Hello A42,
It appears that practically all Japanese green teas contain some
caffeine. It appears that in order to have no caffeine, you'll need to
drink green tea that has had the caffeine removed. However, green tea
contains much less caffeine that black tea. ?Approximate caffeine
content of teas (milligrams per cup):
-coffee has approximately twice the amount of caffeine as black tea
-black tea has 25-110mg
-semi-green/oolong has 12-55mg
-green tea has 8-16mg
Genmaicha tea and Bancha teas are those with the least amount of caffeine:
http://www.silkroadtea.com/teaequipage/caffeinecontent/#content
?Decaffeinated green tea is just about unheard of in Japan, home of
the world's finest green teas.
So does that mean one cannot drink decaffeinated green tea? If it's a
caffeine free cup that you insist on, your best bet is to start with a
high quality loose leaf Japanese green tea, preferably from the first
harvest, one that is very fresh, and one that has "not" been processed
to remove caffeine. Since nearly all of the caffeine is in the first
infusion, getting a quality cup of decaf green tea is as simple as
brewing an infusion, dumping it, and then immediately re-brewing.
Although a green tea connoisseur may cringe at the though of dumping
that most tasty, aromatic first infusion, the reality is that the 2nd
infusion of a high quality green tea is nearly always going to be
better than the first infusion of the best decaffeinated green tea on
the market.?
http://www.o-cha.com/caffeine.htm
?Green tea is the earliest type of tea ever produced, with most of
it produced in China and Japan. The first green tea was exported in
1611, when the Dutch East India Company established a factory on
Hirado Island in Japan.
In the manufacturing of green tea preservation of the intact green
leaf is of utmost importance. Green teas are not oxidized as black
teas are, or partially oxidized as oolongs, rather the tea leaves are
plucked, steamed or pan fried (which removes the oxidation enzymes),
rolled and then dried. The result yields a natural chemical
composition in green tea similar to the fresh leaf.
Green tea is known for its high content of vitamins and minerals.
Green tea contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in amounts comparable to
a lemon. It also contains several B vitamins which are water soluble
and released into a cup of tea quickly. Five cups of green tea a day
will provide you with 5-10% of the daily requirement of riboflavin,
niacin, folic acid, and pantothenic acid. The same five cups of green
tea provide approximately 5% of the daily requirement of magnesium,
25% of the potassium requirement, and 45% of the daily requirement of
manganese. Green tea also contains fluoride, which helps fight tooth
decay.?
?Approximately 80% of tea produced in Japan is Sencha Green tea. It is
made from the first and second flushes only. The first flush, or
?Ichiban Cha?, is especially delicate and grassy. This tea is steamed
and fired as it is rolled. The last plucking of the teas is made into
Bancha, known in Japan as ?the workingman's tea?. This tea has little
resemblance to the light, bright green Sencha teas.?
http://www.stashtea.com/w-050139.htm
?Because it contains astringent tannin compounds, green tea in
moderation can ease indigestion, diarrhea, and other forms of stomach
upset. Swiss researchers even have preliminary evidence that green tea
accelerates the burning of fat calories in people who are overweight.
A small but interesting 1999 study reported in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition reported increased energy expenditure and fat
oxidation in men who took a green tea extract as opposed to a placebo
or caffeine alone.?
http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,10032,00.html
?Green tea is particularly rich in health-promoting flavonoids
(which account for 30% of the dry weight of a leaf), including
catechins and their derivatives. The most abundant catechin in green
tea is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is thought to play a
pivotal role in the green tea's anticancer and antioxidant effects.
Catechins have been found to be more potent free radical scavengers
than the well known antioxidants vitamins E and C.
Most of the research showing the health benefits of green tea is based
on the amount of green tea typically consumed in Asian countries?about
3 cups per day (which would provide 240?320 mg of polyphenols). Just
one cup of green tea supplies 20-35 mg of EGCG, which has the highest
antioxidant activity of all the green tea catechins.
The health benefits of green tea have been extensively researched and,
as the scientific community's awareness of its potential benefits has
increased, so have the number of new studies. As of November 2004, the
PubMed database contained more than 1,000 studies on green tea, with
more than 400 published in 2004!?
?Green tea contains three major components that promote fat loss:
catechins, caffeine and theanine. Studies suggest that green tea
compounds promote fat loss by inhibiting both gastric and pancreatic
lipase, the enzymes that digest triglycerides, and fatty acid
synthetase, the enzyme responsible for synthesizing fatty acids into
the form in which they can be stored in the body's adipose (fat)
cells.?
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=146
Bancha Green Teas
===================
Bancha ("number or common tea")
A class of sencha harvested as a second flush tea between summer and
autumn. While lacking the delicate sweetness of quality sencha it is
respected for its well-defined character, vivid yellow colors and
refreshing and deep flavors. Bancha's meaning references the coarser
grades and heavier, late season crop from which this full-flavoured
tea is made. It is milder, cheaper and contains less caffeine than
other varieties.
H?jicha ("roasted tea")
A pan-fried or oven roasted green tea commonly found in teashops
throughout Japan. Both bancha and kukicha are used to make hojicha
grades. Hojicha tends to be a more aromatic tea. It holds very little
astringency, has a distinctively clear red appearance and is lower in
caffeine.?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_tea#Gyokuro_Green_Teas
You can find decaffeinated Japanese green teas online, as well as
tease with almost insignificant amounts of caffeine:
Where to purchase:
==================
?We?ve created a decaffeinated version of our popular Japanese
Sencha Green tea that has all the mild, nutty flavor with less than 2
mg of caffeine per cup (compared with 20 mg for regular Sencha and 80
mg in a cup of coffee). Stash Decaffeinated Sencha is made with
naturally decaffeinated green tea using only the CO2 method to help
remove the caffeine, while leaving full flavor. It brews a beautiful
golden-green cup with a distinctive light flavor and no astringency.
Tip: To best enjoy this tea, bring fresh water to a boil and then let
it cool for approximately 1 minute. Pre-heat your teapot by pouring in
some of the hot water and then emptying it. Add hot water to the
leaves and let the leaves steep for no more than three minutes. Pour
into small cups and sip slowly.?
http://www.stashtea.com/w-050139.htm
Sencha Decaffeinated tea
http://www.englishteastore.com/1mt-sgd.html
This merchant sells LOW caffeine Japanese teas, and has very
informative charts near the bottom of the page, with the caffeine and
tannic acid content, along with vitamin and mineral content of
various teas:
?The following teas are not decaffeinated but they do contain less
caffeine than standard green (which contains less caffeine then
coffee). You can see the caffeine charts below to compare.?
Japanese Sencha
?This delicate white tea brings a refreshing lightness to premium
Japanese Sencha green tea. Savor its hint of wildflower and meadow. A
blend rich in flavor and high in natural antioxidants and vitamins.
White tea contains less caffeine than green tea.
?Vanilla lovers will enjoy this new spin on Japan's classic pan
roasted green tea. A balanced blend of stem and leaf tinged with
vanilla creates a unique toasty blend that goes very well with or as
desert. This tea appeals to many for its roasted coffee bean-like
taste. Teas like Houjicha roasted in high temperatures are low in
caffeine content because caffeine is released as a gas from solid
substances when heated.?
Roated Rice and Bancha
?In a marriage of two classic Japanese flavors, roasted rice adds a
velvety note of chestnuts to this vigorous whole leaf bancha green
tea. The flavor of Genmaicha is a melange of green tea and roasted
rice. A unique full bodied green tea experience low in caffeine. The
proportioning of tea to rice is important, the more aromatic Genmai
teas have a higher amount of rice.?
http://www.greentealovers.com/greenteaproductsdecaf.cfm
Genmaicha tea, according to the chart above has virtually NO caffeine,
and is a green tea:
http://www.culinaryteas.com/Green_Teas/Genmaicha_Tea.html
Not a green tea, but caffeine free:
http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/hyakunencha.htm
Bancha
http://www.bodyofmine.com/tea/Green_tea/green_tea.htm
http://www.bodyofmine.com/tea/Green_tea/Bancha/bancha.htm
Sencha : This delightful green tea is decaffeinated using a process
that does not detract from the tea's health benefits. This tea is
grown in the West Lake Region of the Zhejiang Province of China.
This gourmet green tea is in loose leaf form and will ship with a free
tea ball infuser. Limit one free infuser per order.
http://www.coffeeam.com/decjapgreens.html
Decaffeinated Japanese green teas:
http://www.holymtn.com/tea/decaftea.htm
Decaffeinating processes:
?Carbon Dioxide Process
Our Decaffeinated Japanese Sencha starts on a base of premium sencha
tea. Supercritical Carbon Dioxide is the most widely used solvent for
decaffeination of food products. The gas is odorless, tasteless and
inert. Carbon dioxide processing leaves no toxic residues. In
addition, extraction of the caffeine takes place at room temperature
which protects product quality by preventing the breakdown of
temperature-sensitive components. After extraction occurs, the
supercritical fluid turns back into a gas, so no solvent residue
remains. The decaffeination processes run under normal, official food
control and fully comply with the Swiss and European food laws.?
http://www.holymtn.com/tea/decaffeinated.htm
This previous answer, by Kriswrite-ga, may be of interest to you.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=544002
I hope this helps you locate Japanese tea! If any part of my answer is
unclear, please request an Answer Clarification, and allow me to
respond, before you rate. I will be happy to assist you further,
before you rate.
Sincerely, Crabcakes
Search Terms
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Decaffeinated Japanese teas
Japanese tea + caffeine free
Caffeine free tea + Japanese
Japanese green teas
CO2 decaffeination process |
