Decrease Your Caffeine Intake and Still Drink Tea
The fascinating thing about the study of caffeine is that it has been seriously studied for more than two centuries, although its first uses date nearly millennia ago. Interestingly, the conclusions of most scientific studies are the same: Caffeine is a crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant in the brain yet it does not impact everyone in the same way.
For example, in general, caffeine causes alertness in the brain and increased energy in the body and may even help breathing for some people. For others, it causes a jitteriness evidenced in feeling nervous, irritable or shaking hands. For a third category of study participants, caffeine acts not at all as a stimulant but as a sedative. Yes, some people drink caffeinated beverages to induce sleep!
If you’re one of those people for whom caffeine raises blood pressure or makes you uncomfortably nervous, and you need to eliminate caffeine from your diet, be aware that caffeine is the most prominent and common xanthine alkaloid found in tea, coffee, cocoa, and the kola nut.
DECAFFEINATION
Fortunately, there are two things you can do to have an enjoyable beverage experience. For tea, you can brew the tea normally, discard the liquor (or feed it to your plants). Then, brew the tea a second time. Yes, there will be less flavor and, absolutely, there will up to 90% or more less caffeine. It’s not the same practice for decaffeinating coffee, so check for a coffee source that offers water-based decaffeination for a good alternative. Water-based decaffeination methods are healthier than the more common chemical-based methods.
THE MOST DELICIOUS ALTERNATIVE
The most practical, and most delicious, choice is to choose teas brewed from other plants, flowers, and herbs from peppermint to rooibos, from hibiscus to moringa. Brew with boiling water and steep for three to five minutes or longer to taste.
Rooibos
The top choice for true tea lovers might be rooibos which has the anomalous ability to offer the same if not more antioxidants than true tea. Rooibos or Aspalathus linearis comes from the bark of the South African red bush grown on the west coast. It blends beautifully with flavorings and spices. Best of all, you have a choice between the more vegetal Green Rooibos or the heartier, earthier nutty flavor of the traditionally dried Rooibos. As a bonus, rooibos is very forgiving and over steeping does not make it bitter.
Along with rooibos and green rooibos, there’s a third offering from South Africa, honeybush tea, made from the flowers of the Cyclopia spp. or heuningbos in Afrikaans, It’s a shrub that grows in both the Western and Eastern Cape regions. The plant’s flowers do indeed smell of honey and its taste is sweeter yet similar to and a tad fuller-bodied than rooibos. Both honeybush and rooibos take beautifully to a wide range of flavorings making these tisanes as exceptional for variety as they are delicious for flavor.
Herbal Options
Herbal Teas, also called tisanes, offer refreshment, distinct fragrance and flavor, and quite often a wellness element from calm (lavender, chamomile, calendula) to improving digestion (mint, peppermint) to soothing tonics for colds or sore throats (blood orange, double ginger, or spearmint.)
NEW STAR OF HERBAL BREWS
The Moringa oleifera plant offers a great boost of nutrition and antioxidants and its herbaceous earthy-grassy notes make this both a delightful morning brew and an afternoon tea accompaniment. This also blends well with fruity teas to balance the vegetal flavor.