Thread: Caffeine Withdrawals?

Originally Posted by jnich67

Hmmm, I always thought black tea had more....

Jordan

Black teas are black because they are fermented and not roasted so the caffeine amount is likely the same in black tea as it is in green tea! But again, I do not know how the fermentation process effects caffeine, but I imagine that it has very little effect!

It does sound like a stimulant reaction but it isn't the caffeine. Coffee has 107.5mg per 8oz. cup while green tea only has 25mg while black only has 60mg. Green Tea and black as well, both have another stimulant in them, theobromine. Theobromine doesn't stimulate the CNS as much as caffeine but it does stimulate the heart. It could cause all of your symptoms, if you were particularly succeptable. This is the chemical in Chocolate that poisons dogs who eat it.



Source for caffeine contents: The Caffeine Database

Originally Posted by Wildtim

It does sound like a stimulant reaction but it isn't the caffeine. Coffee has 107.5mg per 8oz. cup while green tea only has 25mg while black only has 60mg. Green Tea and black as well, both have another stimulant in them, theobromine. Theobromine doesn't stimulate the CNS as much as caffeine but it does stimulate the heart. It could cause all of your symptoms, if you were particularly succeptable. This is the chemical in Chocolate that poisons dogs who eat it.



Source for caffeine contents: The Caffeine Database

I suspect there is something amiss with your information as green and black tea come from the same plant and depending on season and whether new growth or 1 year or even 2 year growth has a large effect on how much caffeine per cup!

I think we can all agree that both coffee and tea have caffeine, and it's most likely that you're not experiencing a withdrawl.

My recommendation? Cut back on the coffee / tea and drink more water and juice. It's better for you in almost every way.

I drink one 20 oz mug of coffee on weekday mornings, and the rest of the day keep drinking water. It keeps me hydrated and it actually helps keep me going.

A few more caffeine content references.
By the way fermentation concentrates caffeine. So green has less than black and white has less than green.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caff...ne_info1.shtml
http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webproject.../caffeine.html
http://coffeetea.about.com/library/blcaffeine.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea

Originally Posted by w12code3

+1 on the too much caffeine thought. What you describe is pretty classic description of too much of the sacred chemical where as a caffeine withdrawal (at least in my experience) presents as a feeling of lethargy, fuzzy mindedness, and thumping headaches.

I drink approx. 4 pots of coffee a day. My wife, who is a health freak and absolutely mortified at my obsessive coffee consumption, wanted me to "detox" or some such crap. She set me to drinking green tea and I was ricocheting off the walls from all the caffeine. I don't think that was what she had in mind... it was supposed to clean my gizzard or something.

Man -- I drink about 1 pot plus way too much coke --- maybe a 2 liter on a bad day (but rare) ---- I've never felt a caffeine high as coffee and the like makes me relaxed and want to fall asleep ----- but I do need it or I get really bad headaches. Sugar on the other hand will make me bounce off the walls

Justin

Upon considering a little it occurs to me that with green tea you are using whole leaves and you use much less to make a pot of tea than you would use coffee for a pot! Also, coffee is ground, so it would be possible to eek out more caffeine per cup!
I looked up the amount of caffeine in a cup of Matcha which is a high quality hand rubbed tea. basically powdered or ground if you will and it is estimated at 75mg per cup which is suggested is equal to a cup of coffee!
Funny thing about the internet is I looked up this information some 3 to 5 years ago and got the opposite information then what I see on wildtims link and other websites I checked out today!

you also use much less Matcha per cup than you would coffee!

Originally Posted by Wildtim

A few more caffeine content references.
By the way fermentation concentrates caffeine. So green has less than black and white has less than green.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caff...ne_info1.shtml
http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webproject.../caffeine.html
http://coffeetea.about.com/library/blcaffeine.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea

The fermentation bit makes sense to me!

Well, I did a simple test. I brewed a couple of cups of coffee and drank it and felt better. I looked up the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal and found that they seemed to be similar to what I was experiencing. I guess I'll just have to ween myself off coffee instead of going cold turkey.

Like I said, the amount I was drinking ounce-wise was much more than the tea. I would go and generally get what Dunkin' Donuts refers to as The Great One, about 24 ounces. I drank these things like water. Thanks for all the help. A lot of good info here.

John

While black tea has MORE caffeine than coffee, I find the action to be a little different, gentler. Maybe it rolls in slower. I often get jittery after a few cups of light roast coffee, but a few cups of tea (I drink it fairly weak) just makes me feel comfortable. Green, Oolong, etc. will be good options to reduce the caffeine, but if you want to eliminate it you'll have to go for herbal teas or coffee substitutes. My wife was drinking a roasted barley drink brand named Oskri throughout her pregnancy and still likes it. I've had some myself and confess that it's like a coffee, but different. In the states, particularly the south, I'd imagine you could get some form of chicory to drink. I like berry teas or chamomile for late in the evening, but my standby has been yerba mate which has some caffeine, on par with green tea I believe. I'm also on ginseng these days to help with my physical and nervous stamina for the sleep dep. having the 3 wk old tiny tyrant here. Ginseng and caffeine do not mix well so I have to guard my intake there myself.

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