Decaf tea is a necessary evil

September 25, 2006 6:21 PM

Is there such a thing as good decaffeinated tea?

I know, I know, its a heretical abomination to tea lovers everywhere. I need to cut down the caffeine dramatically, but I really love the flavour of black tea. I can handle quitting coffee, but not tea, its like a comfort food (comfort drink?) to me. I'm a British expat in the USA, and I drink PG Tips with milk as my everyday tea. I'm snobby enough that I won't drink that nasty weak Lipton's rubbish in the teensy stapled teabags, but I'm not too snobby to use good tea bags instead of loose-leaf. I'm hoping there is some type of decaf English Breakfast (or similar) available in teabags, that will taste as good as my PG. Has anyone found such a thing, or am I on a fool's errand? I am willing to switch to loose-leaf tea if necessary. I have seen various brands of decaf tea for sale, but I'm hoping someone has already done the sampling legwork for me, and can recommend a decent brand... or tell me they're definitely all crap.

posted by Joh to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

The Dilmah decaf tea we bought on a whim is insipid and best avoided. The best we have come up with is to drink rooibus/redbush tea instead, which is similar in flavour to black tea, nice in its own right, and has no caffeine.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 6:33 PM on September 25, 2006

Republic of Tea?
posted by scody at 6:36 PM on September 25, 2006

If you're willing to try some loose tea out, you can get 10 gm, or about 3 cups worth, for $1 from Tealuxe. Their decaf selection has an English and an Irish Breakfast which might suit your needs. I haven't personally tried these, but I have a Mormon friend who loves their tisanes and I love their full-caffiene ones.
posted by cobaltnine at 6:39 PM on September 25, 2006

Best answer: My wife loved the decaf Earl Grey from Upton Tea when she was pregnant, and she likes very hearty teas (with milk and sugar). Sounds like Earl Grey is not what you're looking for, but Upton has some other decaf options that I think would be worth checking out.
posted by nixxon at 6:59 PM on September 25, 2006

You can decaffeinate any tea by steeping it in boiling water for 30 seconds--pour off the water--and then brew as you would any other tea. 80-90% of the caffeine is removed this way. My favorite packaged decaf tea is Typhoo--that should be familiar to you
posted by rmhsinc at 7:21 PM on September 25, 2006

Constant Comment is a really yummy tea, and comes in both decaf and regular. The decaf is quite good.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:02 PM on September 25, 2006

Best answer: There is good decaf tea and, yes, switching to loose leaf tea does help :). See also this thread on Decaf Earl Gray.
posted by Handcoding at 8:07 PM on September 25, 2006

I would recommend Roastaroma from Celestial Seasonings. It has chicory in it and tastes similar to coffee (but is actually decaf tea).
posted by mattbucher at 8:52 PM on September 25, 2006

My wife downed many cups of Trader Joe's Decaf Irish Breakfast tea when she was pregnant.
posted by pmbuko at 9:18 PM on September 25, 2006

Barry's Decaf is almost as good as the real thing.
posted by rdc at 9:23 PM on September 25, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks Alex, somehow I missed that thread on my search. Did you find a good decaf earl grey in the end?
posted by Joh at 9:35 PM on September 25, 2006

How about some Rooibos tea [Rooibos is a species of plant - you'll need to find a branch name available in the US.]

It is refreshing and can be drunk black or with milk and sugar. We serve it at the social centre where I volunteer and the politicos who come go crazy over the antioxidants and the fact that it is decaf.
posted by pollystark at 5:10 AM on September 26, 2006

I love Rooibos tea. Adagio has flavored varieties, and I can vouch for the vanilla and berry as very tasty.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:01 AM on September 26, 2006

Herbal teas are by definition decaf. Try chamomile or mint. Celestial Seasonings makes some really great bagged teas but loose herbal teas can be found at many health food or coop stores.
posted by JJ86 at 6:07 AM on September 26, 2006

I drink the Twining's decaf English Breakfast with milk and I can't tell the difference from the caffeinated version, tastewise. It's available in most grocery stores and some drugstores.
posted by hsoltz at 7:12 AM on September 26, 2006

I like Stash Decaf English Breakfast.
posted by candyland at 7:23 AM on September 26, 2006

seconding hsoltz's Twining's decaf English Breakfast.
posted by slenderloris at 8:04 AM on September 26, 2006

Did you find a good decaf earl grey in the end?

I did find a good one — I rather like Adagio's decaf Earl Gray. For what it's worth, if you're new to loose leaf tea and having trouble visualizing how much "4oz" or "8oz" is, the former comes in a canister about 3" tall while the latter comes in a canister about 6" tall.
posted by Handcoding at 8:10 AM on September 26, 2006

I am a huge fan of Bewley's. And their decaf is very good. They don't have a direct link for purchase (I buy via mail order - if you want their address here in the US, shoot me an email). But a quick googling yielded a couple of results.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 9:06 AM on September 26, 2006