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The ingredient list on this box is short: decaffeinated black tea, decaffeinated to 0.2%. That single line answers the question most people ask about decaf, and the rest is about making the cup worth drinking.
Reading the label
The published ingredient list reads, in full, decaffeinated black tea, decaffeinated to 0.2%. It names none of the fourteen major allergens. There is nothing else in the box: no flavouring and no herbs standing in for tea, just the English Breakfast style of black tea with most of its caffeine removed. As ever, the pack in your hand is the final word, because formulations can change.
Decaffeinated does not mean caffeine free. The label's own wording, decaffeinated to 0.2%, is the maker's declaration, and what it tells you is that the caffeine has been reduced rather than eliminated. Anyone who needs to avoid it altogether should choose a herbal infusion instead. For people who simply want a later cup that still tastes like the morning one, this is the right box.
Four minutes and a stir
Decaffeinated leaf gives up its flavour more slowly than ordinary leaf, and that is behind most of the complaints about weak decaf. Lift the bag at two minutes, as plenty of people do with the morning cup, and the result is thin and pale. Give it four minutes and one stir at the start, putting the bag in the mug first and pouring the water over it so the leaf wets evenly.
Milk goes in after the bag comes out. Cold milk added mid-brew knocks the temperature back and stops the extraction short, which undoes the extra time you gave it. Handled this way, the cup keeps its malty backbone and a proper black-tea dryness along the sides of the tongue, and it reads as tea rather than as a stand-in for it.
Where the eighty-bag box fits
At 218 grams over eighty bags, each bag holds 2.725 grams, so one bag makes one mug and the box makes eighty. The forty-bag box of the same name carries the same weight per bag, which leaves the choice between them simply a matter of how quickly your household gets through decaf. If it is the regular after-dinner pot rather than an occasional cup, the larger box is the practical one.
Expect a shade less malt than the caffeinated English Breakfast and a little less brisk lift, with a medium body and low bitterness as long as the bag comes out on time. Every decaf makes that trade. With a slice of buttered toast late in the evening, few people miss what has gone, and most simply enjoy still drinking tea.
The packs we stock
- Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated, 80 Tea Bags 218g (barcode 070177235031)
What the label says
The published ingredient list for Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated, 80 Tea Bags 218g names none of the 14 major allergens. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Ingredients, as published: Decaffeinated Black Tea, Decaffeinated to 0.2%.
Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.
What to eat with it
- McVitie's Original Hobnobs Biscuits - The Oaty One, 255g: an oaty biscuit with the weight to match a milky four-minute decaf.
- McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: the classic after-dinner biscuit, in a big pack to go with the big box.
- McVitie's Digestives Dark Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: darker chocolate for anyone who likes a slightly bitter edge beside a soft, rounded cup.
Elsewhere in the Twinings range
- Twinings Assam, 80 Tea Bags 200g
- Twinings Assam Loose Tea, 125g
- Twinings Black Tea Discovery Collection, 20 Tea Bags 40g
- Twinings Darjeeling, 40 Tea Bags 100g
- Twinings Decaffeinated Everyday, 80 Tea Bags 250g
- Twinings Earl Grey Discovery Collection, 20 Tea Bags 40g
The full range is on the Twinings brand page.
FAQ
Is decaf tea caffeine free? No. Decaffeination removes most of the caffeine but not all of it; this label states decaffeinated to 0.2%.
How long should I brew Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated? Four minutes, with a stir at the start. A two-minute brew is the usual cause of a thin decaf.
Does it contain any of the major allergens? The published ingredient list names none of the fourteen major allergens. Always check the current pack, as formulations can change.
How many cups are in the box? Eighty. One bag makes one mug, and each bag holds 2.725 grams of tea.
How does it differ from the forty-bag box? They share the name and the same weight of tea per bag; the difference is how many bags come in the box.
Curator's note: Treat it exactly like the morning pot, only give it an extra minute. More often than not, a disappointing decaf is simply one that was hurried. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.
In short: Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated: What Decaf Means
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Brand | Twinings |
| Packs we stock | 80 Tea Bags 218g |
| Category | Everyday Tea Bags |
| Allergens (as published) | The published ingredient list for this product names none of the 14 major allergens. |
| Caffeine | decaffeinated |
| Caffeine | Reduced, not removed |
| Brew | Four minutes, stirred at the start |
| Best with | Milk and buttered toast after dinner |
More from the tea wiki
- Twinings: Tea Range and Buying Guide
- How to Make Tea Properly: The Eight Step Method
- Caffeine in Tea
- Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
- English Breakfast Tea: Brands & the Proper Cup
- Decaf Tea
- Builders' Tea: The Working Class Story
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