Coffee and tea can be great sources of nourishment; however, if caffeine consumption isn’t your cup of tea or you are worried about your intake levels, decaffeinated versions may be ideal alternatives. But how should one go about decafinating tea and coffee safely and sustainably? Unfortunately there isn’t an easy answer here; rather it all depends on which method you employ when decaffeinating them.

Solvent-based processes have long been one of the primary methods for extracting caffeine from tea, used commercially to decaffeinate tea and coffee products and used with chemicals like methylene chloride or ethyl acetate for production of decaffeinated items like tea bags.

Methylene chloride, also known as methyl bromide, is an extremely toxic chemical that can be dangerous when inhaled. Exposure can result in lung damage, headaches, dizziness, memory loss and even death – making its inhalation essential. Therefore it’s wise to wear a face mask when working with this substance and to store it away from homes and kitchens where people live and cook. Methylene chloride has also been identified as an animal carcinogen; studies on animals suggest it causes cancer. By contrast ethyl acetate has far less volatile volatile properties; thus making its use essential in large scale commercial decaffeinations operations like tea bags sold as this substance has more benign health implications compared with its counterpart methylene chloride usage; both chemicals used inevitably decaffeinate tea to avoid its harmful properties when inhaled.

Water processing has quickly become one of the more popular decaffeination methods for higher-end teas. This process involves submerging tea leaves in water to remove caffeine molecules before being resoaked with more water at later stage to restore flavor and oils found in tea leaves – though some small amounts may remain; to be considered decaffeinated under FDA standards at least 97 percent must have been extracted from each batch of leaves used in water processing.

While there are various methods for decaffeinating tea and coffee, all involve some level of adulteration that compromises taste and quality of finished product. Therefore, for those attempting to reduce caffeine intake the best choice would be herbal or fruit teas as these contain whole or dried herbs, flowers, spices or fruits without caffeine content – or we suggest natural methods like: