Since rebranding the new blog, it ONLY makes sense to give a huge shout out to one of my fave companies and do a little review of their awesome new teas. I love Tiesta because while they’re not a Canadian company (we won’t hold it against them TOO much) they are a company that was started by a couple of guys, right out of college because they were passionate about tea and wanted to share that passion with others. Amazing. Check out their full story here.
Anyway – One of the things I was concerned about with these new teas is the addition of ‘artificial flavouring’ for some of them. This is one of the reasons I LOVED Tiesta from the start, because the flavours were amazing, but they weren’t artificial. So me being me, I immediately sent an email to my girl Ashley at Tiesta and wanted to know what was up? She gave me a great explanation! Check it out:
–> “The flavouring is something that has been a learning experience for us. Back in the early days, we believed all of our ingredients were considered “natural”. In a nutshell, we choose our ingredients for a blend and have them brought together and blended in Germany. Across the pond, they have some different labeling. The flavoring that we use is what they call “nature identical flavoring”. For example, if we used orange flavoring, it would be the same make-up as squeezing an orange. It would just be man-made rather than “orange-made”. Wikipedia does a fantastic job describing the difference if you want more of an explanation – check here.
In most parts of the world, “nature identical flavor” isn’t considered artificial — Here comes the tricky part. Of course, the US has to be different. The US laws have chosen to ignore “nature identical flavoring” and require us to round that down to “artificial flavoring”. So, we’ve since had to change our labels. You didn’t miss anything. Regardless, this flavoring doesn’t make up a large percentage of the tea (actually less than a grain of rice per cup) and is just used to enhance certain teas with unique flavors from great to awesome.” <–
This made perfect sense to me and set my mind at ease. I remember when I worked at Vega, I would get questions like that all the time about ‘flavouring’ etc. So I do understand the reasoning behind it. OK – now on to the teas themselves!!
Thin mint trim
Green tea base with lemon and peppermint – all of these things are great for digestion and taste delicious together! Plus – green tea is known to help with the break down of triglycerides (fat cells), so they can be burned as energy instead of stored as fat. BONUS! Drink after meals
Skinny star fruit
Not too sweet, really nice flavours. I made sure not to oversteep and I think that might be key here because if steeped too long it can get bitter AND sometimes a little too sweet. This was Greg’s fave tea as well… as we got a nice big bulk bag for him to bring to work with him. He loves the benefits of having a green tea post meals.
Citrus midnight
I found this tea to have a deliciously balanced flavour. Interesting combo of ingredients (there are a lot in here, from apple, to ginger to licorice root and cornflowers). Being part of the relaxer blend it’s totally fine to have in the evening, AND it does have some rooibos in it which means lots and lots of health benefits (LOADED with antioxidants, helps with headaches, glowing skin, lactic acid build up after a workout- to name a few)
Coco caramel indulge
My fave of them all. Creamy, chocolatey and caffeine free . Also features rooibos, which as you just learned —- super duper healthy!!!
Lavender chamomile
Really nice before bed tea. Not super strong lavender but just enough.
Mojito turndown
Nice amount of mint flavour, but still well balanced with some mint, apples, lemon, hibiscus. It’s a really nice tea to have iced as well, and I am BETTING it would make a super delicious cocktail too.. After all, mojito IS in its name.
Mommas PB & J
It’s actually creepy how much this tastes like pb and j. I wasn’t a huge fan because it isn’t something I necessarily want to drink I wanna eat it. But kudos for making it taste SO similar !
Tahitian Vanilla Cran
Tastes like a sugar cookie. Would make a really nice iced tea. A little on the sweet side but really nice, and specially wonderfully for those people trying to kick desserts… I wanted to eat it.
Cucumber Citron
Super interesting. Very cucumber. I love cucumber water and I did really like this. Very refreshing black tea.
I know this is quite a lengthy post, and if you made it all the way to the end… Thank you!!! Haha
I just really wanted to give some feedback about all these new teas, and get you guys excited because SOMEONE is going to win their very own sample pack of these new teas! I’m teaming up with Tiesta to get one person a one of these little packs (featuring all 9 teas!) JUST in time for the holidays!!!
To enter:
Comment below on which tea you’re most excited to try
>>For extra entries
a) comment on the Instagram/Facebook post and tag a friend that you think would like to win
b) repost my post – just be sure to tag me (@andreagnys) and Tiesta (@tiestatea) so I can see!
Winner will be drawn on Sunday December 6th.
What is your favourite tea right now?? Would love to hear about it!
xxx Andrea