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Theanine is a type amino acid that has effects such as stress-relief and improvement of blood flow.

In this page, we are going to introduce the basic knowledge, detailed effects and tips for effective ingestion of theanine.

Hope this article will encourage you to drink tea for your health.

What is theanine?

Theanine is a type of amino acid contained in tea. This may surprise you but, tea contains amino acids below;

  • Gultamine acid
  • Arginie
  • Asparagines acid
  • Theanin
  • Other

Particularly, theanine is the most contained amino acid that is about 50% of all types of amino acids in tea.

Theanine attributes sweetness and umami in tea.

Theanine is a unique ingredient of tea that attributes sweetness and umami.

As it is not contained in coffee or cocoa, tea is the only one that can taste refreshing sweetness and umami of Theanine.

Thenine was discovered by Japanese.

Theanine is an ingredient discovered in Gyokuro by Yajiro Sakato in 1950.

In fact, theanine is named after tea: It was named after the old scientific name of tea “thea sinensis”.

Effects of theanine

Theanine has an effect that releases alpha waves in brain.

“Alpha wave” may not sound familiar, but it is simply described as a brain wave that is released when relaxed.

When alpha waves are released in brain, these effects can be expected;

  • Increase in memory
  • Increase in concentration
  • Tension-relief and improvement of blood flow
  • Stress-relief

Isn’t it great to gain these effects only by drinking tea?

How to ingest theanine in tea

Theanine tends to be contained more in high-end tea with rich umami such as Gyokuro, Matcha and high-end Sencha.

Therefore, those who want to ensure enough theanine are recommended choosing higher ranked tea than they usually take.

Also, brewing tea with iced water can suppress catechin that causes astringency and caffeine that boosts your mood.

So, relaxation effects and umami of theanine can be more in ice-cold brewed tea than hot brewed tea.

January 08, 2023