Blind Assessment

Richly smoky aroma, with some sweet chocolate- and apricot-toned fruit and wood tones that are just aromatic enough to escape smelling like burned old board. In the cup thin-bodied but smooth in mouthfeel, with pleasantly and delicately smoky wood tones and hints of cedar and semi-sweet chocolate. The finish is simple but clean, sweet and free of astringency, with some faint recollections of chocolate.

Notes

Health angle: Decaffeinated coffee infused with Asian ginseng, which contains ginsenocides that supporters claim promote release of energy and contribute to mental alertness and a general sense of well-being. It's not clear to me why the creators of this coffee did not retain the caffeine so that those who drank it would obtain an energy-release twofer, but perhaps ginseng drinkers are suspicious of caffeine. Caffe Botanica small-batch roasts and naturally infuses its coffees with herbs and minerals. Visit www.caffebotanica.com or call 541-349-0243 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

A pleasant way both to take ginseng and presumably benefit from the antioxidant properties of coffee, assuming most of them survive decaffeination.

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