Herbal Infusions and Caffeine
All real tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, which contains caffeine. However, herbal infusions (often referred to as “herbal teas” or “tisanes”) are not true teas. While herbal teas or infusions are packaged like tea, infused like tea and enjoyed like tea, they do not actually contain any tea leaves.
Typically, herbal infusions are simply the combination of boiling water and botanicals like fruits, flowers, barks, herbs, mints, spices, roots, berries and seeds.
Note: Herbal infusions are naturally caffeine-free, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Yerba Mate and Guayusa).
What Determines Caffeine Levels?
Contrary to the popular belief that caffeine content can be categorized based on tea type (for instance the idea that black tea has more caffeine than green tea or white tea and other similar comparisons), recent studies have shown that caffeine content can and does vary—sometimes quite significantly—among even one type of tea. If you would like to learn more about what makes tea, tea, read our Tea 101.
Studies also show that the amount of caffeine in tea depends on a number of factors:
- The variety or cultivar of tea leaves (C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var.assamica)
- The cultivating age (e.g. the bud and the two youngest leaves versus the fifth toseventh leaves)
- The growing environment
- The growing methods
- The manufacturing conditions
- The preparation of infusion (e.g. ratio between tea and water used, brewing time, water temperature and the amount of agitation)
All these factors will greatly influence the caffeine level [1, 2].
Decaffeinated Teas
Our black, green and white teas are decaffeinated using a chemical-free CO2 process, known as effervescent decaffeination. It ensures that the tea is decaffeinated very gently, preserving the majority of the tea's flavor.
Our decaffeination process does not employ harmful chemicals and the CO2 is recycled afterwards. This method is considered natural and removes most of the caffeine.
References:
[1] Astill, C.; Birch, M.R.; Dacombe, C.; Humphrey, P.G.; Martin, P.T. Factors Affecting the Caffeine and Polyphenol Contents of Black and Green Tea Infusions. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2001,49,5341,5346.
[2] Lin, Y.S.; Tsai, Y.J.; Tsay, J.S.; Lin, J.K. Factors Affecting the Levels of Tea Polyphenols and Caffeine in Tea Leaves. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2003, 51, 1869.
