Lemon & Ginger - Green tea 100 g - Café du Jour loose tea

Where the lemon comes from

There is no lemon in this blend. The citrus note is lemongrass, a stalk rather than a fruit, and that changes the cup: grassy and fresh where lemon peel would be sharp, and without the acidity that cuts across green tea. Ginger is the third ingredient, and the only other one.

How much ginger is in it?

Not enough to catch in the throat. The ginger is there for warmth and depth rather than bite, and next to the lemongrass it reads as fresh and mild. If you have given up on ginger teas because they came out hot and medicinal, this is a different proposition.

Getting the water right

Water straight from a boiling kettle is too hot for green tea: it scorches the leaf and leaves the cup bitter. Let the kettle stand for two or three minutes first, until it is down to around 80°C. Use roughly 2 g of leaf, about a teaspoon, per cup, and give it two to three minutes in a strainer or an infuser before you lift the leaf out. You are buying loose tea rather than bags, so weigh or spoon it to taste. If you want the ginger without the caffeine, look at the herbal teas instead.

Details

• Contents: 100 g of loose leaf
• Ingredients: green tea, ginger, lemongrass
• In the cup: fresh and mild, lemongrass citrus with gentle ginger
• Caffeine: yes, green tea base
• Format: loose tea, not tea bags
• Brand: Café du Jour, produced in the Netherlands