Okay, this is a departure from my regularly scheduled whining (for another kind of whining - ha).
Has anyone found a brand of decaffeinated black tea that they like? I ask because I am obsessed with tea, and I drink a lot of it, and I feel as if it would be good to cut back the caffeine a little. Herbal teas are fine, but it is black tea that is the object of my obsession. But I can't find a good decaf black tea. (Yes, I've bought it at specialty tea shops before, but that's been no better than the supermarket brands I've found.) The one I'm drinking right now tastes like rancid nothing, and smells like old fish.
Thoughts?
12 comments:
First, a caveat, that I am a) American and b) not a *huge* tea-drinker. That said, I think that Twining's decaf earl grey is pretty good. (But remember: I thought "tea" was lipton tea bag tea until I was in my 20s, so I may have an undeveloped tea palate. Also, I drink black tea with milk and sugar, which changes things I'd imagine.)
I like Adagio's decaf ceylon.
Dr. Crazy - Thanks, that's a great tip. And it also reminds me that Tetley's decaf Earl Grey is passable - I had forgotten about it...
JM - Hey, thanks for that resource. Sounds very promising...And they ship to Canada very economically. Great - thanks!
My partner and I are huge "tea freaks" - and we order our tea from a Toronto-based company called Capital Tea. The selection is decent; delivery is fast; and the quality is excellent, if you prefer real tea leaves. I've had some of their de-cafs and organics, and have been very impressed. The website is http://www.capitaltea.com/
Cheers,
Heather
Upton Tea Imports.
www.uptontea.com
Pricy but worth every penny.
Cheaper: decaf Typhoo.
Belle - Oh, that *is* a tragedy. I don't know what I'd do without lots and lots of tea...preferably strong and black.
Heather - Aha! Ate Canadian source - thank you very much. This looks like a good possibility.
Marcelle - Oh yes, Upton...they're the ones who have the ad in Harper's? And I haven't seen decaf Typhoo but that's a really good option...I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for it.
I have nothing to add but I can't stop laughing at "rancid nothing" and "smells like old fish"!
(Formerly "Sending" and now trying to come up with a new nickname)
Anon: Glad to make you laugh! How about using initials, esp. since I now know what they correspond to in "real life"?
Ahhh, good idea, will do. -DN
one thing to note is that good quality teas (loose leaf) will yield interestingly different flavours on the second, third, and even fourth steepings, and much of the caffeine is concentrated into the first steeping. Now I'm mainly onto whites and greens, but when I was heavily into black and oolong teas I'd steep a pot for, say, 15-20 seconds then quickly pour that water off, then steep again as usual. This would remove a fair amount of the caffeine, I found.
Capital tea is good, yes. Some other online sites (two Canuck, one Yank):
www.rishi-tea.com (US, great guys who really know their stuff)
http://www.houseoftea.ca/ (Canadian, delightful owner whom I trust for any recommendations about South Asian teas; no web sales up yet, but I think they're planning an online presence in the near future)
http://www.theteaemporium.com/customer/home.php (Canadian, big and successful, but still, I find they do a good job finding nice Chinese greens and whites).
Cargo & James tea (bit of a chain store of loose teas independently fleshed out of far flung earthly corners) is a good place to browse - they will let you smell them and usually the tastes are similar. I'm in EDM and there is one on Whyte.
Thank you so much, loren and epicentre!!
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