7 herbal tea brands to try if you’re ditching the caffeine

Is it your New Year’s Resolution to go caffeine-free? Or are you simply looking for an alternative to avoid the mid-morning jitters and cut down your flat-white habit?

Whatever your reason for reducing your caffeine intake, herbal teas are a great alternative cuppa as most infusions are naturally caffeine-free and contain botanicals that can help soothe, invite sleep, or satisfy a sweet-tooth without the sugar. In this week’s edit, we have short-listed independent tea brands that deliver a delicious cuppa, without the hit of caffeine but with all the flavour. Some are great to naturally pep you up in the morning, whilst others are blended to soothe and calm for an evening brew – all created using natural botanicals, herbs, fruits and spices.

Camomile Loose Leaf Herbal Infusion

£6, Happy Larder Co

Happy Larder Co. provide the finest grade herbal infusions and teas, sourced for the Berkshire based company from around the world by a ‘tea sommelier’ to ensure not only the finest-grade botanicals and tea varieties, but that they have been sourced ethically, too. All their teas are loose, plastic-free and they sell a great range of tea accessories to help make the perfect cuppa.

Breathe Deep

£2.79, Yogi Tea

Yogi Tea provide Ayurvedic, organic blends of herbs and spices for a range of focuses, from women’s health to sleep - their Breathe Deep tea is a mix of eucalyptus, basil and thyme - known for their adaptogenic properties to clear mucus and help with respiratory health. Great if you’re feeling a little under the weather, or if you just need to stop and take a long, deep breath in the middle of your day.

Rhubarb and Custard Tea

£7.15, Bird & Blend Co

If you’re a tea purist - look away. Bird & Blend Co have the most bonkers range of teas - think Chocolate Digestives, Eton Mess, Maple Bacon Pancakes… yup, you read right. Their clever ‘tea mixologists’ use freeze dried fruits, cocoa nibs, teas and natural flavours to create the sugar and caffeine free tea which can be enjoyed hot, or as a cold-brew. Fun, full of flavour and a great alternative to a ‘builder’s brew’.

Baobab Defence Tea

£4.99, Aduna

If you’d like your morning cuppa with a side order of immune-boosting power, Aduna’s Defence baobab tea with lemongrass and ginger is a zesty cuppa to wake you up and deliver a wealth of reported health benefits thanks to the African baobab fruit, including supporting ‘a strong immune system, digestive health and with anti-inflammatory properties’. Their ‘Super-Teas’ are blended with whole fruits, herbs, flowers and spices (not the ‘dust’ you get in inferior bags), all encased in 100% biodegradable tea pyramids. A morning wake up, without the caffeine.

Organic Vanilla Rooibos

£2.95, Dragonfly Tea

A great cup to hit the sweet spot and avoid the mid-afternoon slump, Dragonfly Tea’s fragrant vanilla rooibos uses the finest Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar, blended with naturally caffeine-free Rooibos, grown organically in South Africa’s remote Cedarberg mountains. Velvety, smooth and feels like a sweet treat, without the sugar crash or the caffeine high.

Catnap Organic Tea

£4.99, Shelgo Tea

Shelgo Tea’s Catnap tea is a blend of three organic herbs chosen to soothe the mind and relax the body. Including camomile flowers, lemon verbena and lavender - all grown organically in the mountains of Greece where they are harvested then dried, chopped and blended - with no preservatives, flavourings or sugars. Simple, natural and deeply relaxing.

Joy Tea

£4.99, Pukka

B Corp certified, Bristol-based Pukka tea offer a wealth of teas, Ayurvedic supplements and herbs. Their ‘joy tea' is just that - a smile-inducing cup of organic lemony herbs and orange to energise and rose and lavender to soothe. A great ‘balancer’ to uplift and calm on a grey day.

By Nancy Alsop
Updated January 2024