When I consulted an acupunturist and herbalist in the hope of reducing the size of a fibroid in my uterus months ago, she asked me to list down the foods and supplements that I consumed. When she heard that I drink green tea on a daily basis, she advised me to stop drinking green tea and all types of tea for that matter. In TCM, tea is considered a ‘cooling’ food, which could worsen fibroids. Cooling drinks and foods also cause havoc to the female reproductive system. In the Western medical term, green tea contains caffeine; caffeine affects estrogen and increased estrogen level in the body can cause fibroids to increase in size.

Caffeine In Green Tea
Although it’s a common myth that green tea is naturally caffeine free, green tea does contain caffeine.

A cup of pure green tea usually contains around 25 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce serving.
This is considered to be a low amount of caffeine. It’s roughly 1/4 the amount of caffeine you’d find in a typical cup of coffee and roughly 1/2 the amount of caffeine you’d find in a typical cup of black tea.

Green tea comes from the very same plant used to make black tea, known as Camellia Sinensis. There’s a slight difference between the two though –  the fermentation or oxidation process varies depending on whether black tea or green tea is being made. It’s much gentler when making green tea, and there is also an amino acid present in green tea that offsets the ‘hyper’ effect of caffeine.

Whilst green tea gives you a small caffeine boost, it creates a gentler and steady source of stimulation which apparently can aid concentration. This combination can also create a calming effect on your brain – ideal for when you want to relax and unwind. Although there is caffeine in green tea, it contains less caffeine than black tea, and in turn black tea has a lot less caffeine than coffee.

Caffeine In Decaf Coffee
You may have heard there’s actually some caffeine in decaf coffee, and there is some truth to it. The decaffeination process usually removes 94 to 98 percent of caffeine from a coffee bean.  FDA regulations specify that for coffee to bear a decaffeinated label, 97 percent of the original caffeine must be removed from the beans. So, yes, there’s caffeine in decaf coffee.

Sticking to decaf isn’t going to eliminate caffeine from your coffee. That’s according to a new study that shows even decaffeinated coffee comes with at least a small dose of caffeine. If someone drinks five to 10 cups of decaffeinated coffee, the dose of caffeine could easily reach the level present in a cup or two of caffeinated coffee.

Researchers say even though the caffeine content of decaffeinated coffees is low, people could develop a dependence on them.