The Republic of Tea HiCaf Caramel Black Tea, reviewed

A cup of black tea contains roughly half the caffeine as a cup of black coffee. This means that people who aren’t looking for a lot of caffeine can rely on tea as a way to perk themselves up in the morning, but it also means that there are people who drink coffee just for that caffeine rush and might prefer to be drinking tea instead. I’m a fan of both coffee and tea, of course, but this is exactly why The Republic of Tea created a line of new HiCaf Teas so tea-lovers could get the pick-me-up they want without having to reach for a cup of coffee. The boose in caffeine comes from green tea extract, which is added to all of the teas in the lineup.

I recently tried the new HiCaf Caramel Black Tea and it is absolutely delicious. It has a very smooth, full bodied classic black tea flavor and just enough sweetness from the natural caramel flavor to take that slightly dry edge present in some black teas completely out of the picture. It has a hint of burnt sugar to it and it seems sweet enough on its own that I didn’t want to add any sugar to the hot tea. When served over ice, the tea was excellent with a little sugar added to boost those caramel notes and help them stand out more. I’m a fan and I’ll be trying the other teas in the line, as well.

There is a graph on the back of the container that illustrates how HiCaf teas have about 20% more caffeine than the same amount of coffee. The graph appears to show the caffeine amounts for 8-oz of coffee and tea, while the recommended serving size for this particular tea is 6 ounces. I actually brewed mine with a full 8 ounces of water and still thought the flavor was great, but you might end up getting a little more or less caffeine (not that we’re counting!) depending on how strong you make your brew. I know that I drink enough caffeine that a few milligrams here and there is not going to impact me much, but if you feel that you might be buzzing a bit too much, simply brew your tea with a little more water next time to pace yourself with the caffeine.