Decaf or Caffeine-free?
From talking to customers in a daily basis, I found out that some of them are confused about the concept of decaffeinated vs. caffeine-free. Decaffeinated is not the same as caffeine-free.
Decaf coffee still contains caffeine, just not as much. Chances are if you can drink a cup of decaf coffee, you can drink a cup of regular green tea. An average cup of coffee contains 130mg to 160mg of caffeine, whereas an average cup of green tea contains 8.36mg which is equivalent to a cup of decaf coffee. The polyphenols in tea, however, slow down the absorption of caffeine in the body so the effects of caffeine are felt more slowly and remain in the body for longer with tea. That makes tea a better beverage if you want to stay alert longer without the caffeine crush.
If you want tea that contains even less caffeine than green tea then white teas and most of the herbal teas, like rooibos would be a good choice. You can also decaffeinate your cup of tea by steeping it for about 30 seconds, throwing out the liquid, and then re-steeping it for the instructed brewing time. This will take out about 80% of the caffeine in the tea.