My name is Bernard Okafor. I’m 52, I’m a civil engineer from Coventry, and I drink a lot of tea. Always have. My mother drank tea constantly and I grew up in a house where the kettle was on more or less permanently. Tea is not a habit for me — it’s a rhythm. First thing in the morning, mid-morning, after lunch, mid-afternoon, after dinner, before bed. Six cups, most days. Sometimes seven.
For most of my adult life this was fine. Then, somewhere in my late forties, it stopped being fine.
When the Tea Started Causing Problems
The sleep issues crept up gradually. I’d lie awake for an hour after going to bed, mind running, unable to settle. I’d wake at 3am and struggle to get back to sleep. I’d feel tired in the mornings in a way that a cup of tea would temporarily fix, which meant I’d drink more tea, which meant the cycle continued.
My GP asked about caffeine intake. I said I drank tea. She asked how much. I said six cups. She looked at me with the particular expression doctors reserve for patients who have answered their own question without realising it.
The caffeine, she explained, has a half-life of around five to six hours. My after-dinner cup at 8pm meant meaningful caffeine in my system until well past midnight. My before-bed cup was, she said, essentially the opposite of helpful.
She suggested cutting back. I heard her. I also knew, with complete certainty, that I was not going to cut back. Tea is not something I was willing to negotiate on. What I needed was a different solution.
The Decaf Question
I’d tried decaf tea before — years ago, briefly, and I’d found it thin and slightly sad, like a memory of tea rather than the thing itself. I’d written it off and not revisited the question. But the sleep situation had become serious enough that I was willing to try again, if I could find something that actually tasted right.
I’d been drinking PG Tips my entire adult life. The flavour is what I know — robust, smooth, the kind of tea that tastes like tea is supposed to taste. When I found the PG Tips Decaf in a 1280-bag bulk pack, the brand familiarity was the first thing that made me take it seriously. These are the same master blenders, the same commitment to flavour — just without the caffeine.
Why This Pack Specifically
- PG Tips quality without caffeine — crafted by the same blenders using the finest tea leaves, designed to deliver the same smooth, balanced, refreshing cup as the original. Not a compromise — a deliberate reformulation.
- 1280 teabags in one order — at six cups a day, that’s over six months of supply. One order, no running out, no emergency trips to the supermarket for a single box. For a household that runs on tea, bulk buying is simply rational.
- Plant-based and biodegradable bags — I’d been vaguely aware that conventional teabags contain plastic. Knowing these are fully plant-based and biodegradable removed a small but persistent concern.
- Rainforest Alliance Certified — produced in a carbon-neutral factory powered by renewable energy. For a product I consume six times a day, the ethics of the supply chain matter.
- 1–2 minute brew in freshly boiling water — same method as regular PG Tips. No adjustment to the ritual, which was important to me.
The Transition
I didn’t go cold turkey. I switched my afternoon and evening cups to decaf first, keeping the morning and mid-morning cups caffeinated. Within two weeks I’d moved entirely to decaf for everything after noon. Within a month I’d switched completely — partly because the decaf tasted good enough that I stopped feeling like I was missing anything, and partly because the sleep improvement had been significant enough that I didn’t want to risk disrupting it.
The taste was the thing I’d been most worried about. It wasn’t an issue. The PG Tips Decaf is genuinely close to the original — the same depth, the same smoothness, the same satisfying quality that makes a cup of tea feel like a proper cup of tea rather than hot coloured water. I’d been braced for disappointment and didn’t find it.
The Sleep Difference
Within three weeks of switching my evening cups to decaf, I was falling asleep within twenty minutes of going to bed. The 3am wake-ups reduced from four or five nights a week to once, occasionally twice. Within six weeks they had largely stopped. I was waking up in the morning feeling rested in a way I genuinely hadn’t in years.
My wife noticed before I did. She said I’d stopped fidgeting at night. She also said I was considerably less irritable in the mornings, which I’m choosing to take as a compliment.
Eight Months On
I’m on my second 1280-bag order. The bulk pack format has been exactly as convenient as I’d hoped — eight boxes of 160 bags, stored in the cupboard, replenished when needed. I’ve not run out once, which for someone who drinks tea the way I do is a meaningful quality-of-life improvement in itself.
I still drink six cups a day. The rhythm hasn’t changed. The ritual hasn’t changed. The only thing that’s changed is that I sleep properly now, and I wake up feeling like a person rather than a problem to be solved with caffeine.
I’ve recommended the switch to three colleagues who mentioned similar sleep issues. Two of them have come back to thank me. The third is still thinking about it, which I understand — the idea of decaf feels like a concession until you realise it isn’t one.
Who I’d Recommend This To
Anyone who drinks a lot of tea and has noticed their sleep deteriorating. Anyone who’s been told to cut back on caffeine and has no intention of cutting back on tea. Anyone who’s tried decaf before and been disappointed — because PG Tips Decaf is not the thin, flavourless version you might remember. And anyone who wants to buy in bulk and stop thinking about teabags for six months at a time.
Where to Get It
The PG Tips Decaf Black Tea Bags — 1280 Plant-Based Teabags are available from ALTOE. If you’re stocking up on teas and beverages more broadly, these collections are worth a look:
- Tea & Infusions — a curated selection of teas for every time of day
- Beverages — quality drinks for every occasion
- Food, Beverages & Tobacco — browse the full food and drink range
Bernard Okafor is a civil engineer from Coventry who drinks six cups of tea a day and now sleeps through the night. He considers this one of the more straightforward problems he has ever solved, and is mildly annoyed it took him this long.
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