I’m writing to ask for suggestions. I’m not going to get into all the dirty details of the workings of my body, but I’m in a period of transition, and I have found myself incredibly sensitive to caffeine lately. I had a tall cup of chai last week from the tea room at work, and the jitters took over, later replaced by migraines.
This may pass, and I may be able to sip the sweet extractions of the camellia sinensis once again, but for now I am forced to pass on it. As the founder of a tea blog, this is incredibly frustrating. So I am writing this to beg you all for suggestions for my poor, deprived, tea-loving tastebuds! Vanilla rooibos and hojicha are high on my list, but I don’t want them to become tiresome over time.
I seem to be okay with occasional green jasmines and oolongs, as long as I don’t overdo it. I’m avoiding blacks and – oh, it’s so hard to admit – even pu’erhs. What’s your favorite low-to-no-caf tea or tisane? Is it available in the Seattle area or online?
If you can tolerate a very small amount of caffeine, maybe now is the time to cultivate an interest in white tea? According to the Stash website, a cup of white tea has only 15 mg of caffeine, as compared with 40 mg in a cup of black tea. If you can handle hojicha (which everyone says is “very low” in caffeine, but still not caffeine free), I’m guessing that white tea might be OK too.
Mighty Leaf has some lovely looking white teas. I don’t know what you would think about a rose-petal scented tea, but it’s so pretty! There’s also a Silver Jasmine.
When I was younger, I used to get migraines on a fairly regular basis. I was able to tolerate caffeine, so long as drank the same amount every day. I wonder if drinking the same amount of low-caffeine tea on a regular basis might help your body to develop a more comfortable habituation?
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Left by Cat on February 25th, 2007
I have some of the Tao of Tea’s French Vervaine and it is a very nice, calming traditional tisane. One thing I like about Tao of Tea is that they have a caffeine scale on all of their teas and they include them on their website descriptions also. (The non-tea tisanes do not have them since they are completely caffeineless.)
The tisane that might be a great alternative to tea is 100% Gingko leaf. It needs to be approached with caution due to its medicinal qualities, however. Its effect of opening up bloodflow to the brain could actually help alleviate the symptoms of the migraines – It is commonly used by people in the treatment for headaches and migraines (which you might already be well familiar with).
Ginkgo biloba may also be of assistance if you have migraines. It improves circulation, decreases inflammation, and inhibits the production of a substance called platelet-activating factor that may be linked to migraines.
- excerpted from an article with information on gingko and migraines.
But there’s also contradictory information about it. Some studies indicate that the herb can interact badly with migraine medication and actually make the migraines worse.
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Left by Cinnabar on February 25th, 2007
On good days, you can “decaffinate” teas yourself by pouring an infusion, letting it steep, pouring it off, then steeping the leaves again. I can’t remember what the percentage is, but most of the caffine in tea comes out in the first steeping, so that might be handy to try. It works for blacks as well as greens and whites, as far as I know. Stash also has some very yummy flavored decaf teas – check them out, and I think you’ll be in heaven. Vanilla Nut Creme is one of my absolute favorites, and it’s only available in decaf.
Adagio has some flavored white teas that are very good (I’m partial to the Pear and Blueberry myself). It’s a bit controversial as to how much caf. white tea actually has, but the good news is, all white teas are good for steeping multiple times, so you can simply steep them once, pour off the first infusion, and then drink the following infusions – voila, instant decaf.
As for rooibos…go nuts! I buy Rooibos from Dragonwater, and love, love, love the Creamy Caramel, Strawberry Cream, and Macadamia flavors.
Republic of Tea has a line of tisanes…they contain no tea, only herbs/florals, so you may want to check that out. I have a sample of a chamomille mixture that I haven’t tried yet, but they sound like they might be pretty good…
Good luck, and I hope everything “stabilizes” again soon, so you’ll be back drinking tea in no time!
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Left by Jamie on February 26th, 2007
Cat: White tea is a good idea – why do we overlook it so often? I try to switch up the amount of caffeine because being dependent upon it is almost as painful as having too much.
Cinnabar: I’ve been talking with another friend about gingko biloba as well – I think I might give it a try on my “good” days and see how I feel.
Jamie: Thank you for offering a method of drinking darker teas without the full impact of the caffeine – I can’t believe I didn’t think of it! And I am due for a trip to the Teacup, and you’ve inspired me to try all of their rooibos blends.
Hopefully this will all pass soon, but in the meantime, I’m really glad I asked – I have a lot of things to try out!
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Left by Colleen on February 26th, 2007
Brewing the tea for a mere thirty seconds removes something like 80-90% of the caffeine. If you use a high quality tea, you may still be able to get several infusions out of the same pot/cup/gaiwan even after being “decaffinated” in this manner. I use this method when i REALLY want a cup of tea, but fear it is too close to bed time. Good luck.
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Left by erik on March 3rd, 2007
Thank you – we were wondering about time and percentages, and this gives me a good idea of what to shoot for. All of the oolongs I have are high enough quality that I can get several tasty infusions.
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Left by Colleen on March 3rd, 2007
Thanks for the nice blog. I’m a great fan of Rooibos tea
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Cinnabar Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Thank you for reading!
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Left by Health Rooibos tea on March 24th, 2009