Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Sarabeth’s
Tea Description:
Green Tea is one of the most natural of all teas and contains many of the natural compounds which make teas a healthy drink. The preference to green teas lies in their light, delicate and refreshing taste. It is meant to be consumed without milk or sugar and is a pleasant accompaniment to a meal thanks to its digestive properties.
Learn more about Sarabeth’s teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little hesitant to try this one. I admit it. I’ve had a few bad experiences with decaffeinated tea (long ago) and those experiences have stuck with me, and when I see “Decaffeinated” on a tea, the memories of those bad experiences come flooding back.
Since then, most of the decaffeinated teas that I’ve tried have been pretty good. I’ve even had a few that I might not have known that it was decaffeinated had I not brewed the tea myself and read the packaging. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to determine with this Decaffeinated Green Tea from Sarabeth’s: does it taste decaffeinated?
The answer to that question would depend on what you meant by “decaffeinated taste.” Does this taste chemical-y or just … weird or off? No, it doesn’t. It tastes like a light, refreshing green tea. But it does have a slightly thinner taste than a caffeinated green tea might. In that way, it does have a slight decaffeinated taste. But it isn’t an unpleasant or off-putting taste – not at all! It just tastes and feels a wee bit thinner than a green tea from Sri Lanka would otherwise taste.
The flavor is lightly buttery, sweet, and slightly vegetative, reminiscent of lightly buttered lima beans. It doesn’t have a chemical taste (or aftertaste). It’s a pleasant green tea, and the fact that it is decaffeinated makes it quite alright to drink any time of the day and not worry about whether or not the caffeine will keep you awake past bedtime.
I would definitely recommend this to someone who either can’t have caffeine or is looking to limit their caffeine intake, but still wants to enjoy a tasty green tea.
Autumn’s Walk Custom Blend from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
A caffeine-free blend, Autumn’s Walk is the perfect companion on brisk fall and winter nights. Brew a cup of this decaf vanilla, honeybush hazelnut and honeybush chocolate tea and relax peacefully.
A Carolynne Keenan Custom Blend.
Learn more about this custom blend here.
Find more of Carolynne Keenan blends here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little skeptical about this blend when I read the description. I’m not all that crazy about Adagio’s black teas, and while I don’t recall having tried any of their decaffeinated black tea bases, because my opinion is generally less favorable of decaffeinated teas versus the caffeinated, seeing that there was an Adagio decaffeinated black tea in this blend gave me a reason to be skeptical.
But, I’m actually enjoying this Autumn’s Walk Custom Blend from Adagio Teas – a custom creation by Adagio Teas’ customer Carolynne Keenan. It’s really quite tasty.
This blend is a combination of Adagio’s vanilla decaffeinated black tea, hazelnut honeybush and chocolate honeybush, and it’s a really clever blend, indeed! The black tea isn’t a strong flavor here at all, and given my past experiences with Adagio’s black tea they use for their flavored teas, the lack of black tea flavor here is an absolute PLUS. I do taste the vanilla though, and I like the way it melds with the chocolate and hazelnut, as well as the sweet, honey-like tones of the honeybush.
It is sweet, creamy, nutty and flavorful. I don’t taste a “funky decaffeinated tea” taste in this at all, in fact, if I hadn’t been aware that there is a decaffeinated black tea in this blend, I wouldn’t have known it by taste. A really pleasant cuppa!
Jasmine Green Decaffeinated Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Decaf)
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
New formulation for our Jasmine Decaf Green Tea! The jasmine notes are perfumy and full floral. You cannot believe you are drinking decaf!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yeah, I was definitely skeptical when it came to this Jasmine Green Decaffeinated Tea from Culinary Teas. I am immediately leery of a decaffeinated tea as it is, because I’ve had a bad experience or two with some really bad decaffeinated tea. Not recently … it was quite some time ago, before I even started writing tea reviews, but, those experiences stuck with me and now every time I encounter a decaffeinated tea, I’m skeptical … and that’s putting it mildly.
And then to think that this is a Jasmine decaffeinated tea … I worried that I’d end up tasting that horrible chemical-y decaf taste plus perfume-y, soapy jasmine oil or something …that’s the horror that was dancing in my head like some mad krumper. But, this is not at all chemical-y from the decaf … nor is it perfume-ish or soapy from the jasmine … this is really nice.
The green tea flavor is delicate and vegetative. I like that I taste the green tea – it doesn’t taste washed out from the CO2 process (decaffeinating process), it still possesses a very nice green tea flavor, and it has a good, fresh taste to it. The dry leaf almost looked like a Japanese Sencha to me, and in reading the information provided by Culinary Teas, it would seem that this is the case. I found this very interesting, since jasmine teas are typically a Chinese tea.
A really nice decaffeinated jasmine green! Really nice, indeed!
Jasmine Green Decaf Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Decaffeinated)
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
New formulation for our Jasmine Decaf Green Tea! The jasmine notes are perfumy and full floral. You cannot believe you are drinking decaf!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I constantly find myself surprised when I taste a decaffeinated tea and really enjoy it the way I am with this Jasmine Green Decaf Tea. You see, I had way too many decaffeinated teas (years ago!) that ended up tasting icky and chemical-ish which were not only unpleasant to drink but would also impart a rather disagreeable aftertaste that seemed to linger way too long.
But, I’m not experiencing those unwelcome flavors with this tea! This tastes sweet, luscious, and quite lovely! I do adore jasmine tea, and this tea offers me a fantastic way to enjoy it later in the evening when I’d rather not have so much caffeine in my system.
The green tea tastes delicious, slightly creamy and very smooth. It is difficult to discern that this is actually a decaffeinated tea, and had I not made the pot of tea myself, I wouldn’t have guessed it. It does taste only slightly “thinner” than a caffeinated Sencha would taste … but the differences between this and a caffeinated green tea are so minute that I really have to focus to notice them.
And the jasmine tastes very nice. It is not overdone so there’s none of that soapy taste to this. Just gently sweet, beautiful jasmine.
A really brilliant decaffeinated green tea, this Jasmine Green Decaf.
Organic Decaf Masala Chai from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Decaffeinated)
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description:
Finally, our customers that only drink decaffeinated tea can indulge in a chai latte! This Fair Trade Certified Masala Chai Organic black tea blend has a medium-body with exceptionally spicy flavor and aroma. Surprisingly similar to our caffeinated version of Masala Chai (and offered at the same price!) our Organic Decaf Masala Chai Black Tea uses a broken leaf grade black tea (BOP) blended with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper. In contrast to our caffeinated version, we amped up the pepper for a slightly hotter mouth feel. The clove and ginger really come through, with a wonderful cardamom finish. As with all our decaf teas, this tea is decaffeinated using a state-of-the-art carbon dioxide (CO2) decaffeination process that does not involve the use of harmful chemicals. We recommend steeping a triple-strength cup of this organic Indian tea and serving it with honey and steamed milk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Another decaffeinated tea that surprises me!
Truly, I have had fewer decaffeinated teas that I have not enjoyed versus those that I found to be very good (or better than very good, like this one!) but yet, the memory of those few that I disliked remain to taint my initial reaction to decaffeinated tea. Those thin-tasting decaffeinated teas with chemical aftertastes still haunt me. Fortunately, this decaffeinated chai from Arbor Teas is neither thin in taste nor does it have that icky chemical aftertaste. This is actually so good, I find it hard to believe that it’s decaffeinated!
As mentioned in the above description from Arbor Teas, there is a bit more of a peppery bite to this one compared to the pepper level that I recall from Arbor Teas’ caffeinated version. In that review, I had mentioned that the pepper stood out, and here, it stands out a bit stronger, but without tasting over-peppered. Instead, the pepper seems to meld quite nicely with the flavors of the other spices. There isn’t too much ginger or cinnamon here, which is also a plus given the fact that with so many chai blends seem to rely too heavily on the cinnamon or ginger to deliver their spicy impact. Not that it’s bad to have a chai that’s been heavily laden with cinnamon or ginger, but it is nice to find one that allows the flavors of the cloves and cardamom to shine through.
This has such a unified flavor – everything is so well rounded! The black tea has a strong flavor – without a strong decaffeinated flavor – and it melds seamlessly with the flavors of the spices. It tastes spicy and exotic. It is a beautifully executed chai … and I find it so delicious that I don’t even miss the caffeine!
I enjoyed my sampling of this tea hot with a little bit of turbinado sugar to complement the spices. I did not add milk to it to make a latte, but, I think that the spicy composure of this chai would make for a very harmonious chai latte, so if you prefer your chai as a latte, I’d say go for it!
I’d recommend this whole-heartedly to those who are looking for delicious decaffeinated teas … this one is a keeper!