ITO EN is known for their natural tea selections. When I talked to ITO EN at the world tea expo, I was very impressed with their vision and product line. They are giving their healthy/natural products a marketing edge over the competition. Today, I’m drinking an ITO EN bottled tea from their Teas’ Tea product line. It’s made from Japanese green tea and flavored with lemongrass. The result is a very healthy, tasty, and refreshing beverage. It is really easy to drink the entire 16.9 fl oz bottle in one sitting (or standing, running, etc). It’s so smooth and flavorful. You will not be left with that “sticky-teeth” feeling that you get from sugary beverages. The lemongrass gives the green tea a light citrus kick. In addition, the beverage supplies a healthy dose of Vitamin C. Now, what really sells this product is the fact that it is unsweetened, and it has no carbs and no calories. You’ll be amazed at the natural freshness of this product. Give this a shot.

• Visit ITO EN Teas’s Tea

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Snapple is offering an old black tea classic in the form of a bottled iced tea. If you are a regular Earl Grey black tea drinker, you know how inconsistent the bergamot flavoring can be with this tea. Here’s some background on Earl Grey tea from a previous marTEA blog (My name is Earl, Earl Grey):

• Earl Grey is a popular black tea blend often referred to as an afternoon tea. I like it anytime of the day, especially in the morning. There���s one catch to liking Earl Grey, you have to like the flavoring of the Bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit described as a cross between the pear lemon and a grapefruit.

Knowing what to expect out of a bagged and/or loose leaf Earl Grey tea, I was curious to see how Snapple would try to make the flavor appeal to the average consumer. This is how they did it…The product is lightly sweetened with a classic black tea flavor. The bergamot flavoring is light yet flavorful. So, rather than making this product offensively over-powering with bergamot flavoring, they did a great job of balancing the flavors. This is definitely another good grab at the store if you are thirsty for a ready-to-drink black tea.

• Visit Snapple

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The title of this blog might be a bit much, but this tea honestly exceeded my expectations. I was super thirsty this weekend after scorching in the yard all afternoon transplanting shrubs in front of my house. When I came in to cool off, I grabbed a bottle of Honest Tea (thanks to my lovely grocery guru - did you know shopping was a sport?). Anyway, the bottle has a cool USDA Organic lid. I’m not sure why I thought that was cool, but someone smarter than me most likely thought it would appeal to me. They were right. So, I have this ice-cold bottle of tea I’m about to drink for the first time. I knew it was white tea. I knew it was mango flavored. In addition, it’s flavored with Acai (pronounced “ah-si-ee”). According to the bottle, acai is a substantially harvested fruit from the Amazon rainforest. It’s always fun to try new things… On the bottle, it’s labeled as “A Tad Sweet.” I had no idea what to expect. So, I gave the bottle a good shaking and popped the seal of the lid. I have to say this was excellent. Turns out a tad sweet means about 18g of sugar per 16 fluid ounces. It’s important to note that the “sugar” is organic cane sugar. What impressed me was the authentic white tea base of the beverage. I felt that the fruit flavors centered around the white tea rather than the tea being drowned out by the fruit flavors. If you want to try white tea, but you are unsure of what to expect, this is a great way to start. The product has a very fresh white tea flavor to it. It reminds me of a lot of flavored loose leaf white teas I’ve tried.

• Visit Honest Tea

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My summer of bottled iced teas continues with Snapple’s Orange Pekoe. I’m having fun trying and enjoying a wide variety of bottled iced teas this summer. Snapple continues to impress me with their bottled tea selections. I’ve tried their green and white teas. This is the first black tea I’ve tried from Snapple. This product does an excellent job at balancing fun with a classic black tea flavor. Snapple’s bottled products have a quality look and feel to them. This orange pekoe tea actually tasted like a homemade iced tea. The reason I sound surprised is due to the fact that many bottled teas simply don’t taste authentic. The orange pekoe was not heavily sweetened. I think this tea will appeal more to the average tea consumer that likes to drink iced tea during the summer months (like me). If you’re like me, it’s easier to pick up a few bottles at the store than to brew your own. I’m more of a hot tea person when it comes to tea brewing. So, if you see this one at the store and you have a craving for iced tea over a “cola” this is a good choice. If you are new to tea, know that orange pekoe does not taste like an orange. I’ll add a link to this blog to one of my past blogs covering orange pekoe. Another job well done Snapple.

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The Golden Tips Tea Co. has been around since 1933. They offer a wide variety of loose leaf teas from India. Their selection is impressive. I just tried a sample that was generically labeled as a first flush Darjeeling. As you can see from the picture it was very green in color. The dry tea was very fragrant. My first sip was very satisfying. All the good things I remembered about Darjeeling tea came back to me in a flash. Now, I cannot stand using the word “muscatel” to describe the way a tea tastes, the way peoples sometimes do with darjeeling. “Muscatel” is not going to help build excitement for this tea in the United States. If you want to describe it as having a muscatel bouquet, be my guest. But I digress. Just trust me when I say darjeeling is extremely fresh in flavor with delicate fruity and grassy notes. Although it has a green look to it, it’s clearly not a green tea. To me, Darjeeling tea is the perfect compliment to hot water. Although I’m sure a fresh order from their website would have been better, it’s clear that this tea company knows their sources very well. Each tea offered on their website details the tea’s origin. They do a great job of describing the tea. If this sample is any indication of what they have to offer, I definitely recommend ordering from them if you enjoy Darjeeling tea. This company is located in India; therefore, it’s safe to assume they know the tea market very well. When I first started drinking loose leaf tea, I drank a lot of Darjeeling teas. I literally burned out on the tea. After the expo, I realized what I was missing. I think I’ll still take a break from Darjeeling teas, but I’ll be back in full swing with the second flush.

• Visit Golden Tips Tea Co.

• Previous Darjeeling marTEA blog

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When I decided to make tea a hobby, I found it was fun to get my kids involved. I have two daughters. They know that daddy drinks tea and mommy drinks coffee (at least that’s how they see it). Anyway, I’m not much of the “tea party” type. Sometimes when grandma visits, they get to have a “girly” tea party. To me, tea is a beverage with a lot of character and flavor. I take pride in the teas I drink. Yes, a lot of the RTD (ready-to-drink) beverages I drink are just for fun…sometimes health…usually just for fun.

I love getting new loose leaf teas. I open the teas with my daughters, and I let them smell the tea. My youngest daughter is always asking, “May I pell your tea daddy?” We end up making a big mess as they blow the tea all over the counter top with their little noses. I like telling them where the tea came from, the name of the tea, and what is in the tea. They are truly fascinated.

Tea has a different meaning to all of us. It’s okay to enjoy tea the way you want to enjoy tea. In my house, I want my kids to know that tea is healthy, and it can be enjoyed by anyone without rules.

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Sweet Leaf has officially won the marTEA.com award for sweetest RTD iced tea. Okay, that’s really not an award. However, this is the sweetest “Sweet Tea” I’ve ever had in a bottled product. You really need to shake the bottle to get all the [sludge] sugar mixed into the tea. You can literally smell the sugar before you taste it. Sweet Leaf Tea Co. is located in Austin, Texas. They obviously know a thing-or-two about sweet tea in Texas. The product is said to contain real cane sugar. Unlike the last Sweet Leaf product I reviewed, this product is not stamped with the “organic” label. All-in-all, it really does taste great. If you can spare about 34g of sugar in your diet, this isn’t a bad choice. I’m not sure this product appeals to people watching their sugar intake. If you like sweet tea and bottled beverages, give this one a try. It’s summertime, so enjoy some sweet tea. Just remember, it’s called “Sweet Tea” for a reason.

• Visit Sweet Leaf

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Sympatea is offering a product they call “Spoon Tea.” This product was at the WTE. Sympatea was kind enough to give samples to everyone at the show. Due to their efforts, a lot of people were exposed to this interesting product. I tried the green tea and Earl Grey.

A quick demonstration of the product:

• First, you pick your favorite flavor of tea and open it up:

• This is a picture of the back of the spoon. The front has a filter cover that seems to hold the tea in the plastic spoon very well:

• Take the cover off of the filter. This exposes the tea to the air. It’s pretty well sealed up until this point:

• Approach the cup, and submerge the spoon:

• Twirl the spoon around lightly to get the flow of water into the spoon. Allow the tea to brew to your liking. Remove the spoon, and throw it away. Enjoy Sympatea :

• Visit Sympatea.com for more product information
  

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