Julie’s Top 5 Caffeine-Free Teas and Infusions by Clipper

Several years ago I was told by a health consultant it would be of great benefit to me if I gave up caffeine. As a 6 to 8-a-day coffee drinker, that was a daunting thought, and it proved to be a challenging task. These days, I drink a much wider variety of beverages, including many caffeine-free teas, and I’m really enjoying them.

Although I must admit that since taking over a coffee shop, I do now occasionally have coffee with caffeine, it’s usually towards the end of a long week when I find myself flagging and need a bit of a boost. Regardless of caffeine content, since learning to control my cravings, all my drinks have become more of a mindful experience. I now focus on the different tastes rather than just reaching for my next caffeine hit.

Giving Up Caffeine – My Account

Initially, full of confidence, I tried switching straight over to decaf coffee, and these days, if you find the right brand, that isn’t as bad as it sounds. It’s actually a good, tasty drink, and although at first it does taste a little like something is missing, it only takes a couple of days for the taste difference to disappear and it becomes a very good hot cuppa.

The side-effects of giving up caffeine were something else, though. The headaches were awful, to say the least, and I was so tired all the time. I quickly realised I just couldn’t handle going “cold turkey” and needed a new plan.

Weaning was my answer! So, it was back onto the caffeine (oh, the relief!), but not fully; instead of a pure dose of caffeinated deliciousness, I tried half caffeinated and half decaf. It was better, and I felt more alert, but it wasn’t enough to stop the headaches, and that was the thing that bothered me the most. Three-quarters caffeine to one-quarter decaf was a vast improvement, and the headaches stopped.

My new plan was to stick with that for a couple of days, then reduce back down to half and half, followed two days later by a quarter caffeine to three-quarters decaf for the next three days before switching to fully decaf. Spread it out over a week. Well, that didn’t work! A couple of days at each stage wasn’t nearly enough.

After a fair amount of experimenting, and with patience and determination, I was finally caffeine-free. Yes, it took me three months, but I did it! Woo!

Then Came Caffeine-Free Tea

So why am I talking about coffee when this post is about tea? The answer is that when I gave up caffeine, I didn’t “need” coffee as much and was free to experiment with different flavours.

Until I gave up caffeine, I didn’t even like tea! Back then, fruit and herbal teas were never strong enough for me, and regular tea, despite having its own caffeine, didn’t taste good and left a weird aftertaste (more about that below).

In the early ’70s, when I was a child, it was common practice for children to be given tea in their bottles, and I was no exception. Then suddenly, at some point in my early teens, I stopped liking it, and it was all fizzy pop and sugary squash for me.

Moving into adulthood, I felt I should be drinking “grown-up” drinks. Leaving aside the alcoholic beverages I partook in at the time, I also gave tea and coffee another try. I pretended to like coffee until I grew accustomed to it and actually did start to enjoy it, but I still found tea quite repulsive. Fruit and herbal teas simply didn’t exist in my world back then, so coffee it was.

But every now and then, I felt the urge to try tea. After all, other people love the stuff, and that whole “sit back and relax with a nice cup of tea” image was very appealing. So for the next 25-ish years, I would occasionally scoop a teaspoonful of tea out of Richard’s cuppa to give it a try, only to confirm that I still didn’t like it.

What Changed?

It’s funny how when you start a business, you grow as a person along with it. My partner, Richard, was pretty much a lifelong Yorkshire Tea guy. However, as we got more into ethically produced shopping for ourselves and soon after opening our own Fair Trade Shop in Hull, he decided to make the change to Clipper, and he immediately loved it.

Of course, I thought that would be a good time to give tea yet another try and sampled a teaspoonful. To my surprise, I found I no longer disliked it. Progress! I then experimented with different amounts of milk and sugar and found that I now really enjoy it with neither milk nor sugar. After all these years, I can now sit back and relax with a nice cup of tea!

When our wonderful customers discovered we were now selling tea and coffee they began putting in requests for green tea, chamomile tea, red bush, and many, many others.

Why Clipper?

As an ethical-based business, we choose to sell Clipper teas in our shop because of their commitment to fair trade and organic principles. They use non-bleached, plastic-free teabags, and when they remove caffeine from teas that contain it naturally, they use non-chemical organic means to do so. Perhaps it is these differences that I can taste because when I drink tea away from home or work, it’s rarely as good as my own brew.

Clipper is also a B-Corporation certified company, which means they meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. This certification reinforces our trust in their ethical practices and their dedication to producing high-quality, responsibly sourced teas.

So let’s take a look at my top 5 caffeine-free drinks. The list is not in order of preference because which is my favourite changes day by day. I also often drink teas and infusions that are not on the list, picking whichever appeals to me at the time. The following is therefore a list of the flavours I seem to drink the most of. The ones I keep going back to and sometimes even binge on. The only real exception is Roobibos which I have every morning without fail.

1. Organic Roobibos Tea

Roobios is red bush tea and was one of the many that we began stocking at the request of customers. As a newbie tea-sipper, I hadn’t heard of Rooibos before, so when I learned it was a naturally caffeine-free tea I was curious to try it.

As you might expect of a tea made from something called “red bush,” the tea has a more reddish colour than regular tea, but if you stir in a bit of milk, the redness disappears. I like my tea “black,” though, and that includes my red tea. The flavour is quite like black tea at first, but with an additional taste that lingers pleasantly, described quite accurately by Clipper as a “subtle caramel character.”

This has now become my first hot drink of the day, every day. For a while after giving up caffeine, I still started the day with an instant decaf coffee. However, since taking over our coffee shop at the beginning of 2024, I have been waiting until I get to work before having a coffee. I like to test the coffee before I start serving it, to make sure it’s just so. For that reason, I like to keep my palate coffee-free and indulge in a delicious red bush instead. Now, even on Sundays when we have a day off, I don’t feel like I’ve started the day right if I don’t start with a cup of Rooibos.

Soil Association Organic certified, our Clipper Rooibos comes in fully recyclable packaging.

2. Organic Peppermint Infusion

I’ve always loved peppermint-flavoured drinks and even grow peppermint in my garden, from which I sometimes make my own infusion. However, I can never grow and dry enough to see me through the plant’s dormant months. This is when Clipper comes to my rescue. With its plant-based, biodegradable, unbleached bags and certified organic status, this infusion is as ethical as it is refreshing.

Peppermint is said to be a natural anti-inflammatory, good for the digestive system, and also a mood-lifter. It’s helpful for headaches (I wish I’d known that when I was weaning off caffeine) and has a cooling effect on the body. A delicious hot drink, it’s also delightfully refreshing when chilled and served over ice in a glass with a straw. During warmer weather, it’s great to have a pot of peppermint tea waiting for you in the fridge.

3. Organic Berry Burst Infusion

The Organic Berry Burst Infusion is fruity and intense with great body and an enticing deep purple colour. Made with all-natural, organically produced ingredients, this blend offers a delightful and refreshing experience.

The infusion combines the tartness of hibiscus and rosehip with the subtle sweetness of liquorice root, creating a well-balanced flavour profile. Nettle leaf and chicory root add a hint of earthiness, while orange peel provides a citrusy zest.

Perfect for any time of day, this vibrant tea is a treat for the senses. For me, this is a mid-day delight. Bursting with flavour, I find this infusion to be a great way to wash down my lunch.

Just a word of caution for anyone suffering from hypertension – this blend contains liquorice, so it should not be consumed to excess.

4. Organic Nettle Infusion

If you want a fresh, herby flavour you can’t go wrong with this Organic Nettle Infusion. Naturally caffeine-free, the nettle is known to be a nutritious herb that has gotten itself a bad rap due to the plant’s sting. If you’ve never consumed nettles before though, there’s no need to worry as the sting is deactivated both by drying and by boiling, and both of these are a part of the tea-making process.

We have several regular customers who come to us just for a nice hot cup of nettle tea, and every time I make a cup for someone else it makes me crave one myself.

With its natural green hues and its enticing grassy aroma, every sip of this infusion makes you feel like you’re taking good care of your body.

Also good served over ice, some people appreciate a splash of lemon or a little honey adding to their brew. For me, I drink it in its most simple form – hot, black, and unsweetened.

5. Organic Decaf Tea

Regular tea minus the caffeine, Clipper boasts that their Organic Decaf Tea is the “UK’s most natural decaf” due to their decaffeination method. They use CO2 to gently bubble the caffeine out, rather than using chemical solvents, which is the practice employed by many other tea manufacturers. This method is approved for organic products and, combined with their other environmentally friendly ingredients and practices, helps this full-bodied black tea achieve Soil Association Organic certification.

Described on the back of the biodegradable packaging as “a robust blend of Fairtrade and organic teas, chosen because they keep their rich, bright character, even after they’ve been decaffeinated,” this is my go-to whenever I fancy a cup of “proper” tea.

Over to You

And there we have it! This was my personal journey from coffee-addict to an enthusiastic consumer of caffeine-free teas, with a special focus on my favourite brand, Clipper.

As mentioned above, since I began this journey we have taken over a coffee shop so as you would expect, I do still drink coffee and sometimes I have it with caffeine, but now I have taken control I have the freedom to enjoy other drinks, too.

Our standard brand of coffee is CafeDirect’s Machu Picchu, as they are also a Fairtrade, Organic, and B-Corp certified brand, just like Clipper. Our decaf coffee customers agree that this is the best brand they have tried and it works just as well as a mocha, cappuccino, latte, or cortado as it does for an Americano, long black, and even an espresso! If you’re giving up caffeine but are not yet ready to do without your coffee, that’s definitely the one you should try.

When you are ready to branch out into the world of teas and infusions, with Clipper’s commitment to fair trade, organic practises, and environmentally friendly packaging, you can enjoy these teas with a clear conscience, knowing they align with your values.

If you are just beginning your caffeine-free transition I hope that you have found my own journey and recommendations to be useful. I wish you the strength you need to enjoy caffeine-freedom. Happy supping!

Cheers!