What does that REALLY mean?

When I describe my experiments and my blog, I encounter a variety of reactions.  When I mentioned my morning decaf coffee, a friend replied, "What's the point of that?"  I completely understand this perspective.  Without the caffeine, coffee seems naked.  I guess now it's just a vehicle for the cream and sugar.  There's also something comforting about my warm travel mug keeping me cozy on the early commute to work.

I'm not a big soda drinker, so that part isn't difficult.  At this point, I'm a little unsure which teas have caffeine and which ones don't.  My local barrista told me that my beloved chai tea has caffeine.  Sad face here. 

I read on a box of green tea recently that it's "naturally decaffeinated."

 I'd always thought that green tea had caffeine and heard about it's metabolism-boosting effects.  After some research I've confirmed that green tea does, in fact, contain caffeine.  Now my marketing friends, how can a box claim that it's "naturally decaffeinated?"  What are the rules there?  How can I stay true to my experiment while constantly being led astray by misleading marketing?  Hmmmmm?  It turns out that products processed with ethyl acetate are referred to as "naturally decaffeinated" because ethyl acetate is a chemical found naturally in many fruits.  But that process doesn't sound all that "natural" to me.

If nothing else, these experiments get me to ask questions that normally wouldn't cross my radar.  All the little things we take for granted and just accept can be pretty surprising when we stop to take a good look.  I plunge onward with this experiment with a new awareness and interest in all the little details...