Brought home from a low-grade motel somewhere in southwestern New Mexico, this tea wasn't high on my priority list to try. Cheap motels are that way for a reason—well, several reasons—one being those that do bother to offer tea often buy cheap tea in bulk from Wal-Mart. The nearest Wal-Mart to this place was at least 80 miles away, so chances are good that the tea had been sitting around for a long time after purchase. That, plus store-brand decaf black teas have a mostly well-earned reputation for poor quality.

Was that reputation earned here? I won't keep you in suspense...YES. Low expectations affirmed by the utter absence of dry-bag aroma fell further when I took special note of the unusual in-cup scent during steeping. The aroma reminded me of some combination of locker-room sweat and fermented livestock feed. I seriously considered not wasting my precious sweeteners on this, but felt obligated to follow through with the experience for RateTea readers' sake.

Fortunately the taste wasn't like the in-cup aroma, or I'd have spit it out, poured it down the drain, and assigned a rating of zero. Instead, it merely tasted like a poor (but not thoroughly awful) decaf black tea, with a somewhat more prominent metallic sensation than I've experienced in several other decafs. The tea taste itself is noticeable, but rather weak and flat. I did detect some fruity essence too, curiously. Still, I don't recommend this product when so many better decaf options are out there, including most other store-brand teas.

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