If caffeine is something that sends your mental state into overdrive, you might have decided long ago that decaffeinated tea is the way to go.
But maybe you should know more about the decaffeinated tea process to have a general idea what you are putting into your body.
After all, one of the main reasons we consume tea is that it retains a lot of it’s natural state.
Manufacturers in the tea industry basically uses one of 2 main processing methods to remove caffeine from tea leaves.
- Ethyl acetate
- CO2
So, how is tea decaffeinated?
Here’s the general idea of how both are conducted.
Ethyl acetate
Ethyl acetate is a natural, yet chemical, compound that forms naturally in a various types of fruits and plants.
Ironically, it’s even present in the tea plant.
When consumed in small quantities, it does not poses any health problems to humans whatsoever.
The natural amount found in tea is definitely negligible.
In the tea decaffeination process, this substance is used to dissolve caffeine present in tea leaves.
The problem with this is that it is a pretty soluble substance that results in it removing not just the caffeine, but also many other natural components of tea leaves.
Thus, affecting the final quality of tea.
What consumers will find is that tea leaves decaffeinated using ethyl acetate will look different. And it’s taste will have a sweet or fruity flavor to it.
However, it must be noted that tea processed with this method can be classified as a naturally decaffeinated tea.
2) CO2 (carbon dioxide)
I guess most people will be familiar with carbon dioxide and it making up most of the residue air which we breathe out.
But because CO2 makes up a significant portion of the earth’s atmosphere, it is typically safe and environmentally friendly.
On top of that, it’s odorless and taste less. Making it a great element to use for naturally decaffeinated tea brands.
So much so that when we see a label saying “Naturally Decaffeinated”, it most certainly means that the CO2 method was used.
The drawback is this is that incorporating such methods into the tea production process can be very costly.
The lack of cost efficiency makes it almost impossible to operate for niche producers.
So it is often only implemented on products with mass market appeal. And we all know how mass market tea bags taste like…
3) Methylene chloride
Methylene chloride is an effective caffeine eliminator.
The problem is that there are still a lot of question marks over how safe it is to consume tea that have gone through the process.
What happens is that tea leaves are soaked in water methylene chloride. The substance then bonds with caffeine molecules, effectively becoming something else.
Tea leaves are then left to absorb it’s flavor and natural oils back via the processed water.
The benefit of this is that tea leafs are able to maintain most of it’s original flavor.
I however, will never consume a beverage containing tea processed in this way.
4) Water processing
Water processing is a more natural and manual way of decaffeinating tea.
Hot water is used to soak tea leaves. The water is then passed through carbon filters to remove traces of caffeine. After which, it is left for the tea leaves to re-absorb the flavor.
This results in the removal of most caffeine through dilution.
The problem is that the end result would be thinly flavored tea.
5) DIY home decaffeination
If you don’t like any of the decaffeinating processes listed above, there is a last option of home decaffeination which everyone can try from the comfort of the kitchen.
It probably won’t remove 100% of the caffeine. But who is to say the methods listed before could?
Because caffeine dissolves easily in water, we can remove most of it contained in tea leaves within the first minute of steeping.
What tea lover can do is to brew a cuppa as per normal. Then remove the water after 1 minute by pouring it out. You would of course keep the tea leaves.
The use fresh hot water to brew the tea again.
This simple 1-minute exercise can remove as much as 90% of the caffeine found in tea.
The setback is that you won’t get to enjoy that most delightful first cup of tea.
Should you still consume decaffeinated tea?
Finally, if you are not intolerant to caffeine, why not just keep them in the tea?
Black tea in particular is a type of tea that does not do well with decaffeination, losing a lot of it’s flavor in the process.
Green tea however, is know to perform the best in retaining it’s goodness after being put through the paces of decaffeination.
But decaffeinated tea will always have their flavors compromised. And at times, they can come with a chemical taste.
To counter this effect, manufacturers are known to add additives and artificial flavoring to enhance the taste of their products like tea bags.
That is certain against the spirit of having in the first place.