about

you're stressed, we understand!

Your inbox is flooded, your calendar is filling up, that deadline is approaching, that big presentation is today, the news is bad, the person from that dating app wants to meet tonight, the laundry needs to be done, your pet needs you...

all before you've even had your coffee!

coffee or calm?

Coffee drinkers like you and I share so much in common. We are busy, we wish we had more time in our day, and we rely on caffeine to help us get it all done.

At the same time, we're stressed and have trouble slowing down enough to be present. maybe our first coffee of the day helped us get out of bed, but our third coffee starts to make us feel jittery, irritable, and anxious. 

We're forced to choose: coffee or calm? But what if we didn't have to choose?

what is TheaBean?

TheaBean is a coffee add-in that pairs L-theanine with your favorite caffeinated beverage so that you can feel sharp, alert, AND calm.

L-theanine is an amino acid that has a relaxing effect while also enhancing our mental abilities and increasing the amount of GABA in our system.

GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a neurotransmitter known for having a calming effect on our central nervous system.

Both L-theanine and GABA are found naturally in our bodies and in plants such as tea, mushrooms, and some fermented foods.

(Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, 2025; Rashmi et al., 2022; Wang et al., 2025; West, 2023)

l-theanine + bean

Whenever we drink coffee, the caffeine in our beverage depletes our bodies of its natural GABA or our “calm neurotransmitter”, making us anxious, jittery, irritable, and unable to sleep later at night (Alasmari, 2020)

In clinical trials, taking a small dose of GABA alongside caffeine decreased caffeine-induced stress by up to 75%. GABA-fortified teas have also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety scores. New research is showing that GABA can support cognitive function, enhance sleep quality, aid muscle growth, and help maintain our skin health. (Hinton et al., 2019; Sakashita et al., 2019; West, 2023; Yamatsu, 2015)

Studies also show that a small dose (Williams et al., 2016; Owen et al., 2008) of L-theanine taken with caffeine can help manage daily stress, ease caffeine-induced feelings of jitteriness, and support sleep while enhancing reaction times, attention span, mental sharpness, and regeneration after exercise. (Anas et al., 2021; Bulman et al., 2025, Haskell et al., 2008; Owen et al., 2008; Jäger et al., 2008)

Essentially, L-theanine and GABA make caffeine better. These compounds allow you to have all the perks of caffeine (such as alertness, increased productivity) while minimizing any negative side effects (such as trouble sleeping, caffeine-jitters). If you've ever had to choose between drinking coffee or feeling calm, TheaBean lets you have both. That's why we want to introduce you to our coffee add-in, so you can adapt to whatever your day has in store for you. 
research

Alasmari, F. (2020). Caffeine induces neurobehavioral effects through modulating neurotransmitters. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 28(4), 445-451.

Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (2025, April 28). https://www.alzdiscovery.org/uploads/cognitive_vitality_media/L-Theanine-Cognitive-Vitality-For-Researchers.pdf

Anas Sohail, A., Ortiz, F., Varghese, T., Fabara, S. P., Batth, A. S., Sandesara, D. P., Sabir, A., Khurana, M., Datta, S., & Patel, U. K. (2021). The Cognitive-Enhancing Outcomes of Caffeine and L-theanine: A Systematic Review. Cureus, 13(12), e20828. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.20828

Bulman, A., Cunha, N. M., Marx, W., Turner, M., Mckune, A., & Naumovski, N. (2025). The effects of L-theanine consumption on sleep outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 102076.

Haskell, C. F., Kennedy, D. O., Milne, A. L., Wesnes, K. A., & Scholey, A. B. (2008). The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biological psychology, 77(2), 113-122.

Hinton, T., Jelinek, H. F., Viengkhou, V., Johnston, G. A., & Matthews, S. (2019). Effect of GABA-fortified oolong tea on reducing stress in a university student cohort. Frontiers in Nutrition, 6, 27.

Jäger, R., Purpura, M., Geiss, K. R., Barthel, T., Schnittker, R., & Weiß, M. (2008). Improving mental regeneration after physical exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 5(sup1), P3.

Owen, G. N., Parnell, H., De Bruin, E. A., & Rycroft, J. A. (2008). The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutritional neuroscience, 11(4), 193-198.

Rashmi, D., Zanan, R., John, S., Khandagale, K., & Nadaf, A. (2018). γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA): Biosynthesis, role, commercial production, and applications. Studies in natural products chemistry, 57, 413-452.

Sakashita, M., Nakamura, U., Horie, N., Yokoyama, Y., Kim, M., & Fujita, S. (2019). Oral supplementation using gamma-aminobutyric acid and whey protein improves whole body fat-free mass in men after resistance training. Journal of clinical medicine research, 11(6), 428.

Wang, Q., Yu, J., Lin, W., Ahammed, G. J., Wang, W., Ma, R., Shi, M., Ge, S., Mohamed, A. S., Wang, L., Li, Q., & Li, X. (2025). L-Theanine Metabolism in Tea Plants: Biological Functions and Stress Tolerance Mechanisms. Plants, 14(3), 492. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14030492

West, B. (2023). Dietary Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Health Benefits: A Mini-Review.

Williams, J., Kellett, J., Roach, P. D., McKune, A., Mellor, D., Thomas, J., & Naumovski, N. (2016). L-theanine as a functional food additive: Its role in disease prevention and health promotion. Beverages, 2(2), 13.

Yamatsu, A. (2015). The Beneficial Effects of Coffee on Stress and Fatigue can be Enhanced by the Addition of GABA―A Randomized, Double‒blind, Placebo Controlled, Crossover‒designed Study―. 薬理と治療, 43(4), 515-519.