Wednesday TeaDay 6/03/09 Alternate universe decaf?

[Chip]

Greetings Teachatters and welcome to TeaDay. Please stop by and share what is in your cup today.

Yesterday most responders indicated that caffeine content in tea was not particularly important. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Ok, then if we woke up in an alternate universe where decaf tea was superior to caffinated tea in taste, aroma, selection, leaf quality, etc, would you pick a caffeine or noncaffeine tea? Or would you desperately try to find your way back to our universe? Please share ...

I am looking forward to sharing this alternative universe TeaDay with everyone! Tops down ...

[olivierco]

If a tea tastes good, I don't care about the amount of caffeine it contains.

Kirameki shincha this morning.

[Victoria]

I *think* I agree. Decaf please, taste is paramount ...

But I really wouldn't want that to happen. So I might ask Spock if he knows a way back to the alternate universe. Till then, I might have to start my day with coffee. then switch to tea. But ohhhhhhhhh how nice to drink as much tea as I want well into the late evening and never worry about not sleeping. I'd be brewing up a some right now.

[J.]

Of course I'd buy decaf, even if its taste was the same as caf.

But according to me, techniques used to decaffeinate alter the taste.

And teas particular tastes are in part due to the caffeine amount the contain.

[Drax]

I, too, go w/ the taste crowd.

Kinda noticed yesterday that most of the early responders were people who didn't care about caffeine. The caffeine crowd came in much later... heheh

I started a sample of 12 Gentlemen puerh yesterday, and it sort of died out on me at the 7th infusion, so I thought I'd pick up an 8th infusion this morning to make sure it just wasn't my palate going dead. It's still pretty light in flavor, though... given how strong of a series this one started out, I was a bit surprised how quickly it died.

[Trey Winston]

We'd have to get out of that universe, as it would obviously be the wrong one. Decaf tea being better than caf would be a dead giveaway, wouldn't it?

Having some decidedly caf Dragon Well today. Slurp. Yes, this is the right universe, all right.

[cherylopal]

But ohhhhhhhhh how nice to drink as much tea as I want well into the late evening and never worry about not sleeping. I'd be brewing up a some right now.

+1

there are so many times i'd love some tea after work but i cannot.

[davidlhsl]

If decaf tasted the same, I'd pick decaf. So if decaf was even better, then that would be a bonus! And if decaf tasted like scotch... (multiple infusion of scotch reference.. I'm the gong fu comedian)

Yesterday afternoon, I had Shi Ru Xiang. I had eaten a chocolate candy bar before and still had the taste of the chocolate in my mouth when I was drinking the tea. The sweetness of the chocolate amplified the natural sweetness of the tea, and the combination was a teagasm.

This morning I'll have Silver Needle.

[Salsero]

I'd probably go with the best tasting, low octane tea, but I might need a shot or two of espresso at some point in the day as a nutritional supplement.

Drax, that 12 Gentlemen experience sounds familiar to me.

I love tea leaves ... dry and spent both. I think it was MarshalN's wonderful posts of them when he was living in China and drinking a lot of pu that caused me to so love the leaves. BUT ... it is so hard to get the color right. They have the most amazing subtleties of hue, brightness, and saturation. It seems to go way beyond issues of white balance in the camera, almost into the psychology of color perception.

(Click the photo for a closer look.)

[chad]

It's all about choice! As an American, I'm used to pretty much getting what I want when I want it -- so get me out of this alternate universe!

Organic Assam this morning.

[brlarson]

I would drink both.

I like having small amounts of caffeine delivered gently to my system, but I also like the subtle scent flavor and mouthfeel of good tea so I would partake of your decaf too. Lastly, if I couldn't find suitable quality caffeinated tea then I would do without, or maybe I'd eat chocolate instead.

O-Cha's YM shincha as a change of pace this morning.

[Victoria]

In my cup this morning '09 FF Darjeeling Oolong -
fully caffeinated and much needed.

Have a nice day everyone!

[spot52]

If I need a real strong pick me up...I go for
.
It has the added benefit/detriment of sugar.

So, tea is not my source for caffeine.

[auggy]

I'd go for the decaf and probably be happier - I try to limit myself to no black teas after late afternoon so my sleep isn't bothered (don't always have the willpower, though) and sometimes my morning black tea hits me a little hard with the caffeine which is unpleasant, so I would really like not having to think about the caffeine content in tea as a consideration to what I should be drinking. Of course, I'd probably end up drinking the occasional icky tasting caffeinated tea or worse, coffee on the mornings it is really rough to get going.

Spearmint/cream blend for me this morning.

And Staples is here with our new filing cabinet. Oh, my life is so thrilling!

[Intuit]

Agreed with others, there are times I crave an after-dinner cuppa and must resort to herbal tissane instead.

Unfortunately, decaffeinated by the Swiss Water method (supercritical fluid extraction) alters the taste of tea, leaving it rather bland.

If we may have a door to that other universe, please... Open Sesame! :-)

More of that splendid SpecialTeas Assam Blend in the cup on this summery morn.