Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, 40 Tea Bags 116g
Decaffeinated is not caffeine-free. A small amount stays in the cup, so if you need none at all a herbal infusion is the honest answer and this is not it. For everyone else it is the box that lets the day carry on: a proper dark mug at nine in the evening rather than the pale apology decaf usually turns out to be, and one pot that suits the whole table. What the process costs is aroma rather than weight. The body is there; the lift that comes off a freshly made pot of the ordinary stuff is quieter here, and no extra time in the mug brings it back.
Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, in brief.
Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea is an everyday black tea with the caffeine taken out and nothing else changed, 40 bags in 116g, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the decaf that still tastes like a proper mug of tea.
That count and weight give 2.9g a bag, a full everyday dose rather than the light bag most decaf disappointment comes from. Three to four minutes by the clock, not by the colour: decaffeinated leaf has been through water once already, so it colours the cup long before it gives up its flavour. Organic and Fairtrade are the brand's own claims, stated in the product name. Decaffeinated is not caffeine-free.
Decaffeinated tea is not caffeine-free tea. If you need none at all, a herbal infusion is the honest answer.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Clipper
Clipper built its name on two things at once: organic growing and Fairtrade buying, stated together on the front of the box rather than as a badge in the corner. Both of those claims are made by the brand in this product's own name, and that is the basis on which we record them.
The decaf line exists because the everyday tea drinker who gives up caffeine usually does not want to give up tea. The whole design problem is keeping the cup recognisable once the caffeine has gone, and the answer here is a full-weight bag and a blend still meant for milk.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- A decaf that still tastes like tea: the cup has body, takes milk and holds up in a mug rather than needing a delicate cup and a short steep. If you have tried a decaf and found it watery, the bag weight is usually the reason.
- What it is not: it is not a herbal infusion and it is not a speciality black tea. It is the ordinary daily cup with the caffeine removed, which is exactly the job most people want done.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Water temperature: 100 degrees, freshly boiled.
- Measure: one bag per 250 to 300ml.
- Steep: three to four minutes, judged by the clock rather than the colour.
- Service: milk. It is an everyday blend and it is better for it.
- Storage: sealed, dry and dark, with the box closed. Black tea takes on kitchen smells if it is left open.
- Best with: the evening cup you would otherwise have to skip, or anyone cutting caffeine without cutting tea.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, 40 Tea Bags 116g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Clipper
Clipper was the first UK brand to launch a Fairtrade tea (1994) and remains synonymous with ethical, unbleached, plastic-free tea bags. Dorset-based and owned since 2012 by Wessanen, now Ecotone, with a comprehensive range covering everyday English Breakfast, organic blends, and herbal infusions.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
The taste profile
How does it compare
Decaffeinated leaf behaves slightly differently in the mug. It has already been through water once during processing, so it releases colour quickly and looks ready before it is. Judge it by time rather than by the look of the cup.
The Everyday Mug
The Pot for Two
Made with this tea
The Everyday Mug
How to make the standard mug of Clipper decaf.
- 1 bag Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea
- 250 to 300ml water straight off the boil
- A splash of milk
- Pour 250 to 300ml of freshly boiled water over one bag.
- Time three to four minutes. Ignore the colour, which arrives long before the flavour does.
- Lift the bag out and let it drain. Do not press it against the side of the mug.
- Add milk, and sugar if that is how you take it.
What you'll end up with: An ordinary mug of everyday tea that happens to have had the caffeine removed.
The Pot for Two
How to make two proper mugs at once without stewing them.
- 2 bags Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea
- 500ml water straight off the boil
- A teapot, warmed
- Warm the pot with a little boiling water and tip it out. A cold pot takes ten degrees out of the brew immediately.
- Add two bags and 500ml of freshly boiled water.
- Steep four minutes, then lift the bags out. This one carries tannin and will go harsh if they stay in.
- Pour with milk in the mugs.
What you'll end up with: Two even mugs, the second as good as the first because the bags came out on time.
The Late Milky Cup
How to build the evening version, softer and rounder.
- 1 bag Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea
- 200ml water straight off the boil
- 60ml milk, warmed
- Brew one bag in only 200ml for three minutes, so the tea is concentrated rather than diluted.
- Lift the bag out.
- Top with 60ml of warmed milk rather than cold, which keeps the cup at drinking temperature.
- Less water and more milk gives the softer, rounder cup people want last thing at night.
What you'll end up with: A comforting late mug with the strength still in it, rather than a watery one.
Iced Decaf Tea
How to make a jug that does not go cloudy.
- 4 bags Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea
- 500ml water straight off the boil, plus 500ml cold
- A lemon, sliced
- Ice to serve
- Brew four bags in 500ml of just boiled water for four minutes, then lift them out.
- Add 500ml of cold water straight away to bring the temperature down quickly.
- Cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Chilling a hot strong brew too fast is what turns iced tea cloudy.
- Serve over ice with lemon. No milk in this one.
What you'll end up with: A clear jug of iced tea with a full tea flavour and no caffeine worth speaking of.
Tea Loaf, Soaked Overnight
How to use strong tea instead of water to soak dried fruit.
- 3 bags Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea
- 300ml water straight off the boil
- 300g mixed dried fruit
- 150g soft brown sugar, 1 egg, 250g self-raising flour
- Brew three bags in 300ml for five minutes to make a deliberately strong tea, then lift them out.
- Pour it over the dried fruit and sugar and leave overnight, covered.
- Stir in the egg and flour the next day, turn into a lined loaf tin and bake at 160C fan for about an hour.
- Using decaf here means the loaf keeps the tannin and colour that make a tea loaf work without adding caffeine to something children will eat.
What you'll end up with: A dark, damp fruit loaf to slice and butter, with no caffeine in it.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Decaffeinated black tea | the whole of the blend | The body, the colour and the briskness. It starts as ordinary black tea and has most of its caffeine removed, which softens the edge a little and leaves the everyday character intact. |
| Added flavouring | none | This is a plain everyday black tea. Nothing is added to flavour, sweeten or colour it. |
| Allergen and certification marks | Printed on the current pack | Organic and Fairtrade are stated by the brand in the product name. Every other mark, and all allergen advice, is to be read off the box itself. |
Ingredients and allergens. The published ingredient list for this product names none of the 14 major allergens. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Ingredients, as published for this product: Decaffeinated Organically Grown Black Tea, Tea: Traded in compliance with Fairtrade standards, total 100%.
Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.
Pack: Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, 40 Tea Bags 116g; a decaffeinated everyday black tea for drinking with milk. Store sealed, dry and dark with the box closed. Read the ingredient declaration, the residual caffeine figure, the bag material, any certification marks and the best-before date off the current UK pack.
The sensory placements are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description; we have held no tastings and hold no brand specification sheets.
Sourcing & blend. Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, 40 Tea Bags 116g is put together by Clipper, a house that built its name on organic growing and Fairtrade buying stated together on the front of the box rather than as a badge in the corner. The decaf line exists because the everyday tea drinker who gives up caffeine usually does not want to give up tea, and the design problem is keeping the cup recognisable once the caffeine has gone. A full-weight bag and a blend still meant for milk is the answer this one takes. Our assessment rests on the pack format and the brand's published description.
What's in Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, 40 Tea Bags 116g, and what isn't:
- In: decaffeinated black tea, 40 bags at 2.9g each, and nothing else.
- No added flavouring, colour or sugar: this is a plain everyday black tea, not a flavoured one.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Clipper Organic and Fairtrade Decaffeinated Tea, 40 Tea Bags 116g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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