I approach decaf teas warily, after reading so many less than stellar reviews here of both black and green decafs. Sometimes I don’t want the caffeine though, so besides having a stash of rooibos on the side for such occasions, I’m also on the lookout for a green or black decaf that can win me over. I picked up this bag as a sample recently, so it’s time to give it a try.
The scent from this bag is moderately strong, and features a little bit more lemon than ginger. As it steeps I can see the quite small chunks of ginger floating around with the other ingredients in the bag, but am still getting only a light scent from the cup. In three minutes I’ve got a medium-hued yellow-green liquor. One sip tells me to put the bag back in for another minute, as there’s not a whole lot of flavor there yet.
I’m taking it out after four minutes to avoid bitterness from the green tea. I can’t call this one a super successful blend for my taste – I can get the lemongrass and a light background wash of ginger, along with just a bit of astringency from the green tea, but it’s not really working well together for me. It’s just a tad too medicinal tasting and does not offer the kind of rich flavor I’m looking for.
