Caffeine - coffee vs tea?

[legend_018]

ok, I'm not really a coffee drinker. I love ice coffees from dunkins and recently switched to "decaf" ice coffees.

If I made homemade ice tea at home, am I going back to a caffeinated drink?

[Katie E]

Unless you're making your tea with decaffeinated tea or herbal tea, yep, you're going back to consuming caffeine.

For medical reasons, I make all my iced tea with either herbal or decaffeinated tea. I can't tell the difference in taste. Although, I have to qualify that statement by saying I never got a "buzz" from drinking coffee and, when I used it to keep me awake while in college, it never worked. No-Doze didn't work either, so maybe I just don't react to caffeine like most people do.

One of my favorite herbal teas for iced tea is Blackberry-Sage made by The Republic of Tea. It doesn't really even need to be sweetened. It's great hot in the wintertime.

[CherryRed]

Yup, that's caffeine.

Try using decaffeinated tea. I recently switched over because I like to have tea at night but the caffeine in it was keeping me totally wired until early hours of the morning. It doesn't taste much different than regular caffeinated tea, so I consider it a win.

[legend_018]

That's what I thought. Just double checking. Thanks!!
If I make homemade ice tea, I'll try the decaf bags....if I can find them. I'm assuming i'll be able too.

[Katie E]

You shouldn't have any trouble finding decaffeinated tea. Lipton makes one, most markets have a house brand, and I've seen other major brands with a decaffeinated version. You'll be fine.

[skilletlicker]

No bearing on caffeine but since you mention iced tea, try steeping some fresh peppermint leaves along with the teabags.

[Run_Out]

How do they get caffeine out of tea/coffee?

later

[Katie E]

It's done chemically. Look here for one of several explanations available on the Internet.

And, yes, skillet! There's nothing more refreshing than some fresh mint in iced tea. Yummy!

[legend_018]

I want to follow this ice tea recipe in a new food magazine that I got.
It calls for a gallon size tea bag. The store didn't have those : (.
I got a box of lipton decaf ice tea bags. there just regular size tea bags.

I don't know how many of those constitute a gallon? It says 72 tea bags (net wt 4.7 oz)

The tea bag doesn't say anything on it. I really wanted to follow this recipe.

[Katie E]

I've been using three regular tea bags to one large one and it seems to work for us.