301919 Mon Apr 24 16:59:24 -0700 2006 19 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1686585 I am pregnant and therefore stuck drinking only decaf tea and coffee. I've found a decent brand of decaf coffee here in Toronto but most decaf tea is hideous. Unbelievably bad hot brown water. Can anyone recommend a good brand of decaf tea? I also hate herbal tea. Thanks! Mon Apr 24 16:59:24 -0700 2006 0 hoagy294 1 1686586 I never bothered with the decaf tea. I could never find one I liked. Most OBs say drinking 2 cups of regular coffee a day is fine, so I just drank my regular coffee or tea 3-4 times a week and called it a day. Mon Apr 24 17:08:49 -0700 2006 1686585 0 boogiebaby 1 1686589 The folks at Upton suggest decaffeinating your own. Link: http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOdecaffeination.asp Mon Apr 24 17:27:26 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Jef 2 1686608 I'll second this idea. You get a much better result this way, assuming you are using a high quality loose leaf tea to begin with. I would recommend using a good darker oolong for this process. Oolongs are good for multiple infusions anyway, so you loose nothing by pouring off the first infusion after 30 seconds. You'll also be starting off with a little bit less caffeine in the first place by using an oolong. BTW, you can do this with green and white teas as well, and they are significantly lower in caffeine than black tea to start with. You wouldn't want to use boiling water for greens/whites though as you might cook the leaves that way. Instead, infuse when the water starts to steam and "talk." Mon Apr 24 19:46:09 -0700 2006 1686589 0 Low Country Jon 3 1686686 Oolong tastes better the second time around anyway, and a good tea brewer will always do the 30 second wash because that first brew can be very bitter. Do you like rooibos? It's the only herbal tea I've tried that tastes anything like a decent black tea, but some people say it tastes like grass. I like it with a squeeze of lemon or a slice of orange, and it's very high in antioxidants. Tue Apr 25 18:12:39 -0700 2006 1686608 0 nooodles 4 1686717 In the past, I've found rooibos a bit astringent for my tastes. I like honeybush better, similar plant, similar taste, less acidic. Tue Apr 25 21:19:04 -0700 2006 1686686 0 Low Country Jon 1 1686592 I think the best is Twining's - they have more than one kind of decaffeinated tea, second - Bigelow and Trader Joe's. Lipton's is indeed brown water. Take the best care of yourself! Hot lemonade would be nice for you, and perhaps include some ginger - both good for preventing and treating nausea. Mon Apr 24 18:09:48 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Niki Rothman 1 1686593 I hope you can get water-processed decaffeinated coffee. There are still some coffees being decaffeinated with a chemical process that can leave traces in the coffee - and you don't need that. Mon Apr 24 18:13:14 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Niki Rothman 1 1686595 Does "I hate herbal tea" include black teas that have added flavors (which strictly speaking aren't herbal)? I know of two good decaf ginger peach teas - they are black teas with the ginger and peach bits added in the bag: revolution tea and republic of tea. Republic has other good decafs (decaf is all i drink in tea). they are both available online. Mon Apr 24 18:20:05 -0700 2006 1686585 0 krissywats 2 1686598 I prefer Darjeeling or Earl grey or English Breakfast...anything with a black tea base. A black tea with some flavouring would be okay, I'd forgotten that I have had some yummy Republic of Tea flavours in the past. I just don't like teas that aren't black, like all those Celestial seasonings "strawberry kiwi" or "lemon zinger" flavours. They're nice enough drinks but they aren't tea! Thanks for all the suggestions including decafinating my own! Mon Apr 24 18:40:35 -0700 2006 1686595 0 hoagy294 3 1686602 I'm an english breakfast girl (with milk and sugar, please)and I do like republic of teas decaf versions of that and the earl grey. Mon Apr 24 18:54:06 -0700 2006 1686598 0 krissywats 1 1686635 Good Earth Chai. Prefer it over the caffeinated version. Don't drink any other tea but this. Love it. Tue Apr 25 02:26:17 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Shaebones 1 1686640 I got stuck with oodles of (bad) decaf earl grey... I found that if I brewed it double-strength (two bags per mug), it was drinkable. Not sure if that rendered much of the decaf benefits useless, but it's something to consider if you're stuck. Tue Apr 25 09:24:20 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Foodie2 1 1686643 I sympathize with your quest for good decaf beverages. Me, I can't have any coffee or black tea (sob!), and am very sensitive to caffeine, so I have to be careful when I drink green tea. I've spent years searching for something worth drinking. I'm relatively pleased with Stash's decaf Premium Green tea. (I prefer their white tea blends, but only the full-caf versions - their decaf white teas have weird fruit flavors.) But note that decaf tea is not 100% caffeine free - no decaf coffee or tea is. I still get the "caffeine trembles" when I drink decaf tea - whether it's store-bought or self-decaffinated. But there's usually so little caffeine left that most people don't have a problem with it. Oh, and have you tried Rooibos tea? It's also called African Red Bush tea. It's a plant, not real tea, but it's the closest thing to black tea that I've found. Make sure you try the non-flavored version; flavored Rooibos can be kinda sickly. Anne Link: http://shopstashtea.com/030590.html Tue Apr 25 10:45:41 -0700 2006 1686585 0 AnneInMpls 2 1686646 I wholeheartedly support the Rooibos suggestion, too -- I HATE herbal teas, and LOVE rooibos. Numi makes especially good bags of it -- I find Trader Joe's to be too "weak". I also really like Honeybush tea -- related to rooibos, a little less red, more golden, both in color and flavor. I like to add milk to my teas, and these stand up like champions. Mmm! Tue Apr 25 10:55:13 -0700 2006 1686643 0 Foodie2 1 1686650 Have you tried roasted chicory root tea? It's dark and robust. Not at all like coffee or tea -- it has its own flavor. Good with milk. Celestial Seasonings makes a nice blend called Roastaroma. Tue Apr 25 12:27:45 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Val Ann C 1 1686651 If you like your tea black, you may enjoy Trader Joe's organic Rooibos tea - I loathe herbal teas per se, but I can drink this, as it tastes and looks more like tea. It's made from African redbush, and as well as being pleasant tasting and full bodied, it's also supposed to be full of anti-oxidants and minerals. It is even supposed to soothe colicky babies! Tue Apr 25 12:45:42 -0700 2006 1686585 0 sally from LA 1 1686797 Give the (loose leaf) decaf assam from Upton Teas a try, it's the best decaf I've found, by far. They also have decaf english brkfst, darjeeling, earl grey, kenya, black tea w/apricot, and black currant. You can order small sample sizes of a few or get 125 gr. packets (or larger). They're a great company with great tea: www.uptontea.com or (800) 234-8327. Good luck in your search. Wed Apr 26 18:44:57 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Noeldottir 1 1686829 My mother must watch her caffeine intake, and for years she has been drinking a lot of Celestial Seasonings "Caffeine-Free Tea," which isn't a decaf black tea, but an herbal blend that actually tastes a lot like black tea and has its body, more so than rooiboos, in my opinion. (My mother drank rooiboos until she discovered this CS product, known in our circle as "fake tea," and it satisfies her want for black tea much more.) It can be hard to find; most grocery stores don't seem to carry it, but some natural foods stores do. You could query Celestial Seasonings and try it out. Link: http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/product/467.php Thu Apr 27 03:52:40 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Caitlin McGrath 1 1686906 Another decaf tea, I like is Trader Joes Green Chai Decaf. I've made it both hot and cold. I find it good if you let it steep for about 8 minutes, and use 3 tsp. of sugar, and whole milk. Usually, I use 2 tsp. of sugar for tea, but preparing it this way makes it more of a treat when you want something sweet. Fri Apr 28 07:49:06 -0700 2006 1686585 0 Michele Cindy