Dry, this tea smells like a Lipton teabag, which is potentially promising. I've yet to find a decaffeinated black tea that actually tastes like tea.

After adding water, a hint of earthiness comes through. The dominant aroma is the same wet paper smell that I now realize is a hallmark of decaffeinated black tea. The tea is incredibly weak, but at least has a bit of bitterness to give it some body.

As this tea starts to cool, I'm noticing a little more flavor and astringency. If I tasted this blind, I don't think I'd guess it was decaffeinated, but just an inferior black tea. The flavor's mostly woody and leafy, with a damp forest quality to it. There's also an odd flavor of fresh-cooked shrimp. It's not fishy, exactly, but still reminds me of the sea.

For the most part, I've switched over to herbal teas when I want something without caffeine. This decaffeinated tea isn't quite good enough to win me back, but it's one of the best unflavored decafs that I've had and better than a number of popular caffeinated teas (Bigelow English Teatime, I'm looking at you).

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