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Foster City resident Chris Horng loved almost everything about tea – the flavors, the aromas, the soothing ritual of enjoying a cup in a moment of relaxation. What didn’t he love? “I’m super-sensitive to caffeine,” he said.
So he founded de-tea, billed as “real tea for the end of the day,” to offer fellow tea aficionados just what he was looking for – an authentic tea experience without the caffeine buzz.
The de-tea journey started about six years ago. Horng had once been an avid coffee drinker, until uncomfortable acid reflux made that unsustainable. At his wife’s suggestion, he switched to tea in 2020.
That was easier on his stomach and nerves, but the caffeine in his preferred varieties still started to catch up with him, leaving him wired into the night. He loved the feeling of brewing and sipping a nice cup of tea, but he just wasn’t sure it was worth the side effects.
He searched for decaffeinated teas (those made from varieties of the tea plant, rather than naturally decaffeinated herbal options) but wasn’t satisfied with what he found at grocery stores. The mainstream brands he tried just didn’t have the flavor and feel he craved. So, he decided to make his own.
“I’m originally from Taiwan. I grew up drinking quality tea. I was trying to find something higher quality, but decaf,” Horng said. “Decaf coffee is so common in the States,” he thought to himself. “Hey, maybe I can use the same process and make tea decaf.”
While he didn’t have a background in the food and beverage sector, he does have one in engineering, so he was up for doing a deep dive into research and experimentation. He spent the next year or two exploring ways to decaffeinate tea, settling on the supercritical CO2 method.
There are several decaffeination techniques out there, he explained, including using chemical solvents, but those come with environmental and/or flavor-impacting downsides, he said. The supercritical (a fluid state in which the CO2 acts as both liquid and gas) process flushes and draws out much of the caffeine from the tea leaves while leaving the taste and aroma intact. Caffeine is removed, but nothing artificial is added, he said.
According to de-tea’s website, the process gets a cup of jasmine green tea, for example, down to 3-5 mg of caffeine per cup, compared to around 50–60 mg for a typical cup of caffeinated tea.
The company offers decaf teas in varieties including jasmine green tea (his current bestseller as well as his personal favorite, infused with real, high-quality fresh jasmine blossoms) and black with osmanthus, with decaf oolong and green launching soon; and ¼ caf teas in roasted oolong, osmanthus black and black.
“The biggest downside of decaf tea is the lack of flavor. Once you taste my tea, people typically cannot tell there is much difference; it’s still resembling the original tea that people drink,” he said. “That’s something I’m pretty proud of.”
He works directly with farmers in regions of Taiwan and China that specialize in these varieties. The decaf jasmine green tea is longjing, a pan-roasted variety also known in English as dragon well tea, from Hangzhou, China, and scented by hand with night-harvested jasmine flowers.
The decaf oolong is sourced from Chaozhou, China. Horng said he is particularly proud of the way this decaffeinated tea keeps its “natural floral taste and aroma and a sweet balanced flavor,” offering another option “for people who want to drink tea at night.”
The decaf black tea with osmanthus is a cultivar from China’s Guangxi province that is naturally almost caffeine-free, according to the website, and with a taste less bitter than a black tea such as English breakfast, Horng said. Osmanthus flower, with its sweet and smooth flavor, is less known in the United States than Asia, but he said he’s been seeing it popping up in local boba shops lately.
“Not all the people are familiar with osmanthus, but people are getting into it,” he said.
The soon-to-be available decaf green tea (also of the dragon well variety but without the jasmine infusion) has a nuttier, grassy flavor that might appeal to matcha fans, he said.
He also plans to launch a decaf Earl Grey tea, using an Indian black tea grown at 6,000 feet and infused with bergamot, he said.
Horng is currently exploring more tea options, including seeking suppliers to help him with teas made with dried fruit that can be brewed hot or cold, and creating his own take on genmaicha – the Japanese-style tea made with toasted rice.
The business uses biodegradable sachets made from corn fibers to avoid microplastics, and the boxes are made from recycled materials. The box and label packaging materials are designed and manufactured in Taiwan, the decaffeination process and sachet packaging happens in China and Horng does the final boxing, labeling and packing from home.
The current line of teas can be ordered online and Horng also brings them to Bay Area pop-ups. They can also be found at a few retailers (with more in the works), including multiple stores in San Francisco, Thistle and Tonic in Pacifica and Fireside Books & More in Redwood City. Reading and sipping a nice cup of tea, he said, are two activities that pair perfectly.
“I think people who read books do enjoy tea as well, so it’s going pretty well over there,” he said.
More information is available at de-tea.com. Instagram: @de_tea_com.
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