Giving up caffiene - help what replace my addiction to tea?!

Do you have a garden? Fresh herbs make lovely drinks, so much better than the dusty bags of the dried stuff. I drink mint, fennel or sage. Still love my coffee though.

I had to give up caffeine nearly 30 years ago - it was making my digestion work too fast. I didn't drink cola so no probs there, switched to decaff coffee and red bush tea (which I really liked) but was distraught over having to give up chocolate. And yes, found by accident that some medicines contain caffeine.

The last few years I have been able to drink the occasional 'normal' tea but still don't like the taste of decaffeinated tea. If I have a 'normal' coffee at any time of day it keeps me awake till 3 in the morning. However I have recently discovered Barley Cup from Holland & Barrett, which is made with roasted barley, rye and chicory and makes a nice change. I can also drink it in the evenings without being kept awake. My DIL told me about drinking this as a child in Poland and still being able to get it there, so I googled and found it in H&B. I gave her some and she says it tastes the same.

BTW, I have the occasional chocolate now too but only in the mornings!

I don't refuse black tea if offered in someone else's house because the alternative is often instant coffee which I dislike. I love Sainsbury's Italian style ground coffee made in a French press.
At home I drink redbush with soya milk or Dragonfly earl grey redbush (Holland and Barrett) without milk. I can't tell the difference between the various brands of ordinary redbush tea so buy Sainsbury's own which is half the price. I prefer to let it brew for several minutes. The first cup of redbush in the morning is so good, so it's not caffeine I'm after.

Even though I'd often alternate caffeine free with caffeine throughout the day switching to no caffeine at all has meant that I'm no longer getting up several times a night to go to the loo.

I agree redbush tea is an acquired taste. When my sister made tea for herself and my Dad, without realising there were two different types of teabag by the kettle, their faces were a picture having used the wrong bags!

I think it tastes like TCP. It took me a while to get used to it. I can't drink it first thing in the morning though. I've started putting green tea in smoothies as I know it's good for me but I don't like the taste.

I am not allowed caffeine, so coke , coffee and tea are all caffeine free .
I have found Tetley do the best tea. A few tea drinkers have asked me what type of tea I have given them as they liked it so much.

If it is the caffeine. Then try caffeine free. I love tea. Though I do find Yorkshire tea is a bit strong, I prefer a different brand. Many brands proved caffeine free tea. Also remember water is good for us, aim to keep sufficiently hydrated.

I meant provide (not proved).

Gave up Caffeine 15 years ago and have never looked back. Suggest that in the early days drink plenty of water to flush your system and prevent headaches, it only takes about 5 days to get over the bump! I drink mainly Rooibos tea, not only is it caffeine free, it tastes good and is good for us! I like it hot/warm/cold with milk/without milk some like it with honey find it in most supermarkets and health stores too. www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/beverage/health-benefits-of-red-rooibos-tea.html Other than that good old PG Decaf tea or your preferred brand. I seldom drink coffee such as 2-3 times a year but would always be decaf. Good luck and persevere!

Several years ago I developed a nagging breast pain and my GP referred me to the local Breast Clinic. After a physical examination, the first thing that the Doctor asked me was " Do you drink a lot of tea, coffee, or chocolate"?
In actual fact I did.
He then said "Caffeine".
By all accounts a lot of caffeine can cause breast pain. He advised me to cut down, but I decided there and then to cut caffeinated beverages out altogether, and bought decaff instead.
For a couple of weeks I had a bit of a muzzy head ( caffeine withdrawal ) but then that went, along with the breast pain. I was utterly amazed I can tell you.( As well as being immensely relieved that the pain was nothing sinister ).
In all honesty, I have never noticed a difference in taste with either tea or coffee, so give it a try Gracesgran, you may be pleasantly surprised .

I've been drinking decaff tea in the evenings and when I know I'll be out (and possibly away from a loo for a long time). I think it tastes almost the same as normal tea. I don't like herbal and fruit teas. If you're giving up because of bladder issues, don't drink green tea as it irritates the bladder, as does cranberry juice.

Personally don't like decaf tea or coffee, but when I was in Germany found that I liked rosehip tea and have just started drinking it again. Working with South Aftrican wine import company, my colleagues hated Rooibos, but again I like it. I love the expensive but high quality Tea Pigs range. My other weaknesses are freshly squeezed fruit juice, Dolce Gusto pods which make superb coffee as good as any coffee bar, good-quality leaf tea made in proper infuser pot, Cappuccino made from Pact coffee (again expensive, but superb), freshly ground and made in hob top coffee pot and then freshly frothed milk and choc sprinkles.. Only drink one or two tea or coffee each day, then lots of water (my fridge has a water dispenser, and this goes well with a few ice cubes), maybe a tin of Pellegrino lemon, blood orange, grapefruit or orange over ice or a glass of Fanta, Sprite, Lilt or Orangina again over ice. With my evening meal a tin of beer or shandy, or a glass of wine and before bed a mug of hot milk, maybe with some form of chocolate. I may meet DS once a week for a lunchtime pint of real ale and often swap my breakfast tea or coffee for .Barley Cup and at my exercise classes and choir meetings always have a fizzy water bottle, maybe with a dash of good-quality cordial or maybe a bottle of Lucozade. I never use sugar-free versions of soft drinks, because hate the artificial aftertaste, but my diabetic dieticians agree that whatever we fancy in moderation is good for us and we should enjoy whatever we like, just listen to our bodies.

I have never tried caffeine-free tea, but if you are looking for a soft drink I can recommend Caffeine-Free Diet Coke (if you can find somewhere that sells it). It has none of the sickly-sweetness that afflicts other aspartame-sweetened drinks as long as you drink it cold. The downside is finding a supermarket that stocks it!

I am on chemo and it has altered my taste buds so that some drinks taste horrible, I have replaced tea and coffee with hot blackcurrant juice.

I gave up caffeine on docs advice after having trouble with incontinence. She said go caff free not decaf. Tried everything before settling on redbush. It helped enormously. However, a little later I found out the real problem was in fact a large cyst pressing on my bladder. Cynthia cyst was duly surgically evicted. However I have stayed fairly caffeine free, on red bush and peppermint tea. If I do have caffeine it definitely increases my trips To the loo!

Harrigran,
You brought back memories of being very pregnant during a bitterly cold winter in the early 80s. I went right off tea and coffee - haven't drunk coffee since - but I found hot ribena hit the spot! I hope it will be a comforting drink for you too, and that your treatment goes well.

Hmm, I've recently thought I'd benefit from a caffeine reduction too. Been enjoying the Yorkshire Gold a bit too freely, so it might be time to revisit red bush territory. Any brand recommendations please?

LOVE Redbush - or Roibusch. I like the Tetley one - it so much nicer than normal tea. I think it may be an acquired taste but we loved it from first sip. Rest of family hate it.

I drink rooibosch too - might be best to have it quite weak until you're used to it!

I switched to decaf lavazza made in a stove top Italian coffee pot. Wonderful flavour but I find I still get a buzz. I thought I must be imagining it but after googling it found that apparently it isn't just the caffeine that raises the blood pressure and heart rate but something else in coffee.

I drink lots of Redbush. I'd rather do that than drink 'decaff' as it has chemicals from the 'decaff' process.

mMa Ramotswe was my first introduction to it too!

I was a tea belly then became a coffee addict, then after being ill recently I couldn't stand coffee and have started drinking Typhoo tea. Love it, but I have to put sugar in, whereas I put sweeteners in the coffee. My solution now that summer (?) has arrived is tap water with a squeeze of lemon juice and ice cubes.

Just be careful Gracesgran how you tackle the decaff route. I suggested to my coffee addicted husband that he should change to decaff. We, rather I should say he as I am a tea drinker, went cold turkey and changed completely. He now gets migraines if he has anything with caffeine in. Try substituting a drink or two to start with. Good luck.

That is what I have done Nandalot after getting a severe headache on the first day when I tried cutting it all out. I am having my first tea of the day from the caffeinated one and then having decaf, and giving myself the choice for another caffeine one later in the day. I will see how that goes. I have just been reading all your posts rather than replying and stopping the flow but I must thank you all - I am sure all the replies will help others as well as me. I am just having the decaf tea so far but I will be doing some shopping tomorrow and will take a little list of your suggestions to give me a bit of choice. Thank you all