Only one plant makes tea with caffeine in it: Camellia sinensis, the tea bush. Green, black, white and oolong tea all come from it, and so does anything built on a green tea base. Everything else that gets called tea, from chamomile to hibiscus to rose buds, is an infusion made from a flower, leaf, root or fruit, and it never contained caffeine in the first place.
That makes our range easy to sort. Three of our teas contain caffeine, because they are built on green tea: Apple Rose Green Tea, Beauty Blend and Jasmine Tea. The rest are caffeine-free, and always were.
| Tea | Caffeine | Best time |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Rose Green Tea | Yes, green tea base | Morning, afternoon |
| Beauty Blend | Yes, green tea base | Morning, afternoon |
| Hibiscus Flower Tea | None | Any time; iced in summer |
| Hibiscus Strawberry Lemongrass Tea | None | Any time; iced in summer |
| Heart Bloom Tea | None | Afternoon, iced |
| Crazy Fruit Tea | None | Any time |
| Spearmint Tea | None | After a meal |
| Rose Bud | None | Afternoon, evening |
| Butterfly Pea | None | Any time; for colour |
| Lavender | None | Evening |
| Chamomile Tea | None | Bedtime |
| Sleep Blend | None | Bedtime |
| Blue Calm Tea | None | Evening |
| Ashwagandha Tea | None | Evening |
| Rhododendron Tea | None | Any time |
| Rosella (CIPRED) | None | Any time |
Why you'll love caffeine-free tea
- You can drink it at any hour. A pot of hibiscus at four in the afternoon or chamomile at eleven at night will not keep you awake.
- It counts towards your fluids. A floral infusion is essentially flavoured water, with no sugar unless you add it.
- Nothing to cut back on. The NHS suggests pregnant women keep caffeine under 200mg a day, and plenty of people simply feel better with less. A floral infusion asks nothing of you.
- Flavour, not a lift. Without caffeine there is nothing to mask the taste, which is why good floral and fruit infusions are so varied: tart hibiscus, apple-sweet chamomile, cool spearmint, scented rose.
- It is easy to brew. Most floral infusions forgive boiling water and a long steep in a way that green tea never does.
- Children can have it. Weak chamomile, fruit tea or butterfly pea lemonade are all fine for the rest of the family.
How to brew caffeine-free tea
There is no single rule, because a flower, a root and a fruit want different things. The short version is: flowers want water just off the boil and a short steep; fruit and hibiscus want a full boil and a long one; roots want the longest steep of all.
- 1
Delicate flowers: chamomile, rose, lavender, butterfly pea
Water at about 90°C, so let the kettle stand a minute. Steep three to five minutes, covered, and never longer; past that chamomile turns bitter and lavender turns soapy. One to two teaspoons per cup.
- 2
Hibiscus and fruit: hibiscus, Heart Bloom, Crazy Fruit
Full boiling water and five to seven minutes. The colour arrives quickly but the body takes longer. Sweeten while hot if you want to; these are the infusions that improve with a little honey.
- 3
Roots: ashwagandha, Sleep Blend
Hot water and six to eight minutes. Roots release their flavour slowly, so a short steep tastes of very little.
- 4
Spearmint
Boiling water, three to five minutes. Forgiving and quick, and it takes a second steep.
Quantities by pot size and the different infuser methods are on the brewing guide.
Which caffeine-free tea, when
- First thing, instead of coffee. Honestly, a floral infusion will not do what coffee does. If you want warmth and flavour without the caffeine, spearmint is the brightest, and hibiscus with honey is the most wakeful-tasting.
- Mid-afternoon. Heart Bloom or Hibiscus Strawberry Lemongrass, hot in winter and over ice in summer. This is where most people would otherwise have a second coffee.
- After dinner. Spearmint, or three parts chamomile to one part spearmint. The mint is why it works.
- Before bed. Chamomile is the classic, Sleep Blend adds ashwagandha for a rounder cup, and Blue Calm puts lavender and chamomile behind a blue butterfly pea cup.
- For guests. Butterfly pea with lemon added at the table. It turns purple in front of them.
- Something you have not tasted before. Rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal, brewed with herbs and spices.
Blending caffeine-free teas
Because none of these carries caffeine, you can blend freely without changing when you can drink the result. The single flowers in our Garden collection are the easiest place to start.
- Chamomile and spearmint, three to one. The best after-dinner blend we know.
- Hibiscus and rose buds, two to one. Rose softens the tartness and adds scent.
- Chamomile and lavender, with the lavender kept to a pinch. The classic bedtime pair.
- Butterfly pea and anything. It adds colour and almost no flavour, so the other tea stays in charge.
- Or let us do it. Build your own blend mixes up to three of our single teas and flowers into one pouch, blended to order.
Good to know
- Check the ingredients on any blend. A "chamomile" or "beauty" tea that lists green tea in the ingredients contains caffeine, however it is marketed. Ours say so plainly on the product page.
- Caffeine-free does not mean inert. Floral infusions are foods and most people can drink them freely, but a few, hibiscus among them, are worth a word with your GP or pharmacist if you take regular medication or are pregnant. Each product page and guide says where that applies.
- Storage. Airtight, dark and dry. Flowers lose their aroma to light and air faster than leaves do.
- Try before you buy. Any two of the teas above can be picked as a free sample.
