Can anyone recommend a good decaf full-leaf Earl Gray?

February 11, 2005 1:06 PM

TeaFilter: I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I rather enjoy a good cup of tea. And, I often take a travel mug of Earl Grey with me to work each morning. However, I don't always want the caffeine, and so I've been trying to find a good full-leaf Earl Grey. I buy my non-decaffeinated Earl Gray from The Republic of Tea but it seems that they only sell decaf Earl Grey in tea bags (which just wouldn't be my cup of tea, so to speak). Can anyone recommend a good decaf full-leaf Earl Gray? I live in Texas but I'd prefer to buy it mail-order as that would save me a trip to the store. And, cost is not of primary concern to me.
posted by Handcoding to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

You can decaffeinate tea by steeping for 20-30 seconds, tossing the water and re-steeping.
posted by stavrogin at 1:15 PM on February 11, 2005

Adagio's decaf Earl Gray is pretty good.
posted by fionab at 1:23 PM on February 11, 2005

Here are some links describing the home decaf process.

And a second for Adagio, though I haven't tried their decaf.
posted by stavrogin at 1:29 PM on February 11, 2005

The decaf Earl Grey from Upton Tea is great. My wife lived on the stuff when she was pregnant.
posted by nixxon at 1:30 PM on February 11, 2005

I was just re-reading my tea question from a long time ago (checking off helpful answers, ya know) and there's a lot of good store recommendations. Have a look. I still tend to buy from either Adagio or Rishi.
posted by milovoo at 1:38 PM on February 11, 2005

also, I have found that the stuff from Stash Tea is good too, and the do flavored / aromatic teas very very well.

You might try theirs. Double Bergamot? Hmmm.... Maybe I'll get some too.
posted by milovoo at 1:41 PM on February 11, 2005

i third trying adagio's decaf earl grey.

while i haven't tried it, their assam melody is my current addiction.
posted by heather at 2:31 PM on February 11, 2005

Response by poster: Yeah, Adagio's looks awfully tempting -- now if only I could actually buy it :-/. (Every is currently "unavailable".)
posted by Handcoding at 4:18 PM on February 11, 2005

Again, a recommendation for Adagio. I don't drink decaf, but my husband enjoys the decaf earl grey.

Heather is right. The assam melody is the greatest. I switch between tins of that and irish breakfast as my "main" tea.

Also, you will be thrilled with their customer service. I love them.
posted by stefnet at 4:50 PM on February 11, 2005

I haven't tried Adagio, but I really like Stash Tea for mailorder tea. They have a pretty big decaf selection, I'm sure you can find something you like in there. :)
posted by Jairus at 6:35 PM on February 11, 2005

In fact, would you say it isn't your bag?

Sorry...
posted by abcde at 8:33 PM on February 11, 2005