This decaf certainly smells delicious. The dry teabag smells just like a sencha should. It's fresh, grassy, and a little seaweed. The tea is fine fannings, almost dust.

The tea steeps a bright green. The aroma, though a bit muted, is vegetal, like raw green beans.

The first taste is a strong, but pleasant bitterness. I normally steep decaf greens with boiling water for four minutes in order to get as much flavor as possible. Since this tea is more flavorful than I expected, I can probably use cooler water for this tea and get good results.

As it is, the tea is easily one of the best decafs that I've tasted. It's flavorful enough to recognize that it's distinctly Japanese rather than the blends used for most decaf greens. The bright bitterness is refreshing, since that's one of the flavors that often ends up muted in decafs. The finish is long and grassy.

The sweet seaweed that is normally a large component of sencha seems to be almost missing. I can smell it a little, but it's not there on the palate. I was hoping that it might appear after the tea cooled a little, but no such luck.

All told, this is a good decaf. It's a little more expensive than grocery store decaf greens, but worth it.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.