Looking to kick the caffeine-induced jitters without giving up your morning rituals or losing flavor? The Tea & Spice Shoppe has you covered. There’s no need to worry about loss of flavor when you drink our decaffeinated teas. Our methods of creating decaffeinated teas ensure that the quality of the tea doesn’t suffer at all.
You can find many of our decaffeinated & caffeine-free blends here, but if you’re wondering exactly what decaffeinated means versus caffeine-free means keep reading! We’re here to make those terms crystal clear (hopefully as crystal clear as the water you use to brew your tea!).
What Does Decaffeinated Mean?
All teas made from the Camellia sinensis plant contain natural levels of caffeine. That's all black, green, white, and oolong teas, as well as chai since their base is black tea. Caffeine is one of many self-defense chemicals a tea produces to repel bugs while the plant grows. Unfortunately for the tea, we humans discovered they make for a great sleep repellant. And they taste great too!
Decaffeinated tea is tea that was naturally caffeinated until put through a process to remove the chemical that helps wake you up. Our decaf black teas include Decaf English Breakfast, Decaf Irish Breakfast, and Earl Grey Decaf, while we also carry a green tea, Decaf Sencha Kyushu Green.
Caffeine-free "teas" are not teas at all but blends of herbs, flowers, spices, and dried fruit. This grouping includes all our fruit, rooibos, herbal & wellness. Our popular Masala Chai and Organic Raspberry Lemonade fall into this category. When there is only a single ingredient, such as our Sweet Chamomile or Peppermint, these are referred to as pure tisanes.
When it comes to taking tea with caffeine and making it decaffeinated, there are two ways to extract all or almost all the caffeine. Here are the decaffeinated tea processes we use at The Tea & Spice Shoppe to make sure you have all the quality and flavor you want without the caffeine.
What About Green Teas?
Many people assume that because green tea is so healthy, it must be caffeine-free! But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, some green teas can have as much caffeine as black teas. But that shouldn't diminish the many health benefits of green tea. It simply means you should still watch how much green tea you drink.
The amount of caffeine varies by beverage and how that beverage is prepared, but in general, sources online report black teas have around 40-60 mg of caffeine per cup, while greens can range between 20-40 mg. Which is still significantly lower than the average amount of caffeine you might find in a cup of coffee, 80-100 mg, and one of the reasons why it can be difficult to cut caffeine cold-turkey.
It's also why selecting a beverage with lower caffeine content, like our green teas and our selection of matcha, can aid in your transition to beating the caffeine-jitters. All while providing essential vitamins & minerals, antioxidants, and boosting metabolism.
No matter your reason for drinking caffeine-free tea, whether it’s doctor’s orders or wanting a good night’s sleep, you can find a decaffeinated or caffeine-free tea you’ll love at The Tea & Spice Shoppe.
