Tea Punch

If you like a little more than sugar and milk in your tea (nudge, nudge), check out my new Samovar blog post on tea punches. Excerpt:

Tea and punch have a long history together. Some say punch originated in India, where it was made from five key ingredients. (In Hindi, the word for five is “panch.” Many think this is where the word “punch” originated.)

These five key ingredients were: lemon or lime juice, sugar, water, liquor and vaguely defined “spice,” which could mean something we currently think of as “spice” (like nutmeg), something we would probably shun today (like a whale secretion that’s only used is perfume these days) or (yes, yes) tea.

As punch recipes spread across Europe in the 1600s, they evolved. Mixtures of multiple citrus juices and liquors were employed, and green tea and champagne widely replaced water as a core ingredient.

These innovations became much of the groundwork of the art of mixology, which is (gladly) enjoying a revival in San Francisco and other major U.S. cities right now.

Read more on Samovar's tea blog, and happy sipping!

New Honest Tea Mate Reviews

I recently got to try the new Honest Tea Yerba Mates. I'm glad to see more yerba mate RTDs on the market. Yerba mate is high in antioxidants and caffeine, but it seems it doesn't give as many people jitters as coffee. However, AOL recently published a popular health article about possible health risks associated with yerba mate. I guess it was a bad time to launch the line, but the "teas" themselves are pretty good. They're made with green (unroasted) mate, I'm guessing for more antioxidants. I'm pretty sure it's why they taste more bitter than other mates I've had, but I'm more of a tea person than a mate person, so I'm not positive. (Any thoughts, readers?) The first two I tried were pretty sweet (I wish Honest Tea's "slightly sweet" approach was a little more slight than sweet, but that's a whole other topic...), but the third was awesome. Reviews:

Agave Mate: Both bitter and sweet, but in a very different way from when I, say, home brew super-strong mate in a gourd and add a bit of agave nectar. My least favorite, perhaps because I like my version so much better. :)

Tropical Mate: Aside from a bitter aftertaste, I really like this one. It is definitely tropical and the tartness of the fruit balances out the sweetness of the cane sugar very well. The thing I don't like it this -- the label pictures fresh fruit, says "A Tad Sweet" and clearly indicates that it is yerba mate. Seeing that, I think, "Mmm... fruit juice and mate. It has vitamins from fruit and caffeine from mate. Win!" However, it contains less than 1% juice and has about 1/6th the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee. Now, I'm glad the label is also informative enough to tell me these things, but it seems somehow... (no, not dishonest)... misleading. Still, it's tasty enough that I'd drink it again.

Sublime Mate: It has the same labeling issues as Tropical Mate, but it's definitely my favorite of the three. Great lime aroma and taste, no bitter aftertaste and (I think) an ideal balance of mate boldness, lime tang and cane-sugary sweetness for a lightly sweet RTD. It seems like a perfect refreshment for a hot summer day. Seriously if you like lime and/or mate check it out ASAP.

Have any of you tried these? What did you think?

Stevia for Tea

For my recent article on tea sweeteners, I got to interview Jim May, the man who introduced stevia to the U.S. market. He's quite an interesting individual and it was great to hear his side of the stevia story. I recently tried his brand, SweetLeaf Stevia, and have to admit that it doesn't taste nearly so bitter as other brands. I wouldn't use it for a delicate tea, but I could see it working well with robust tisanes and strong masala chai. If you're interested in a zero-calorie sweetener for your tea, but don't want to use something artificial, there was a recent article in the LA Times on stevia's safety that's worth a read. Personally, I'd rather just have my tea unsweetened or take a caloric beating with honey, but I can see people who want sweet tea and are diabetic or trying to manage their weight really wanting a product like this. Have any of you tried stevia? What do you think?

Tea Sweeteners Article on World Tea News

Part Two of my series on tea and sugar is up on World Tea News. Part One was about sweet tea in the U.S. and worldwide. Part Two is about tea sweeteners. Excerpt:

Let’s face it: America has gone foodie. In the past, customers added sweeteners to tea with no thought to the impact on flavor. Today, they are demanding a more sophisticated sweet tea.

Tea blenders say striking a balance between sweetness and tea taste is key. Rona Tison, ITO EN’s senior vice president of corporate relations, said the goal is to “keep the sugar level down” while “bringing out a profile that enhances the tea flavor.” Most sources advocated considering the unique flavors of both sweeteners and teas when pairing.


This is a very controversial topic, so it was very interesting for me to research. Everyone has a strong opinion on the matter, and very few of them seem to agree on much. Read more on tea sweeteners.

New Vee Tea Article

So, it's about that time again... There's a new Vee Tea series on World Tea News! Part one is about sweet tea. Excerpt:

The tea industry often compares itself to the coffee industry, using Starbucks as a barometer for America’s consumption habits. Countless businesses vie to become the “Starbucks of Tea,” while many ignore the elephant in the room: sugar.

Starbucks introduced the nation to coffee with sugary blends such as its Frappuccino. According to Starbucks.com, 16-ounce Frappuccino Blended Coffees contain 31 to 60 grams (or 7.4 to 14.2 teaspoons) of sugar each.

Should the tea industry follow Starbucks’ sugary lead? It’s controversial, but traditional sweet teas are gaining momentum, and new variations are introducing more Americans to tea each day. Devan Shah, owner of International Tea Importers, put it simply: “America loves sweetness.”


You can read more on sweet tea in the U.S. and around the world on World Tea News. Part two of the series will cover sweetening trends and part three will discuss tea sweets. Yum!