Hello all,

Greetings from a tea-lover in the oolong capital of the world, Taiwan!
Great group! I have a strange tea question. I wonder if any of you
might have the answer . . .

I regularly decaffeinate my tea after 7pm by simply discarding the
original 30 seconds of steeped tea water and re-steeping in fresh
water for another minute, two, or three, depending on the tea. This is
quite common here in Taiwan, where for most Oolongs we "wash" the
leaves and remove a bit of the caffeine, and then have three or four
more steepings. Anyone who wishes to avoid excess caffeine simply
abstains from the first round. The flavor of the tea certainly suffers
in the 30-second decaffeinating process, but at the end of the day I
always trade flavor for a good night's rest. Oolong flavor generally
stands up much better to the decaffeinating process than black or
green varieties. Anyway, not to get off track . . .

Up to 75% of the caffeine is eliminated by removing the first 30
seconds of steeped tea water. But what about the L-Theanine? Could I
also be removing the L-theanine (i.e. the de-stressing component of
the tea) and much of the heathful properties of the tea? I drink a lot
of green tea, so I'm concerned I'm missing out on its goodness by
decaffeinating.

If anyone knows the answer or could point me to a source, I would much
appreciate it! Thanks!

--Mark