Tea-sty Tuesday  #2: Yogi Ginkgo Clarity

… On Wednesday for one time  only!!

… Well hopefully one time only…

Hi again, welcome to another edition of Tea-sty Tuesday!  Today we’ll be discussing the first of several Yogi teas, starting with Yogi Ginkgo Clarity, which was chosen for the simple reason of it being the first tea I grabbed this morning!  (You were expecting a scientific reason because…?)

All of Yogi’s teas are, for a lack of a better term, medicinal.  They claim to bestow beneficial side effects to their drinkers (sadly they don’t sell invisibility, mind reading, or jumping-over-a-tall-building-in-a-single-bound teas. However, Yogi, if you need testers for those teas, let me know!)  In this case, the side effects is that the tea “enhances mental performance and memory.”

Does it?  Let’s see how Yogi Gingko Clarity stacked up.

Yogi Gingko Clarity Tea’s Ingredients

I always feel good about drinking Yogi tea because of what its in it.  It’s full of good stuff like organic ginkgo leaf, organic pepermint leaf, organic licorice root, organic lemongrass, organic lemon flavor, organic gotu kola, organic ginger root, among many other organic ingredients.  It’s not like a few of the teas I’ve bought at the Asian market whose ingredients are either writen in Chinese or just read “green tea” and taste like “dish water.”  (But that’s another review.)

So, + 1 to Yogi Gingko Clarity right off the bat.

Yogi Gingko Clarity Tea’s Aroma

As in coffee or wine, how a tea smells is very important.  There’s no way to avoid getting a whiff of your tea as it approaches your lips, so you want the tea to smell warm and inviting (or spicy and inviting or [whatever] and inviting.)  I’ve drank teas that smell like wet dog and, surprise surprise, they end up tasting like wet dog.

In this case, Yogi Gingko Clarity starts off with a floral/citrus scent that almost immediatly turns into a strong bouqet of licorice and lemongrass.  I think the tea smells a little harsh, but it’s not wet dog.

Yogi Gingko Clarity Tea’s Taste

When it comes to Yogi Gingko Clarity, I have to be careful how I describe it’s flavor.  Not because this is a paid endorsement, but because I want to be fair.

I would like to describe Yogi Gingko Clarity in one word: “Eh.”

However, in all fairness, I’m not much of a fan of the flavoring agents in Yogi Ginkgo Clarity.  I like ginger, but only when its a background player.  I like lemongrass, but only in small doses.  I like cardamom, but not as a main flavoring and so on.  In the end, the tea tastes a little like a giant black jelly bean with a lemongrass finish.

Not for me, but then again, not so bad I threw the box out.  Especially when I added some Stevia.

Yogi Gingko Clarity Tea’s Effects

So does Yogi Gingko Clarity deliver on the promise of enhanced memory and mental performance?  You know, I don’t remember it really giving me a brain boost…  (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Obviously, I didn’t do much of a scientific study, but I didn’t turn into Matt Damon’s character from Good Will Hunting (or Bourne Identity or even Rounders for that matter…)  On the other hand, I do remember feeling like I could multi-task better when I was drinking it.  So that’s not a bad thing.

Yogi Gingko Clarity Tea Overall

I can’t say that I am going to rush back out and buy another box of Yogi Gingko Clarity.  It’s certainly not the worst tea I’ve ever had, but amongst Yogi teas I much prefer their Energy tea and Peach Detox, both of which I will be reviewing shortly.

So to finish up, I give it 3 cups out of five, though I suspect many out there would rate it much higher.  Either way, enjoy!