It's Tea-Time: Tasty Rosehip Tea

Rosehip oil is all the rage these days. Applied to your skin it is meant to reduce acne, control psoriasis, be an excellent moisturiser among many other things. In fact, ff you peek at the ingredients of your natural skincare, rosehip oil is probably going to be in there, somewhere.

I've had my eye on Tasty's Rosehip Tea for a while, but never took the plunge in trying it. But with all the rosehip hype going around with the oil, I thought... why not?  And so, I popped a box in my shopping basket and took it home for a sampling. 

A quick internet search shows that rosehip tea is supposed to have high levels of antioxidants, and is good for infllamation and arthritis. It's also supposed to have amazing healing properties, and to be antibacterial. Oh, and it's caffeine free too, of course. 

After brewing, a quick sniff reminded me of just any regular berry tea. And my first few sips were quite pleasant, almost reminiscent of some of the berry teas by Lipton. Then, as I progressed through the cup, the flavours became much more intense, and the sourness started to overwhelm in the bottom third of the mug. 

I thought I may have brewed it for too long - I like my teas strong and normally leave the bag in for a good 5 minutes, sometimes more. So, I tried again the next time, and left it for maybe 1-2 minutes. The same thing happened, where the sourness continued to build as you reached the bottom of the mug. It wasn't as sour as the first time I had made it, because I didn't leave it in for that long, and at first, I thought it was sort of refreshing to have something so sour on your tongue to zap you awake. 

But time flew by, and I never touched that box of tea again. I'd see it in my pantry, but I would reach for something easier to drink, with equal health benefits. 

My verdict? Not my cup of tea, pun completely intended. I think I'll stick to slathering rosehip oil on my face, but leave it off my palate. 

Kombucha: Is it worth the hype?

After reading so much about this latest health fad, I finally got my hands on some Kombucha! It so happens my local Thomas Dux stocks it in the fridge, and yours probably does too. Otherwise, check out your local health food or organic store, you are bound to be able to find it especially since kombucha is very in right now.

What is kombucha? 

Kombucha is a fermented tea with live bacteria and yeast cultures. Unlike other teas, it is effervescent, and drunk cold (to keep the cultures alive I think). Its many health claims include detoxifying the body, because of its glucuronic acid content which is used in liver detoxification. It also contains glucaric acid that increases liver efficiency and is a cancer-preventative agent. 

Kombuchas sitting pretty on the shelf

I picked up a bottle of Ginger Tonic for $4.29. The rest sounded good too, but I can never pass up on a good ginger drink! Plus, ginger has so many health benefits of its own, I thought I'd be getting a double whammy of healthy goodness. 

It's a cloudy drink, with 'floaters' in it which I assume are the yeast cultures. It might gross some people out to drink that, but it's really no weirder than granules in miso soup, or loose tea leaves in Chinese tea. 

It's quite effervescent, I was surprised by how gassy this was. It's very much like any Schweppes bottled drink, and tasted very similar too. You couldn't taste the 'floaters' at all, in case you were wondering, so it's perfectly easy to drink, especially if you love soft drinks. 

Do I like it? 

Well, I have to say I'm going to have to give this health craze a pass. I've tried it, and it's not really for me. For one, I don't enjoy fizzy drinks, especially ones that are very effervescent such as this. Secondly, this is very, very acidic and it made my digestive system go a little off after consumption. Whatever "detoxification" benefits I would have received were probably outbalanced by the amount of stomach discomfort I had after consuming this. 

As this is a fermented product, there is a small amount of alcohol content, approximately 1.6% so that's also something to consider if you're planning on giving this a go. 

I know plenty of people who love kombucha, so if you have a chance, do check this out for yourself. I could see it being a hit in summer. Just be a little careful of any home-brewed kombuchas, as with any fermented products, if preparation is poor and unhygienic, it could contain toxins! 

It's Tea-Time! Qi White Tea

I've never had White Tea before. I'd never even heard of it until I saw it sitting on the shelf at my local IGA. The label is another organic Fairtrade one called Qi tea (I'm so silly... I kept thinking it stood for QI, as in the British comedy quiz show, but it really stands for Qi, pronounced "chi", which is mandarin for energy).

The little leaflet inside explains what white tea is.

"Green, black and white teas are actually all plucked from the same bush; however white tea is the first picked young leaves and buds that have a 'white' appearance."

Qi White Tea
In the background, you can see a part of
the mountain, aka my tea collection

I wasn't sure what I was going to expect taste-wise, or looks-wise, but it looked like a regular cup of green tea, except a little paler. I didn't add milk or sugar to this, and just drank it the way I would normally drink any green or Chinese tea.

Taste-wise, it is also similar to green tea, but it doesn't have the bitterness that green tea does. It's very easy to drink, and because it's less processed, contains more anti-oxidants than green tea! I know quite a few people who dislike the taste of green tea because of that very bitterness, so this could be a better option.

The high anti-oxidant content also supposedly helps with cardiovascular function as it reduces cholesterol, decreases blood pressure and improves the function of your blood vessels (thanks Wiki!).

If it was cheaper, I would definitely consider this to be a permanent replacement of green tea. At the moment though, because it's such a niche tea, the price is a little steep at about $4 for a pack of 25 tea bags. If you're a tea explorer like me though, definitely add this to your "try" list.

It's Tea-Time! Nerada Organics Rooibos & Vanilla Tea

I am obsessed with Rooibos since I discovered it via Sadie Nardini's 14 Day Yoga Detox Course. And why shouldn't I be considering all it's awesome benefits?

It's caffeine-free, aids digestion and allergies, and has cancer-fighting properties... in fact I wrote all about it in August 2012!

My local Coles has started stocking more variety of Rooibos so it's not just limited to Just Rooibos now (although Just Rooibos is mighty tasty, and still one of my favourites). I recently picked up this box of Nerada Organic's Rooibos and Vanilla tea because it was on sale, and was the Johnny Come Lately of the tea shelf!

It's fairtrade, and organic! Both double ticks in my books, and added vanilla? It sounded too delicious!

But I'm afraid that's where my love affair ends with this tea. When I first opened the box, the vanilla scent was overpowering. However, when the tea was brewed, I couldn't really taste much vanilla in it. Mild rooibos taste... probably the mildest out of all the rooibos teas I have tried.

The other thing that really annoyed me were the labels. They were stuck onto the bags with a fairly strong glue, so the first few bags I tried, I'd rip accidentally because they were stuck on so fast! My frustration levels were through the roof the first few nights I had my cup of rooibos... nothing worse than having a torn teabag!

Value for money? This is one of the cheapest rooibos boxes around, especially for something organic and fairtrade. Sadly though, I won't be repurchasing.