Teas without caffeine

Are you looking for teas without caffeine? Or maybe you’re looking for a decaf tea with very little caffeine?

No matter the time of the day, I can never resist a good cup of hot tea. Sometimes, that fondness for tea costs me dearly because sometimes I’ll drink a strong cup of Earl Grey right before bed and end up being wide awake until early in the morning.

As a result, I do my best to keep my tea chest full of caffeine-free tea as well.

In this blog post, I’ll share my top picks for teas that contain no caffeine or have small amounts. While most of the following teas are technically not true “teas” from the Camellia sinensis plant, they’re still considered teas by most people.

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Which Teas Have Little to No Caffeine?

There are 3 categories of tea to consider when discussing caffeine content:

True Teas with Caffeine

The first category is your true tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant, which naturally contains caffeine. All of the major teas come from this plant including green, black, pu erh, oolong, and yellow.

These regular teas are known for their stimulating effects. Their tea leaves contain approximately 3% caffeine by weight. Since you’re looking for teas without caffeine, let’s move on.

Herbal Teas

The second category is herbal tea, which is made by infusing various non-tea plant materials into water such as flowers, herbs, fruit, bark, or leaves.

Most herbal teas are caffeine-free with a few exceptions such as yerba mate, guarana, some citrus teas, and even coffee (yes it’s technically an herbal tea).

They aren’t true “teas” since they’re not made from the Camellia sinensis plant. However, everyday people still treat them like regular tea.

By the way, Amazon offers some great Herbal Teas including samplers.

Decaffeinated Tea

The last category is decaffeinated tea which contains very little caffeine.

You’ll see a lot of black, green and white teas marketed as “decaf” but in fact it’s not possible to decaffeinate tea entirely. As a result, decaf teas still have some trace amounts of caffeine leftover.

Most regular tea drinkers won’t be affected by these minute quantities of caffeine, but if you’re unusually sensitive to caffeine, you might want to stick to herbal teas in the evenings.

Some popular brands offering decaf tea with little caffeine include:

  • Twinings
  • Harney & Sons
  • Taylors of Harrogate
  • Bigelow
  • Tetley

If you drink tea for its health benefits, decaffeination may reduce the amount of health promoting compounds found in tea compared to real tea. In one study, it showed that the total flavanol content varied from 21.2 to 103.2 mg/g for regular teas, while was from 4.6 to 39.0 mg/g for decaffeinated teas.

You can check out the Decaffeinated Tea from Amazon.

My Top Picks for Teas without Caffeine

And for what you’ve been waiting for. Here are my top picks for teas without caffeine (Note: these are all herbal teas):

1. Ginger Tea

Ginger tea with lemon
Ginger tea with lemon

Ginger tea is a popular tea without caffeine and has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years in China, India and other Asian countries. It can be served as both a hot or cold drink.

It’s made with ginger root and can be paired with lemon or lime juice, honey, water and milk. Mixing other spices and fruit is a nice touch. Try apple, cinnamon sticks or cloves to create different flavor combinations.

Ginger has been traditionally used to relieve nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, but it’s also known to have many other health benefits including improving circulation and digestion.

2. Peppermint Tea

Peppermint tea is another caffeine-free tea option for those who want to drink tea without the extra energy. It’s a great choice for those who are looking to reduce their caffeine intake.

It’s rich in antioxidants and has been shown to help with digestion and soothe the stomach. It also contains vitamins A, C, D and E which are important for your immune system.

Peppermint tea also contains some minerals such as calcium and magnesium which can help with sleep quality. It has been shown to reduce stress, improve digestion, and boost overall immunity.

3. Chamomile Tea

Chamomile caffeine-free tea
Chamomile tea on wooden table

Chamomile tea is a type of herbal tea that also has no caffeine. It has a sweet and flowery taste and is often used to help with sleep.

The plant’s flowers have been used since ancient times as a medicinal herb for many ailments, including stomach upset, anxiety, insomnia, depression, headaches, skin problems, indigestion and menstrual difficulties.

Chamomile also contains flavonoids which are natural antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation in the body.

4. Parsley Tea

The taste of parsley tea is very similar to the taste of green tea, but it has an earthier flavor to it.

Parsley tea is a caffeine-free alternative for those who need to stay away from caffeine. It’s also a great way to get your daily dose of Vitamin C.

Parsley tea has many benefits that make it worth giving a try. It can help with digestion, reduce bloating and gas, as well as help people who are trying to lose weight.

5. Spearmint Tea

Spearmint tea is another popular non-caffeinated tea and offers a refreshing taste.

It’s also popular because of its health benefits. It can help with digestion and reduce symptoms of nausea, vomiting, gas, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, and stomach ulcers.

Spearmint tea can also help with the common cold by reducing fever and relieving congestion. It can be mixed with peppermint for those who enjoy the combination of both.

6. Eucalyptus Tea

Eucalyptus tea is another caffeine-free tea that is made from the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. It has a refreshing taste and can be used as a substitute for coffee.

Eucalyptus tea also offer many health benefits. It can help with headaches and migraines, improve your mood, relieve muscle soreness, and provide an invigorating taste profile.

7. Rooibos Tea

Rooibus tea with no caffeine
Rooibus tea with spices on wooden rustic table

Rooibos tea is another popular herbal tea containing no caffeine. It has been used for centuries in Africa and is now becoming popular in the Western world.

It tastes slightly sweet and earthy, but it can also be brewed with other ingredients to create different flavors.

Rooibos tea is packed with antioxidants plus contains minerals like calcium, potassium, zinc, iron and fluoride that are essential for healthy teeth and bones.

As mentioned, you should check out the selection of Herbal Teas at Amazon.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Decaf Tea Made?

There are three methods by which tea can be decaffeinated. The first of these is known as the Swiss Water process. This tends to leave the tea rather bland and strips the tea of some antioxidants.

The second involves the use of a chemical solvent such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. While this preserves the original taste of the tea, it’s impossible to completely remove the solvent from the tea leaves and so you’ll almost inevitably end up ingesting small quantities of solvents with your tea although the levels of solvent are regarded as safe for human consumption.

The third method, involves pressure-cooking the tea leaves with carbon dioxide so that the carbon dioxide molecules bind to the caffeine particles and removes them. It’s said that this method leaves the natural taste of the tea more intact than others and retains more of the health components than the other two methods. 

Conclusion on Teas Without Caffeine

If you’re looking for teas without caffeine, then herbal tea and decaffeinated tea offer a good alternative with little to no caffeine.

If you feel overwhelmed by the number of choices, companies often sell samplers with many different types to try.

Let me know what types of caffeine-free tea that you enjoy.

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13 Comments

  1. Thank you for this information. Indeed, decaffeinated tea still has traces of caffeine. After drinking decaf tea for at least 25 years, lately 2-3 cups a day, I stopped drinking it completely 5 days ago. The very next day, the heart palpitations are almost unnoticeable and I feel MUCH better!!!

    About 5 years ago, I was found to have 3 leaky heart valves and suffer from daily, pounding heart palpitations. It feels as if someone is pounding inside my chest, even as I sit quietly. These DAILY heart palpitations drain and exhaust me. I also suffer from low blood pressure. The doctor cannot explain the cause of the heart palpitations, despite EKGs, Echocardiograms and being monitored by a Holter.

    All I know is that the pounding, exhausting, draining heart palpitations are almost unnoticeable since I stopped drinking decaf tea.

    1. I overdosed on caffeine pills once when I was about fifteen, I had the same problem with low blood pressure fatigue and palpitations after that and now almost 25 years later I’m still hypersensitive to caffeine my doctors couldn’t figure it out either turns out it was diabetes related you might want to have your doctor run a glucose tolerance test for diabetes.

    2. I have the same problem., a leaky heart valve and heart palpatations and all the things you mentions. I was also told to stay away from decaf tea. In fact decaf anything. Thank God y ou did. I hope you are ok

    3. Thank you for posting your reply. I too suffer from heart pounding palpitations, since I was a teenager, and now I’m almost 50. Not a big tea drinker because it seemed to annoy my acid level in my stomach, I would drink up to 32 oz of coffee a day. I stopped drinking coffee, and started drinking ‘decaffeinated’ tea (and surprise it doesn’t give me acid re-flux anymore… I think that was from the sugar which I gave up) and now they are barely there. They were getting worse and worse over the years. Thank God I finally tried giving up caffeine. I do miss the coffee very much though!!

  2. Dear G
    My father-in-law had leaky heart valves to the point that it was affecting his legs. Recently at age 93 they went in and put clamps on two valves and not he is walkin and doing great! Have you checked this procedure out with your doctor? Hope this helps and hope you see this. Blessings.

  3. My problem with caffeine is not heart-related. The caffeine in tea, coffee and chocolate causes my breast tissue to be very dense, resulting in two problems: 1) intense pain, and 2) density levels which make small tumors hard to detect in mammograms.

    I have been led to believe that green tea is caffeine-free. Now, I am told that although green tea is low in caffeine, it is not caffeine-free. While I miss being able to have tea, coffee and chocolate, I don’t miss pain. So-called “fruit teas” aren’t teas at all, but I make do with them as substitutes because I do miss hot drinks, especially in the winter months.

  4. I am giving up caffeine, it has a terrible affect on the body that people don’t seem to realize until they actually stop. It loosens the upper stomach and allows for reflux, severely dehydrates you (you can see it on your skin), and let’s not forget the sleep quality. I actually switched to an alternative coffee made from roasted rye and barley I believe (along with other stuff). It reminds me more of a black tea than a coffee though… but still doable. I am gonna give the peppermint and chamomile a try though.

  5. Thank you very much I’m a diabetic and I really enjoy drinking a good hot cup of teas that isn’t going to rise my blood sugars to the root and give me headaches.

  6. Thank you for this information, I am recently having elavated blood pressure and my Doc stopped me from drinking green tea amongst other things (because of its caffeine) so I was looking for options in decaffeinated teas to try, found your article very informative. Now I think I will try the herbal teas instead of the decaffeinated ones.

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