigerator. Don’t be tempted to open it: this will let in oxygen and make the tin more likely to condense in it – no bueno either.

Once you’re ready to use your tea, take it home from the cozy refrigerator and put it in a dry, dark cupboard. Avoid light and moisture and your decaffeinated green tea will last a lot longer.

Who would want to just use decaf green tea in a drink? Boring!

Green tea plays a role in a wide variety of recipes. So, if you’re not a fan of hot drinks, you can get all of these antioxidant properties without having to boil your kettle. Check out some of these ideas:

Is Decaffeinated Green Tea Good For You? In a word: yes.

It has all of the benefits of caffeinated green tea without the restlessness and potential insomnia that caffeine brings with it. And the potential health benefits of green tea are pretty extensive.

With studies being done to reduce your risk of cancer and other diseases, decaf green tea may be a lot more than just something to dip your biscuit in.

But remember, the decaffeination process along with the caffeine drains some of the goodness. It’s certainly better than nothing, but if you are interested in getting the best bang for your buck and caffeine is not an issue for you, you are probably better off sticking to the normal things. It’s easy to be green!