L-Theanine Review
Suntheanine, Jarrow 100 and Naka

Out of the many beneficial substances in green tea, antioxidant EGCG tends to get all the praise and glory.

However, green tea also contains a beneficial amino acid called theanine, which promotes relaxation, takes the edge off caffeine, and helps you focus.

Like EGCG, theanine can be consumed the old-fashioned way, through a high quality cup of tea or as a separate supplement. However, unlike EGCG, l-theanine is only present in sufficient concentration in young tea buds, especially those that are harvested early spring.

Since these high grade teas tend to be relatively expensive, or hard to find in the West, consuming a supplement may seem like a good option. So let’s take a look at some of the most popular brands, shall we?

It is hard to separate L-theanine from its creator - the Japanese company Taiyo. They were the first to isolate the amino acid as a component of green tea and produce it under the trademark Suntheanine.

Taiyo is probably the oldest and most established company in the green tea supplement industry. When you buy Suntheanine, you should be guaranteed a pure product that is what is says it is. When it comes to buying supplements, that level of trust is important!

Where can you get Suntheanine? Taiyo doesn’t market its products directly to consumers. Instead, it sells them to other supplement manufacturers or food manufacturers.

For example, if you must drink soda, Zenmaster sodas are sweetened with organic cane sugar and laced with 200 milligrams of Suntheanine.

Or, you can get Suntheanine in capsule form from Enzymatic Therapy, available from Amazon.com.

No matter which product you choose, look for the Suntheanine name on the label and a dosage of between 20 to 200 milligrams for therapeutic value.

Jarrow Formulas is another big name in herbs and supplements. Based in Los Angeles, the company has been in business 1977, so they are one of the older and more respected names in the American supplement industry.

They sell a popular theanine supplement that provides 100 milligrams of theanine per serving. Like Suntheanine, Jarrow Theanine 100 is pure L-theanine amino acid.

The company has an excellent reputation within the industry, so you should get what you pay for from them.

Naka theanine supplements have an advantage over most other theanine supplements for people who want all the benefits of green tea and not just the theanine. It contains a green tea extract standardized to contain 95% polyphenols, which is also caffeine free.

So, instead of just getting a dose of theanine, you get the goodness of antioxidants as well.

The upside to using Naka is that you aren’t giving up the possibly synergistic effects of the chemicals naturally found in green tea.

The downside is that the standardized green tea extract is good, but is not the best in the market. For example, unlike the Teavigo supplement, the tea extract is not guaranteed to be herbicide free.

(Having said that, Teavigo does not contain theanine either.)

Don't get me wrong, this product is good. Each capsule contains 100 milligrams of theanine and 100 milligrams of standardized green tea extract. I am not aware of any other products that contain the same formulation.

At the time of writing, you can purchase this product directly from Naka in Amazon.com at around $20.

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