Fruit and Flower Forward Flavors
Sips of tea are trending strongly in the direction of botanicals with fruit, flower, and herbal essences playing a starring role. With the decrease in travel over the past couple of years, many of us are craving adventure and new experiences – even in our beverages and especially as more people are seeking bold yet non-alcoholic drink choices.
When it comes to fruit, flower, and herbal essences in teas we have our sentimental favorites, like peach, black currant, hibiscus, jasmine, mint, and chamomile. But there are some less common flavors making the scene, too.
For instance, our Watermelon with Marula Iced Tea is infused with the summery fresh flavor of sweet watermelon balanced with the sweet-tart flavor of African marula. Marula? Yes. We’re talking about the fruit rumored to be the elephant’s favorite. It’s about the size of a plum and it’s packed with a super high dose of vitamin C and other antioxidants. This variety is available in both filter bags and loose-leaf.
Maybe a Lavender tea sounds delightfully comforting? Or Ginger Turmeric for a zingy pick me up? You can explore our entire portfolio of both exotic tastes and sentimental favorites here.
Loose Leaf Lives
And speaking of loose leaf tea, this is another tea trend that’s on the rise. As tea drinkers get more discerning and more adventurous, they’re choosing loose leaf tea more often than filter bags. Some of this shift may be because be about customization. Loose-leaf teas give you the mixologist power to create your own flavor blends in precisely the ratios you want.
Make it Creamy but Hold the Dairy
Even with the excitement around fruity, floral, and herbal teas, black tea is still in regular rotation for many tea drinkers, like our classic English Breakfast, Earl Grey And sometimes, there’s nothing like a bit of milk in your spot of hot tea – a practice commonly associated with the British. But with so many people choosing alternatives to dairy milk, which is the best for tea? Here are a few notes to help you decide which to try. One thing that applies across the board is that many of these kinds of milk may tend to separate in hot beverages. For best results, barista blends are made to be used in hot drinks. If you can’t find one of those, try pre-warming the milk before blending it with your tea.
- Oat Milk has a subtle flavor and a smooth mouthfeel.
- Soy Milk is the granddaddy of plant-based milks and, in a beverage, many people can’t tell it apart from dairy milk.
- Hemp Milk if you’re avoiding nuts, soy, and grains of all kinds, hemp milk is your go-to. It has a definite flavor but can make a nice, creamy cup of tea.
- Almond Milk is delicious on cereal and even in coffee, but it can sometimes taste a little bitter in tea. Even with a barista blend, it’s not our favorite but will do in a pinch!
- Coconut Milk has a distinctive flavor that may not be what you want in many teas but may be perfect in others.
- Hazelnut Milk is another with a pronounced flavor. It’s probably not right for all teas but might be a satisfying complement to an Assam tea, for example.
- Cashew Milk is creamy but very low carb, in case that matters to you.
