Does green tea have caffeine? That is the question many green tea aficionados have been asking lately. While green tea does have a number of health benefits, the presence of caffeine in it causes a little discomfort to some people. In this article I will answer this as well as other frequently asked questions related to the tea and its caffeine content.
So, does green tea contain caffeine?
The answer is, yes, it does have. However, the quantity is lesser than that found in other beverages. The average cup of coffee has about 100 mg of caffeine, black tea has about 50 mg, and 12 oz. cola serving has around 35-45 mg of caffeine. Compare this with the 10-15 mg of caffeine a typical cup of green tea would have. It is much less, though not an insignificant amount.
Can I drink de-caffeinated tea to avoid it?
De-caffeinated tea will surely have much lesser caffeine, but it would also be stripped of its antioxidant properties by the caffeine removal process. Green tea derives its health benefits from catechins. These catechins are actually responsible for fighting from diseases, preventing heart failure, and reversing the effects of aging on the body.
The process that removes caffeine from green tea also strips off a considerable proportion of catechins from the tea, leaving it much less beneficial than the original form.
What is the alternative then?
The alternative is really simple, and effective. Instead of drinking 2-5 cups of tea daily, you can just take a capsule of nutritional supplement which contains the extract of green tea in it. Since the concentration of nutrients is high in these supplements, just a couple of capsules a day would provide you with all the benefits of multiple cups of tea.
The added benefit is, these supplements contain other natural extracts and vitamins, which work really well when taken in conjunction with other extracts.
For example, green tea extract when taken with ginger and natural pine bark extract adds on the benefits of improving joint mobility, reversing aging, asthma symptoms, ADHD and also improves the athletic endurance and immune system of the body.
Finally, now that you are armed with this knowledge you can research and find out a good nutritional supplement which will give all the green tea benefits, and more. The next time someone asks “Does green tea have caffeine?” you know the answer to that!
