In a previous post, I discussed how I am a tea junkie that drinks potentially problematic amounts of tea, and how I cut caffeine for an upcoming surgery without losing my mind.
Yeah yeah, you can drink down to less caffeine but WTF else is there to drink when the tea is your life? What will I gongfu?!?!?
Make it Count
If you are going to have only a single caffeinated tea or two a day, make it count. Drink your favorite teas as well as your fancy pants leaf. Bust out the $1+ a gram teas, you earned it!
Though really, life is too short to drink shit tea. Marie Kondo that crap tea.
Use Smaller Teaware
This is also the perfect time to buy or pull out the cute tiny teaware! I exclusively used my 60-75ml teaware, so those are typically 3-5gram gongfu tea sessions. If you are the type who loves a big mug of black tea in the morning, switch that mug for a smaller one.
Heck, buy new teaware – since you spent money you’ll want to make use of it or the novelty of something new will make you the new items.
Pinpoint High Caffeine Teas to Cut First
The first teas on the chopping block are the teas that pack in the most delicious tea drunk caffeine. These teas are:
- Matcha
- Mate (tisane)
- Guayusa (tisane)
- Bud Heavy White Tea (Silver Needle, White Peony)
- Black Tea
- Young Sheng Puer (bud heavy type)
Yes yes, white tea is on the list. Caffeine goes by bud content, not tea type and white teas like Silver Needle are very high in caffeine, and it can clock higher than some black teas. I don’t want to get into a long tangent/fight on caffeine content and resteeping/dumping out caffeine infusion nonsense, so check out those links.
All the other Camellia Sinensis will be cut anyway but the high caffeine offenders can undo progress when you are down to a couple of grams a day but it’s only snorting matcha. Either way, all Camellia Sinensis has caffeine, don’t cheat playing the “it’s roasted or aged so it has no caffeine now.” excuse to go hog wild, it still has caffeine.
Caffeine Free Herbals
I discarded herbal teas for years as they are boring floral stale crap or watery woodshavings. It was hard to sell me on these teas when I tend to prefer teas without added flavorings.
Finding good herbal tisane is important, just like any other tea. I cannot stand chamomile in a teabag as it just smells of cardboard that went off.
What herbals actually got me in was various Turmeric teas (Rishi Tea being my vendor of choice here). Turmeric has high flavor and savory spice so I wasn’t drinking watery sad things. Iced Hibiscus (with a lot of sweeteners) is quite refreshing. I also find Mint blends are also great as mint is a potent note.
Tea Substitutions
There are herbals that can fill voids of your favorite tea profiles. Chaga Mushroom teas actually are a great substitute if you love your shou puer. I found it has a dark, inky, and downright funky taste. Roasted Barley is another fine offering if you love roasted teas.
Rooibos, Turmeric, and Beet Root “matcha” is a thing and they make excellent flavorful milk teas to fill that matcha latte void.
Mix Your Teas
Borrowing from the tips by coffee drinkers mixing in decaf, you can mix in your herbal tisanes with your caffeinated ones.
My fav mix is a lighter oxidized oolong with a turmeric mango tea. I also added Chaga to some dark teas that add extra woody funk.
Trick Yourself to Drink More Water
I hate hearing “Drink More Water!” as I know I don’t drink enough water. Water is for making tea. I pee enough with all the tea I drink! However, water played the biggest part in cutting down my caffeine intake.
I made myself drink a 24oz tumbler of water in the morning and again at night. I’d have water with meals. Before a tea session (or between teas), drink a glass of water to reset your palate. All that extra water made me realize a lot of the time I was actually just thirsty, not that I needed a hit of Dong Ding oolong.
Ultimately, laziness wins, and habits are hard to change but can be replaced. I tend to passively drink a lot of tea while working on the computer. Instead of tea, I had a big water bottle next to my computer and I began to settle drinking that as it was there plus I was too lazy to get up and make tea.
I’ll be back on caffeine again, but drinking more water will be here to stay.
