The cancer prevention component of tea is in the polyphenols in the tea. The processing of green tea maintains more of these polyphenols making it better than black tea overall for its health benefits. But does the process of decaffeinating green tea reduce the health benefits of decaf green tea?
Two processes are used for decaffeinating tea. One, which makes use of the solvent ethyl acetate, retains only 30 percent of the polyphenols. The other process uses only water and carbon dioxide and is called “effervescence.” It retains 95 percent of the polyphenols. Be sure to check labels to see which process was used.
Don’t like decaf green tea, there is good news. The first steep of the tea leaves contains the most caffeine. Each subsequent steep contains less caffeine and by the third steep the caffeine content is reduced to almost 2%. To take advantage of this, steep the green tea for 50 seconds and discard the tea, but not the leaves. Add new water and enjoy your reduced caffeine gourmet tea.
Until next time – happy steeping.
Tags: Decaf Green Tea, decaf tea, gourmet tea, Green Tea