I’ve told myself many times before that I’d never try another decaf tea again, yet here I am. Maybe if I wish really hard, a good — at least a decent — decaf will come my way, and I’ll get to enjoy real tea in the evening.
Is Barry’s Decaf the one I’ve been looking for? Probably not, but it’s the best one so far. Continue reading “Barry’s Tea Decaf”
The truth about fluoride in tea (and water) is a topic too important to ignore. Tea consumption used to be something I would limit solely based on daily caffeine intake. Nowadays, I take fluoride content into consideration as well. Continue reading “Fluoride and Tea: Should You Be Concerned?”
Good decaf tea doesn’t really exist. When the caffeine is removed from tea, so is the flavor, and Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend is no exception.
If you must have decaf tea, though, I can give you a couple of reasons to choose this product. Tetley uses ethyl acetate, a solvent with no harmful effects, to strip the tea of its caffeine, whereas other major use methylene chloride, a known carcinogen.
Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend smells like seaweed, unlike its caffeinated counterpart which has a mossy aroma typical of ‘English breakfast’ teas. It tastes like seaweed too if you let it linger too long on the tongue, but overall the taste is okay compared to other decafs I’ve tried.
I’ve discovered that two decaffeinated tea bags are required to get the same full-bodied characteristic of the caffeinated version. Though I haven’t tried it, I bet a little squirt of honey might counter some of the seaweed funkiness.
As far as decaf tea goes, Tetley Decaffeinated British Blend is all right. I’m just not comfortable calling it tea.
| Aroma: | Seaweed |
|---|---|
| Body: | Full (if brewed with two tea bags) |
| Flavor: | Nondescript |
| Color: | Dark |
Most of us tea lovers crave a satisfying cup of the real thing (as opposed to the herbal variety) in the evening; however, we avoid such an indulgence because caffeine tends to disrupt sleep. Decaffeinated options are available, but how do they taste? Is the decaffeination process safe, and how effective is it?
Do-it-yourself instructions for decaffeinating tea are widely available on the Internet. The process is as follows: steep the tea for 30–45 seconds to release the majority of caffeine, drain the water, and steep again. Voilá, you have great tasting tea minus the caffeine.
But wait! As the dude (from the movie, The Big Lebowski) might say, “New sh*t has come to light, man.” The notion that most of tea’s caffeine can be removed by an initial 30–45 second steeping is just a widespread myth.
Firstly, it takes much longer that 30 seconds to remove the caffeine from tea — 15 minutes is more like it. Secondly, both the tea’s caffeine and flavor are released at the same time in water; when the caffeine’s gone, so is the flavor (click here and here for more information).
In the United States, tea must have 98% of its caffeine removed to be sold as decaf. Three decaffeination methods exist today — all involve the use of solvents to extract the caffeine from the tea leaves. These solvents are as follows:
Sadly, many brand-name tea makers do not use the CO₂ process. For example, Unilever, the manufacturer of the popular PG Tips and Lyons brands, uses dichloromethane (according to this source) to produce its decaffeinated teas.
Tea manufacturers typically don’t place caffeine extraction information — especially if it involves ethyl acetate — on the packaging. If you are uncertain or concerned, simply contact the company via email.
Independent tea merchants, such as English Tea Store, Upton Tea Imports, and Adagio, are your best bet for finding CO₂ decaffeinated teas. If the carbon dioxide method is used, it will be proudly mentioned on the company’s website. English Tea Store, for instance, claims to remove the caffeine with CO₂ early in the process, at the green leaf stage, and then allows the tea to mature as usual.
