Caffeine is a stimulant naturally found in tea and other plants, such as coffee and cocoa. Decaffeinated tea contains much less caffeine than you find in regular tea. Decaffeinated tea contains negligible calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates, but it is high in fluoride and offers some B vitamins. Decaffeinated tea is rich in antioxidants that may offer protection against several diseases.
Methods of Decaffeination
Decaffeinated tea still contains a small amount of caffeine. To legally label tea as "decaffeinated," it must contain less than 2.5 percent the original caffeine content of the tea, according to Arbor Tea, a tea manufacturer. Tazo Tea, another manufacturer, says several factors affect the natural caffeine level in tea, including the location of the leaf on the tea plant and the growing and harvesting conditions. The amount of caffeine in decaffeinated tea, therefore, depends on the initial level of caffeine in the tea.
The method of decaffeinating tea may affect its health benefits. Arbor Tea lists four methods of removing caffeine from tea. Methylene chloride binds caffeine. This chemical is considered unhealthy for consumption. The U.S. bans imports using methylene chloride and imposes a 5 ppm limit on methylene chloride residue in tea. Ethyl acetate is another chemical that binds to caffeine. Tea decaffeinated with ethyl acetate is called "naturally decaffeinated," because ethyl acetate naturally occurs in tea. However, excess ethyl acetate is difficult to remove from tea and may impart a chemical flavor. Some companies use pressurized carbon dioxide to extract caffeine. Caffeine extraction with water is safe, although some of the tea flavor and levels of other chemicals may be diminished.
Decaffeinate Tea at Home
It's easy to decaffeinate tea yourself. According to Tazo, simply steep the tea in boiling water for 45 seconds, pour off and discard this liquid and make your cup of tea with fresh boiling water. This method removes 95 percent of the caffeine, yet retains 80 percent of the tea flavor.
Decaffeinated Tea Nutrition
The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory reports an 8-oz. cup of decaffeinated black tea contains 2 calories with 0 g protein, 0 g fat and 0.7 g carbohydrates. A cup of decaffeinated tea has 12 mcg of folate and smaller amounts of several other B vitamins. An 8-oz. cup of tea contains 88 mg potassium, 7 mg magnesium, 0.6 mg fluoride, 0.5 mg manganese and 0.05 mg iron. According to the USDA, the average amount of caffeine in a cup of decaffeinated tea is 2 mg.
Decaffeinated Versus Regular
A wellness letter put out by the University of California at Berkeley advises the health benefits of decaffeinated tea are not as well known as the benefits of regular tea. The compounds responsible for many health benefits of tea are antioxidants called flavonoids. Decaffeinated tea contains lower levels of some flavonoids when compared with regular tea, and other flavonoids remain at the same level. According to the University of California, some decaffeinated tea actually contains higher antioxidant activity than its regular counterpart.
Health Benefits
Most of the studies on the health effects of tea involve regular tea, so it is difficult to say for certain which health benefits might apply to decaffeinated tea. MedlinePlus, an information resource provided by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. National Library of Medicine, attributes reduction in risk of Parkinson's disease, improved mental alertness and increased urine production to caffeine. Therefore, these health effects may not be applicable to decaffeinated tea. Several health benefits of tea are based on the high levels of polyphenol antioxidants that regular and decaffeinated teas contain. Tea may help prevent certain cancers, high cholesterol, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, liver disease and tooth decay.
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