Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40: How It Tastes

Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40: The Heavier Bag

The box holds 109 grams across forty bags, which works out at 2.725 grams per bag, against 2.5 grams in the caffeinated English Breakfast carton. That heavier fill reads to us as a deliberate answer to the usual complaint about decaf, and it shapes how the cup tastes.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40: The Heavier Bag, in summary: Close to the caffeinated blend, but not identical: the briskness survives, the malt is quieter and the tannins softer. Forty bags at 2.725g each, a fuller fill that rewards three and a half to four minutes.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

The box holds 109 grams across forty bags, which works out at 2.725 grams per bag, against 2.5 grams in the caffeinated English Breakfast carton. That heavier fill reads to us as a deliberate answer to the usual complaint about decaf, and it shapes how the cup tastes.

How it compares with the caffeinated cup

Side by side, you could tell the two apart. Briskness, the quick, bright lift on the swallow, comes through better here than in most decafs. The malt is a touch quieter and slower to arrive, the body is medium, and the tannins are gentler, because decaffeination softens them. Late in the evening, with milk in, the gap is small enough that few would notice it.

That softer astringency is what makes it an easy cup at the end of the day. The trade-off is that the malt, being the slowest element, needs time to come through, which is why this tea rewards an extra thirty seconds over the caffeinated carton. It is still recognisably the Twinings breakfast blend, brought into the evening instead of replaced by a herbal.

Brewing the fuller bag

Give it three and a half to four minutes in water straight off the boil, half a minute longer than the caffeinated box wants. Decaffeinated leaf is slower to release its malt, and a quick dunk that a strong caffeinated blend might get away with leaves this one thin. If a cup comes out weak, add time rather than reaching for a second bag.

One bag is enough for a 300ml mug at this weight, so there is no need to double up. The bags are not made for a second brew either: once one has had its four minutes, it has given what it has. Add milk once the bag is out, as you would with the morning cup, and stir before you judge the colour.

Choosing the forty over the eighty

The same decaf comes in an eighty-bag box that carries the same weight of leaf per bag. The forty suits a household where decaf is an occasional cup, or one person's evening habit, because a smaller box is finished while the tea is still fresh. If decaf has become the main tea after dinner for everyone, the larger box is the more practical buy.

It also settles a common evening dilemma. Plenty of tea drinkers stop after supper rather than switch to an infusion they do not really want, and this box lets them carry on with proper black tea, brewed exactly like the morning pot. It is not flavoured and it is not an infusion; it is the breakfast cup with most of the caffeine taken out.

The packs we stock

Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40, 109g (barcode 070177231460)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40, 109g (barcode 070177231460) names none of the 14 major allergens. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to eat with it

McVitie's Rich Tea The Classic One Twin Pack, 2 x 300g 600g: an unassuming biscuit that will not overpower a softer evening cup.
McVitie's Jaffa Cakes Digestive Biscuits, 250g: the Jaffa Cakes twist on a digestive, a little livelier on the plate beside a quieter decaf.
Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: buttery and sweet, a natural match for a mellow, milky cup late in the day.
McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Mini Biscuits Snack Multipack, 5 x 19g: small packs, so a single evening cup gets one small biscuit rather than half a packet.

Elsewhere in the Twinings range

The full range is on the Twinings brand page.

FAQ

Does decaf tea taste different from regular tea? A little. Here the briskness holds up well, while the malt is quieter and the tannins are softer than in the caffeinated blend.

Why is the decaf bag heavier? Our reading is that the extra leaf makes up for the body and aroma decaffeination removes; the weights themselves come from the pack.

Do I need two bags for a big mug? No. At 2.725 grams, one bag is enough for a 300ml mug; brew it a little longer instead.

Is it caffeine free? No. Decaffeination removes most of the caffeine and leaves a small amount behind.

Can I reuse the bag? It is not made for it. One four-minute brew takes what the bag has to give.

Curator's note: Give it the extra half minute and it stops tasting like a compromise. This is the box I would hand to anyone who has given up tea after dinner. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40: The Heavier Bag

Field	Detail
Brand	Twinings
Packs we stock	109g
Category	Everyday Tea Bags
Allergens (as published)	The published ingredient list for this barcode names none of the 14 major allergens.
Caffeine	decaffeinated
Brew	Three and a half to four minutes
Bags per mug	One, even for a large mug
Occasion	Evenings, and the occasional decaf drinker