Decaffeinated tea: Bigelow Earl Grey
My “decaf” blogs are for those of you wanting to drink tea, but need to cut the caffeine intake…
from a previous blog.marTEA.com blog on Earl Grey: Earl Grey is a popular black tea blend often referred to as an afternoon tea. I like it anytime of the day, especially in the morning. There’s one catch to liking Earl Grey, you have to like the flavoring of the Bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit described as a cross between the pear lemon and a grapefruit. Whenever I hear someone say they don’t like Earl Grey, they are usually trying an Earl Grey from a supplier that might have overpowered the tea with Bergamot oil.
I have read that most teas are made decaffeinated by additional processing. Tea naturally contains caffeine. The processing needed to rid tea of its caffeine is completed in a safe and natural manner (or so I’m told). One way to remove the caffeine is Ethyl Acetate processing, and another way to remove the caffeine is to basically “pressure cook” tea using Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
Now, let’s get to the taste test. I know when I started drinking diet pop/soda/cola it took me a while to get used to the flavor. The same is going to be true with decaf tea. The smell of the Earl Grey tea before it was brewed was excellent. The popular Bergamot scent was pronounced and pleasant. However, after brewing the tea, it lacked the flavor that I was expecting. It did not taste bad. The tea was just weak in flavor. In addition, the scent of the brewed tea was flat and not at all as pronounced as the dry tea. Unfortunately, after a few cups of this tea, I’ll have to pass.
marTEA