Caffeine-free and low-caffeine options for tea drinkers
For various reasons, tea lovers might need to significantly cut back on caffeine or eliminate it completely. If you’re in this situation and need an alternative to the caffeinated teas you used to drink, there are numerous options available. Here are a few of our infusion picks.
Black tea drinkers: Try persimmon leaf tea.
Persimmon leaf tea is a popular infusion in Korea and contains zero caffeine. The persimmon tree is in the same order as the tea tree, Camellia sinensis, and partially because of that botanical similarity, its leaves have a similar flavor. Like black tea, persimmon leaf tea has tannins and vitamin C.
Persimmon leaf tea is available in tea bags at many large Asian supermarkets, or you can order it in loose leaf form online.
Green tea drinkers: Try lemongrass tea.
The taste of green tea is often described as vegetal or grassy, and lemongrass tea offers some similar notes but without any of the caffeine. Lemongrass tea is also rich in antioxidants, which is often one of green tea’s main draws.
Most tea retailers with a selection of herbal tisanes will offer lemongrass tea or a lemongrass blend. It’s widely available online and in tea shops.
Matcha drinkers: Try mulberry leaf powder.
You can make a drink similar to your usual matcha tea or matcha latte by whisking mulberry leaf powder into water or milk. Like matcha, mulberry leaf powder comes in various grades of quality and is likely to offer health benefits to improve conditions such as hypertension and inflammation. It is completely caffeine-free.
Mulberry leaf powder is very common among major tea retailers, but you can still find a decent selection online.
Other caffeine-free options
There are nearly endless options for herbal infusions without caffeine. A few popular ones that are easy to find include: rooibos, chamomile, rose, peppermint, barley, chicory, ginger, tulsi, hibiscus, lavender, and butterfly pea flower. Sip them individually, or mix and match them to create your own personalized blends!
Low-caffeine options: Hōjicha and kukicha
Hōjicha and kukicha are Japanese green teas from the Camellia sinensis plant, but they have insignificant caffeine levels compared with other true teas. Hōjicha is made of roasted green tea leaves, and most of the caffeine burns off in the roasting process. Kukicha is made from the stems and twigs of the tea shrub, which do not contain nearly as much caffeine as the leaves. Both of these teas are commonly drunk in the evening in Japan because they do not interfere with sleep the way other green teas often do.
