Food Safety with Decaf Tea and Coffee

Decaf tea or coffee involves removing the majority of caffeine (97% +). There are various methods to accomplish this, each having their own pros and cons.  This is the subject of recent news regarding the potential safety of decaf coffee and tea.

If you are drinking tea or coffee in decaf form, and the cost of the decaf version is roughly the same as the regular caffeinated version, it is almost certain that a cheaper chemical method of decaffeination was used.

There are several methods of removing caffeine from tea. Two of the cheaper chemical methods are also used for decaf coffee.

Ethyl Acetate

This compounds already exists in certain ripe fruit and plants, but synthetic versions are generally used because of the amount that is required. Ethyl acetate molecules bind to lift out caffeine. It comes at the cost of lifting out flavors and some of the beneficial antioxidant compounds.

Because this molecule exists in nature, a package may say 'naturally decaffeinated'. This is something that doesn't make the product better.

Methylene Chloride

This is another chemical, also used for coffee beans that strips out caffeine. It is slightly better at preserving the flavors.  

The Carbon Dioxide method is the most expensive and keeps the teas original flavor and beneficial compounds mostly intact.

With this method, tea is partially moistened and then put into a chamber that is pumped full of CO2. Once the pressure and temperature rise, the CO2 acts as a solvent that binds to smaller caffeine molecules, but not to flavor molecules.

Once the caffeine is removed, the tea is dried and restored back to a close-to-original state.

There are some health advocacy groups calling for the ban of the methlyene chloride method as they say it is not safe for human consumption. Some chemicals that are used for industrial processes are also found naturally (one scare tactic) and there isn't data provided showing that the trace amounts that may be leftover is any more harmful what is naturally found in water.

However, our recommendation is to simply look for CO2 decaf tea - which will cost more than its regular counterpart, but ensures the highest quality tea leaf. 

Tea that originates from the Camelia Sinensis plant such as black tea or green tea contains some level of caffeine. There is an alternative in the form of herbal teas and tisanes. One example would be peppermint or chamomile. There are other herbal teas such as Rooibos or Honeybush, or fruity tisanes all of which are 100% naturally caffeine free.