{
    "id": 1070269,
    "title": "Does rinsing or resteeping tea remove the caffeine?",
    "slug": "does-rinsing-tea-remove-caffeine",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/does-rinsing-tea-remove-caffeine/",
    "modified": "2026-09-18T00:45:34+01:00",
    "excerpt": "The 30-second rinse trick does not decaffeinate tea, and a second infusion is not reliably half strength. What actually reduces caffeine in your cup.",
    "content_text": "No. Neither trick does what people hope.\r\nThe internet version goes: steep your tea for 30 seconds, throw that water away, and the rest of the caffeine is gone. It is not. Caffeine comes out of tea leaves steadily over several minutes, not all at once in the first half-minute, so a quick rinse removes only a small part of it \u2014 while taking with it a lot of the flavour and aroma you were brewing for.\r\nThe second claim \u2014 that a second infusion has half the caffeine \u2014 is also unreliable. Research that brewed the same tea repeatedly under controlled conditions found that the caffeine in each infusion does not fall in a neat staircase, and in some conditions the second infusion was the highest of the set. National Taiwan University research record\r\nHow much comes out when depends on water temperature, leaf size, dose and time \u2014 not on which pour it is.\r\nWhat actually lowers caffeine in your cup\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat you do\r\nEffect\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nChoose a naturally caffeine-free infusion\r\nNone at all: rooibos, peppermint, chamomile, fruit\r\n\r\n\r\nBuy decaffeinated tea\r\nMost of the caffeine removed commercially, a little remains\r\n\r\n\r\nUse less leaf\r\nProportionally less caffeine\r\n\r\n\r\nUse cooler water, shorter time\r\nSomewhat less extracted\r\n\r\n\r\nRinse and discard\r\nSmall reduction, big flavour loss\r\n\r\n\r\nDrink a second infusion\r\nUnpredictable\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDecaf is the reliable route if you want tea flavour, but it is not caffeine-free: decaffeination removes most of the caffeine, not all of it. FDA on decaffeinated drinks See decaf vs caffeine free.\r\nHow much caffeine are we talking about?\r\nThe NHS puts an average mug of tea, black or green, at about 75mg of caffeine, against 100mg for a mug of instant coffee. In pregnancy the advice is to stay under 200mg a day in total. NHS caffeine guidance\r\nFor most people, the practical lever is how many mugs and when, not how you brew each one.\r\nSo should I bother resteeping?\r\nYes \u2014 for flavour, not for caffeine. Good loose leaf, especially oolong and green tea, gives two, three or more infusions, each one slightly different. That is the pleasure of it. Our resteeping guide explains how to get the best from them.\r\nJust do not count on the later cups being \"the decaf ones\".\r\nCommon questions\r\nWhere did the rinse myth come from?\r\nProbably from the fact that caffeine is highly water-soluble, which is true, plus a misreading of how quickly that happens in a cup.\r\nDoes gongfu brewing lower caffeine?\r\nNo. Short infusions with a lot of leaf can deliver more caffeine per cup, not less, though each small cup is a small volume.\r\nIs green tea lower in caffeine than black?\r\nNot reliably. It depends on the leaf and how you brew it; the NHS gives the same figure for both.\r\nWhat if I need to avoid caffeine entirely?\r\nChoose a herbal infusion with no tea leaves in it, and read the ingredients on blends.",
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