A New Turn on the Emerald Path

I have been something of an herbal-tea purist. Maitri Tea has always traveled the caffeine-free path, guided by flowers, roots, leaves, fruits, and spices rather than traditional tea leaves.

But customers at the farmers market keep asking me the same question: “Do you have anything with caffeine?”

Eventually, even a stubborn tea monger must listen.

So I have cautiously wandered off my familiar path and created Emerald Path, Maitri Tea’s first green tea blend. It begins with sencha, a fresh and grassy Japanese green tea, then takes a decidedly Maitri turn with lemongrass, spearmint, lemon peel, and a touch of ginger.

I had no interest in creating another ordinary green tea that could just as easily come from a grocery-store shelf. If Maitri Tea was going to enter the caffeinated world, the blend needed character. It needed to be refreshing, distinctive, and worth seeking out.

And frankly, if I am going to ask customers to pay a premium price, the tea must earn it.

Emerald Path is my first step. It contains caffeine, yes, but it still carries the botanical creativity and unexpected flavor that I want every Maitri Tea blend to offer.

Apparently, wandering from the path occasionally can lead somewhere rather lovely.