I thought it was so cool that a fancy tea company like Teatulia wrote me and asked me if I would like to review their teas. I had to decline their black teas because of my issues with caffeine but asked them to send me their herbal teas to try. I began with their ginger tea, “Warm, Rich and Spicy.”
The tea comes in a very fancy shiny pyramid tea bag, I had never seen anything like it! I was dazzled by the coolness factor.
So much so that I did not notice the flecks of green in there. The packaging says, “Pure ginger to calm, soothe and settle. Just the right thing whenever you need a little comfort.”
Ack!!!!! This was horrid! Absolutely horrid and disturbing to drink. I make my own ginger tea all the time. I know ginger tea. There was something wrong with this. It was deceiving. At first, I could taste the ginger but then there was something else. Something that was so bitter, pungent… it just got worse as I drank it!
It was such a bizarre experience, I wondered if something I had eaten or drank before having this interfered so waited a while and brewed up another batch. Nope, same reaction. I added some sugar, hoping that would help. Again, so bitter and horrible! What the hell was in this thing?
I try not to sneak a peek at the ingredients ahead of time. I want to remain open minded. I did not even think it was necessary consider this was supposed to be “pure ginger.” I finally read the ingredients on the package and it says: organic ginger, organic vasaka leaf.
Vasaka leaf? What the heck is that? I look it up in my herb books, nothing. I have to go online. Apparently, this leaf is so bitter that even goats won’t eat it! When it comes to Ayurvedic medicine, it is used to normalize kapha and pitta which is great but not exactly tasty.
There was no warning that this was more a medicinal tea. It was marketed as just being ginger and I assure you, that is not what you will remember tasting when you sip this. I can not help but give it zero out of five wooden spoons.
It took me a couple of days to gather the courage to make their lemongrass tea, “Nothing but the purest organic lemongrass for a clean, bright, refreshing herbal indulgence.” Really… well, we’ll have to see about that.
Thankfully, this one totally lived up to its name! It was beautiful and tastes like, get this, lemongrass! What a shocker. It oozed healing, warmth, purity… this is the kind of tea I would expect at a fancy spa which is how the company markets itself. Stick with the lemongrass, avoid the ginger.
I give their lemongrass tea, five out of five wooden spoons.
Wow! Have you ever given anything else ZERO wooden spoons? I don’t think so! But if even goats won’t eat it, why put it in tea?
I have given a restaurant zero spoons but I do think this is the first time I have given a product zero spoons. I hate having to do it but there is no way I could recommend it. Thankfully the lemongrass was absolutely fantastic which will hopefully balance things out a little.
I’m a fan of ginger. Could you post your ginger tea sometime.
Coffee is on.
Peppylady (Dora), I wrote about making ginger tea on this boosting immunity post. I hope that helps! Making your own tea is very easy and healthy. I’m hoping to make my own fennel tea soon.