January is a time when many of us reassess our lifestyles. Often we choose to exercise more, practice mindfulness, cut down our alcohol in-take and eat more healthily. But sometimes these things aren’t always easy to sustain.
If you’re looking to make one simple change, and stick with it, have you considered trying fruit and herbal teas? They are a fantastic way to increase your water consumption and, we’ll let you into a little secret. Since they don’t come from the tea plant (camellia sinensis) they’re not strictly teas at all! They’re made using dried fruits with added herbs, flowers and natural flavourings. This makes them naturally caffeine free so a great choice if you are trying to cut down how much caffeine you consume.
Here we have rounded up our fruit and herbal range in one handy guide to help you choose the right one for you. Be warned, you may find yourself wanting to taste them all!
Cool Camomile
If you’ve promised yourself a better sleep routine, then camomile tea is a great choice. Caffeine is a natural stimulant - it can interfere with your sleep and some studies have shown it may actually prevent you from getting into a deep sleep. Not only is our Cool Camomile caffeine free, but camomile is also well regarded as a sleep inducer. It contains an antioxidant called apigenin, which is said to decrease anxiety and induce sleep. So if you like a warm drink before bed, you can happily sip away on this knowing that you may just find yourself in the land of nod sooner than normal! Our infusion contains subtle flavours of raspberry and lemongrass too making it extra delicious. You can read more about getting a good night’s sleep here on our previous blog post.
Wild about Mint
With peppermint, spearmint, wild herbs and nettle, our mint tea is as invigorating as Dorset’s sea breeze! Many people choose to drink mint tea, not just for its refreshing taste, but because it is often said to aide digestion. Anecdotally, some people find it can relieve symptoms such as gas and bloating. At this time of year, if you are suffering with a cold, you may even find that as the tea bag hits the hot water and the minty aromas are released with the steam, it might just help to unblock your nose too!
Ginger and Sunshine Lemon
If you like the idea of trying something totally different your normal milky brew, we’d recommend giving our Ginger and Sunshine Lemon a go. It provides a zingy hug in a mug that is both refreshing and warming! Not only is it a great way to hydrate throughout the day, but you may even find it gives you a little health kick too. Citrus fruits are one of the best sources of vitamin C and it’s well known that this helpful vit aides the immune system. But it’s not only the lemon that makes it a winter winner. Ginger is another great staple if you want to use your diet to boost your immunity as it has such strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. You can read more about boosting your immunity here!
Strawberries and Cream
What’s there not to love about the combination of strawberries and cream? If you fancy trying this super simple yet decadently indulgent pudding flavour in the form of a tea, then hey pesto, here it is! With added apple, hibiscus and rosehip this is a fruit sensation with added cream flavouring that is vegan friendly. In fact, if you are trying out Veganuary this year, then check out our strawberries and cream jelly recipe!
Foraged Fruits
If you find yourself drinking a lot of fruit cordial throughout the day, making a switch to fruit tea could really benefit your health. Often cordials are high in sugar, or artificial sweeteners. Our Foraged Fruits tea will give you a fruity hit with the combination of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry while keeping things totally free of added sugar or chemicals. Delicious!
Blackberry Syllabub
If you’ve ever tasted this classic Dorset dessert then our tea will need no explanation. But for those of you who haven’t – it’s sweetened crushed blackberries, combined with double cream and lemon, yum! Our expert tea blenders took on the challenge of recreating this super pud into a delicious tea and they succeeded. With apple, hibiscus, rosehip and liquorice root it will tantalize your taste buds while keeping you refreshed and hydrated!
We love mixing things up throughout the day and the week. While some of our team only ever drink a classic milky brew and others are devout herbalists, most of us drink a range of different teas. A lovely way to start the day is with a zingy Ginger and Sunshine Lemon. We then might have a cup of Sunshine blend (or two) mid-morning and a refreshing mint tea after lunch. If you are new to fruit and herbal tea, trying making one swap a day and gradually try new flavours, we bet you’ll get as hooked as we are!
If you’d like to try our fruit and herbal infusions, then head over to our Tea Shop today.