Arbor Teas offers one of the Internet's largest selections of loose leaf organic tea and herbs – two thirds of which are Fair Trade Certified®. We rely exclusively on the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) method for all of our decaffeinated organic tea offerings,

which include our top selling Decaf English Breakfast and Decaf Green. All our decaffeinated teas feature a hearty leaf that can hold up to the decaffeination process and still pack flavor into each cup, without the caffeine.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Decaffeinated Tea

Arbor Teas exclusively uses the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) method for all of our decaf organic tea offerings. We feel that this is the safest form of decaffeination, while retaining the greatest flavor and health benefits. According to research conducted by tea "technologist" Nigel Melican, tea decaffeinated using the CO2 method retains 92 percent of its polyphenols (the healthy stuff!) compared to tea decaffeinated using the ethyl acetate process, which only retains 18 percent. Learn more about decaffeination methods.

Caffeine-Free vs Decaffeinated

The term “decaffeinated” is quite different from “caffeine free.” “Decaffeinated” refers to a product that originally contained caffeine and then underwent a process to remove most of its caffeine content. “Caffeine-free”, on the other hand, refers to a product that never contained caffeine in the first place. Please note: decaffeinated tea is NOT caffeine-free, and actually retains a small amount of caffeine. All of our organic herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free (with the exception of yerba mate and yaupon).

Tea Decaffeination at Home—Does it Really Work?

We used to think that the majority of tea's caffeine was released in the first 45 seconds to one minute of steeping. With this understanding, we believed that one could extract much of the caffeine contained in tea by using a quick decaffeination technique at home. Unfortunately, new research released by tea “technologist” Nigel Melican has debunked this theory and suggests that only 20% of the caffeine is removed, instead of 80% as we previously thought. However, if you need a way to lower your caffeine intake in a pinch, consider using this at-home decaffeination method to reduce the caffeine in your cup.