Decaffeinated Earl Grey Black Tea

Decaf Earl Grey starts with black tea that has been decaffeinated, then, in most blends, takes its bergamot oil afterward so the citrus perfume stays bright. Brewed in a teapot at 95°C, it tastes of bergamot, orange peel and soft black tea.

Origin & Story

A decaf Earl Grey has one job, which is to taste like the real thing. That is harder than it sounds. The bergamot perfume is fragile, and almost anything done to a leaf after it has been scented can flatten it. So the usual order is the sensible one: decaffeinate the plain black tea first, then add the bergamot.

There are several ways to take caffeine out of tea. Supercritical carbon dioxide can be pushed through the leaf and carries the caffeine away with it. Ethyl acetate, a solvent that also occurs naturally in fruit, does the same job. Water-based processes exist, and some producers use methylene chloride. Labels often name the method, and it is worth a glance if the choice matters to you.

People reach for decaf Earl Grey for ordinary reasons: a second pot at the end of a long afternoon, a cup after dinner, a house where one person is cutting back. It is a tea for the hours when the ritual matters more than the lift. The name goes back to Charles Grey, British prime minister in the early 1830s, though how it came to sit on a tea is more legend than record.

Brew 3 g of leaf in 240 ml of water at 95°C for two and a half to three and a half minutes, and taste before you add anything.

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