YSK that tea caffeine really is different from coffee caffeine, and how that is affected by how you steep it
There is a constant argument about whether the caffeine from tea is somehow “different” from coffee, or whether it’s just placebo mixed with lower dosing. The truth is that other antioxidants in the tea make its caffeine absorb more slowly, and why YSK if you regularly drink tea.
Antioxidants are often big complex molecules with lots of oxygens on them. Coffee beans have some of the same antioxidants as tea, but after roasting they are mostly broken down and changed into chlorogenic and hydroxycinnamic acids (both still very good for you! But different).
Tea leaves contain a lot of catechins, which are a type of antioxidant that can bind strongly to molecules like caffeine, “holding onto them” so they can’t be absorbed. Over time they will let go and you’ll get your caffeine, but it means that after a glass of tea, you’ll get a slow release XR drip of caffeine, as opposed to a huge rush like you get with coffee.
The thing is, the amount of catechins in your tea depends on the type of tea and how you steep it.
First of all there’s type of tea: much like coffee, the antioxidants in tea leaves get broken and changed when roasted or processed. The antioxidant activity of the leaves going from green to black tea drops by about a third, and you lose up to 97% of the catechins! https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8695946/
Secondly, a splash of acid hugely helps to extract both the caffeine and catechins, but with a cost. Over twice as much caffeine, and up to 10x more catechins, are extracted when you steep your tea with something acidic like lemon juice https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jf5011287]. But another consequence of that is that the acid makes the catechins lose their ability to “hold” caffeine, meaning you’ll absorb the caffeine in one big hit, similar to coffee. Up to you whether that’s a good or a bad thing.
And finally, higher temp helps extract catechins better than 80° water. Sorry folks, I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear. Boiling green tea makes it so much more bitter, loses a lot of the subtle flavors, I know I know. Just thought you ought to know. Not because you should always be using boiling water on your green tea. But because I often hear people worry about making their water too hot, as if it’s going to somehow hurt them. And the truth is, if you’re in a hurry and you don’t have time to make the perfect temp, just pour it in. Drink the green tea. And know that you’re doing just as much good for your body, and probably even better.
So what about the tl;dr? How should you be enjoying your tea? In the way that’s most enjoyable to you. Tea is loaded with antioxidants, and so is coffee. Both are good for you. But if you don’t mind the taste of oversteeped tea, or you enjoy squeezing some lemon in your cup, or you drink tea because coffee makes you feel weird, then these are good facts to know:
First, tea caffeine is ‘softer’ because it binds with catechins which are found in tea and not coffee. Second, these catechins are mostly found in green and white teas, not dark teas like oolongs and blacks. Thirdly, you can extract out a lot more catechins by steeping your tea extra hot, or extra long, or by adding some acid like lemon juice. But if you use an acid, it prevents the catechins from binding the caffeine, so it’ll feel more like coffee again.
Catechins are also extremely good for you in other ways! They’re anticancer, antioxidant, good for heart health, a lots more that we’re just discovering. Tea is amazing, and the more you learn the more you want to understand.
Which Catechins bind strongest to caffeine
which catechins are most common in different types of tea (page is in Japanese, need to use Gemini to translate)