Okay, so I’ve been trying to cut down on caffeine, but I just can’t give up my black tea. It’s like, my morning ritual, you know? So, I figured I’d try making my own decaf black tea. I mean, how hard could it be, right?

First, I got some good quality loose-leaf black tea. I read somewhere online that black tea usually has more caffeine than other types, which makes sense, I guess. So, getting a good tea was step one.

Trying to Get the Caffeine Out

I tried a couple of methods to get rid of the caffeine. I’m no chemist, so I went with what seemed like the easiest ways.

• The Quick Rinse: I poured boiling water over the tea leaves, let it sit for about 30 seconds, and then tossed that water out. The idea is that most of the caffeine comes out in that first quick brew. Then, I brewed the leaves again with fresh boiling water to get my actual cup of tea.
• The Soak and See: Another thing I tried was soaking the tea leaves in hot water for a longer time, like 5 minutes, and then dumping that water. Then brewing the “washed” leaves with fresh hot water to get my cup. This was based on a similar idea that a lot of caffeine goes out with the first soak.

Did It Even Work?

Honestly, I’m not 100% sure how much caffeine I actually removed. I read some stuff online that said something about polyphenols in decaf black tea being absorbed differently, but that went over my head. I guess I did feel a bit less jittery after my tea, so maybe it did work at least a little. It was still better than no black tea, even if the caffeine wasn’t totally gone.

The tea still tasted pretty good, which was the main thing. I mean, I still got to enjoy my black tea fix without feeling like I was gonna bounce off the walls. It is just a rewarding endeavor.

I’m gonna keep trying to perfect this. Maybe I’ll try some other methods I find online. Or maybe I’ll just accept that it’s not gonna be perfectly decaf and just enjoy the slightly less caffeinated version. It’s all a learning process, right? Anyway, that’s my little adventure in trying to decaffeinate black tea. Maybe it’ll help someone else out there who’s also trying to cut down on the caffeine but loves their black tea too much to quit it entirely.