January is Hot Tea Month making it the perfect time to finally settle the debate of tea vs. coffee. Spoiler alert: Tea wins! Stash Tea has put together the following guide and tips for people to make the move from coffee to tea.
While many people have lively debates about tea vs. coffee, the reality is that tea is the second most-consumed beverage world-wide, following water. In fact, tea and coffee are two of the most popular sources for caffeine. About 80% of the world’s population enjoys a caffeinated product daily. And, lovers of each can get quite heated debating their favorite caffeine sources virtues. Many coffee drinkers mistakenly overlook tea for their caffeine fix because they associate it with self-care, relaxing and winding down, rather than looking at the virtues and taste profiles of caffeinated tea blends.
Tea vs Coffee: 9 Reasons Why Tea Is Better than Coffee
- It’s easier to avoid the negative side effects of caffeine overconsumption. This is because a cup of tea will most likely have less caffeine on average than a cup of coffee. It’s a built-in way to better monitor caffeine intake.
- There are so many flavors of tea to choose from! Stash Tea has over 150 different teas to choose from, you're sure to find your next favorite!
- There’s no need to add sugary flavored syrups to get a flavorful cuppa since Stash’s teas have bold and bright tastes and use only all-natural ingredients and flavors.
- Want to kick-start your New Year’s Resolutions? Stash has loose leaf teas like Chocolate Dandelion Detox tea, and Ginger Digestive Balance.
- Matcha is thought to give the caffeine buzz without the crash. For those susceptible to caffeine crashes, this would be reason numero uno to make a switch from coffee to matcha. Stash has several fun flavors with matcha that you can try including Ginger Peach Green and Pomegranate Raspberry Green.
- Want a warm and tasty cup of something, but don’t want a big caffeine boost? Tea is the choice and Stash has an amazing variety of decaf teas to try.
- Certain types of herbal teas include ingredients that are known to help Type A people relax. Try a fun chamomile tea or an herbal tea with lavender or mint.
- You will never find the bold tangy and spicy flavor of Stash’s Lemon Ginger herbal tea in a cup of coffee. Tea allows for the detecting of various flavor notes that just aren’t found in a cup of coffee.
- Sensitive to caffeine but want the benefits of tea? Stash offers a huge variety of naturally caffeine-free herbal teas.
Stash Tea Answers Common Questions About Tea Varietals and Caffeine:
How Much Caffeine Does Tea Have? The short answer: the amount will vary. Lots of factors go into making a cup tea, including the ingredients, the brewing temperature, how long it brews, the type of tea, other ingredients, and serving size. Even if tea is brewed with precise measurements, the growing conditions of tea plants can affect caffeine levels. So there is no way to tell you the exact amount of caffeine in a cup of tea. That’s why Stash doesn’t put the mg of caffeine on its tea packaging.
Does Green Tea Have Caffeine? Contrary to popular belief, caffeine content cannot be categorized based on tea type, for example, the idea that black tea contains more caffeine than green tea. Generally speaking, Black teas may have more caffeine than green tea, but at times the opposite is true. There are green teas that have as much or even more caffeine than some black teas due to how they are grown and made.
Stash even offers Decaf Premium Green Tea which is naturally decaffeinated using an advanced CO2 method, which takes out almost all the caffeine but leaves the flavor and other benefits. Currently, decaffeination cannot remove all caffeine, but all Stash teas marked with Decaf Tea are under the 0.4% limit for decaffeinated labeling.
How Much Caffeine is in Black Tea? There are a lot of variables that can affect the amount of caffeine in a cup of tea. In some cases, green tea has more caffeine than black tea. When comparing Stash’s black tea blends, Breakfast teas like Super Irish Breakfast or Earl Grey teas like Double Bergamot Earl Grey have more caffeine kick to them, while blends like Orange Spice, Sweet Cinnamon and Root Beer Iced Tea have less per serving from being blended with other ingredients.
Stash decaf black teas are made using an advanced CO2 process which removes 99.6% of the caffeine while retaining all the flavor, color, and aroma of the tea. Stash’s decaf black teas include Decaf English Breakfast and Decaf Earl Grey. Like Stash’s decaf green teas, the decaffeination process does not remove all the caffeine and contains 0.4% or less of caffeine per cup. Stash’s decaffeination process is natural and the CO2 is recycled afterwards.
Does Chai Tea Have Caffeine? Chai tea caffeine levels depend on what tea type is used for the base. Since Stash is all about breaking rules, Stash has chai teas available with the traditional black tea as a base, as well as chai green tea and chai herbal tea options. Mixed teas like chai also have less caffeine than an all-black or green tea since they have other ingredients included in the tea bag and less of the actual tea. For a chai with more caffeine, try Stash’s Double Spice Chai Black Tea and Chai Green Tea. Stash’s herbal teas like Ginger Fire Chai also provide a much-needed pick-me-up thanks to ingredients like guayusa, yerba mate.
Some chai herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free like Stash's rooibos based, sweet and spicy Spice Dragon Red Chai Herbal Tea or the turmeric-based version that has a smoother and milder taste than traditional chai, Organic Gold Cup Chai Tea. Stash decaf chais include Decaf Vanilla Chai Black Tea and Decaf Chai Spice Black Tea. As with Stash’s other decaf teas, the CO2 decaf method does not remove all the caffeine and can contain 0.4% or less of caffeine per cup, allowing the tea leaves to remain as high quality as possible.
Caffeine Consumption
Caffeine drinkers laud the benefits of caffeine and generally consider caffeine to be helpful. Many caffeine drinkers claim that caffeine has assisted them in losing weight, being more focused, feeling more energized or adopting a healthier lifestyle. Conversely, overconsumption of caffeine is marked by side effects including anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and irritability.
Drinking tea instead of coffee is a great way to get a caffeine boost, without the high risk of experiencing the downsides of too much caffeine.
Herbal Infusions and Caffeine
All real tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, which contains caffeine. However, herbal infusions, often referred to as “herbal teas” or “tisanes”, are not true teas. While herbal teas or infusions are packaged like tea, infused like tea and enjoyed like tea, they do not actually contain any tea leaves. Typically, herbal infusions are simply the combination of boiling water and botanicals like fruits, flowers, barks, herbs, mints, spices, roots, berries and seeds. Herbal infusions are naturally caffeine-free, with a few notable exceptions such as Yerba Mate and Guayusa.
What Determines Caffeine Levels?
Contrary to the popular belief that caffeine content can be categorized based on tea type, such as the idea that black tea has more caffeine than green tea or white tea and other similar comparisons, recent studies have shown that caffeine content can and does vary—sometimes quite significantly—among even one type of tea. Stash has developed a primer called Tea 101 that provides more information.
Studies also show that the amount of caffeine in tea depends on numerous factors:
- Variety or cultivar of tea leaves – known as C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var.assamica
- Cultivating age such as the bud and the two youngest leaves versus the fifth to seventh leaves
- Growing environment
- Growing methods
- Manufacturing conditions
- Preparation of infusion – examples include the ratio between tea and water used, brewing time, water temperature and the amount of agitation
P.S. This isn't even all of Stash’s flavors!
Switching from Coffee to Tea
Considering making the switch from coffee to tea? Stash has created the following guide to best teas options to replace various kinds of coffee beverages.
Large Dark Roast, Black Coffee. Your beverage style: You’re a purist. You like bitter, bold flavor. Drink this: English Breakfast black tea. It’s a no-fuss tea version of your coffee order. Prefer loose leaf tea? Want something more complex? Try Stash’s Darjeeling blends.
Cold Brew with Sweet Cream. Your beverage style: Rich, creamy and caffeinated. Drink this: Super Irish Breakfast (the espresso of teas) and add a creamer of your choice! Maybe you want to continue your morning routine of a cold, creamy beverage. Make it iced! Be sure to double up or even triple the amount of tea bags you use. As an added bonus, you’ll get even more caffeine when you do that.
Peppermint White Mocha. Your beverage style: Sweet, minty...and sweet. Drink this: This recipe,ash’s White Chocolate Mint Tea Latte is a spot-on substitute. Be prepared for your whole life to change. That’s the power of tea lattes. If you prefer regular chocolate or are too short on time to make yourself a latte, give our Chocolate Mint oolong tea bags a try.
Dirty Chai. Your beverage style: Chai is a specific taste! And lucky for you, chai is already tea. Drink this: Make yourself a regular Chai latte, obviously. Trying to cut down caffeine? Try Stash’s Decaf Vanilla Chai. Want a Chai latte extra spicy? Stash has a Double Spice Chai. Prefer green tea? Try Chai Green. Need it caffeine-free? Spice Dragon Red Chai
Flat White. Your beverage style: No fuss, keep it simple but bold. Drink this: You probably like the smooth and creamy taste of coffee if you order flat whites. Kopili Assam is in a class by itself and has inherent natural flavor and body which cannot be replicated anywhere else. It is an excellent afternoon tea and goes well with milk. A citrus flavored alternative is Stash’s Double Bergamot Earl Grey tea
Sugar-Free Vanilla Soy Latte. Your beverage style: Indulgent and comforting but make it healthy. Drink this: Get vanilla flavor without any sugary additions to your tea. Options are endless, here’s a start: Creme Brulee black tea, Cinnamon Vanilla herbal tea, Breakfast in Paris black tea.
Iced Coffee Extra Ice. Your beverage style: Give it to you cold. Whatever the flavor may be. Drink this: Stash has quite a few teas that are as delicious as iced teas. Two favorites are Asian Pear Harmony and White Peachoolong tea.
Now that you know what kind of tea can replace your coffee, if you want to try switching from your daily coffee to a daily cup of tea, Stash Tea is here to help. Reach out to one of Stash’s Tea Professionals or get in touch via social media. Stash can suggest tea options specifically for you, and answer any questions you might come up with!
With over 150 different teas to choose from, you're sure to find your next favorite! For a store location near you where Stash Tea is sold, please visit: https://bit.ly/3jFaUKs.
ABOUT STASH TEA:
Stash was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1972 by two hippies seeking a tea euphoria. Since then, Stash Tea’s mission has been to surprise and delight your taste buds with best-in-class ingredients and diverse flavors that brew bold and bright. With over 150 different teas to choose from, you're sure to find your next favorite!
Stash Tea is a certified B Corp, making a public commitment to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. We are part of a global community redefining success as balancing profit and purpose, acting in the best interest of our people, our partnerships and our planet. Please visit https://www.stashtea.com to purchase and/or for more information.
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