Infuse your senses (Twinings Classic Herbal Camomile & Spearmint)

Member Name: Coxy1974

Product:	Twinings Classic Herbal Camomile & Spearmint
Date:	10/04/07 (230 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Appear to be some health benefits for me and pleasant to taste

Disadvantages: May take some getting used to

I happened upon this product in my local Tesco’s after a severe bout of food poisoning. The illness had left me unable to stomach even the weakest of cups of Earl Grey and a fan of water that I am I still wanted something to drink that was different.

I also suffer from an intolerance which means I cannot eat white bread, pasta or rice as it bloats me too much and can set off heart burn along with my IBS. My doctor recommended taking Peppermint or Spearmint to help with the discomfort.

Anyhow, there I am in Tesco’s (after picking up my prescription for industrial strength Dioralyte) looking for food that would not upset my now very sensitive stomach and I saw the range of herbal teas. I was amazed at the selection but then I saw the Peppermint and the Spearmint ones. I duly put a packet in but then I noticed another one, the Spearmint and Camomile. As I knew Camomile is a relaxant and can aid restful sleep I wondered if that one might kill 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. Out came the peppermint and in went the Camomile and Spearmint.

I’ve been a fan of herbal teas since I began Weight Watchers diets years ago with them being a drink different from water and juice that contained little or no calories. The flavours were full and strong so I had no qualms about using this one at all.

Packaging

The tea bags come in a rectangular box coloured in soft green. It bears the Twinings logo on the front of the box in black lettering on a gold background. Underneath this is the Classic Herbal Infusions branding. The flavour of the tea is underneath along with a picture of Spearmint and Camomile.

You open the box tearing off the tear strip and by removing the inner seal. This leaves you with a flip top lid which gives you easy access to the tea inside. Inside the bags are joined in 2’s and stacked. Upon opening the box you do get an instant strong smell of spearmint along with the less intrusive smell of camomile.

On the bottom of the box are the benefits, recommendations and brewing instructions along with ingredients and nutrition information. I’ll summarise these.

Ingredients

Camomile (35%)
Spearmint (35%)
Blackberry Leaves
Lemon Grass
Linden

Nutrition Information

100ml when brewed typically gives

Calories – 2
Protein – Trace
Cabohydrate – 0.3g
Fat – Trace

Benefits

Twinings claim that Spearmint aids digestion and Camomile is known for its relaxing properties so mixing these together will make this tea perfect to drink after a meal or last thing before bed. The tea is caffeine free and contains no added sugar – perfect for a healthy lifestyle.

Recommendations

The blurb reads ‘Twinings Infusions are a light and refreshing alternative to other drinks, ideal at any time of the day.’

Brewing Instructions

Allow one tea bag per person. Add freshly boiled water to the bag and leave to infuse for 2-3 minutes according to taste. Add honey to sweeten if preferred. Can be drunk cold. Do not add milk.

The tea

When I got the tea home I couldn’t wait to give it a whirl. I brewed following the instructions and threw the bag away. As you would expect the tea is green in colour and smells very strongly of the Spearmint. The taste is a little bitter on the first sip but then you do get used to the taste. It refreshes the palette, leaving a nice minty freshness behind. After I finished the first cup I half expected to have the same reaction as I’d had to the normal tea I’d tried the previous day and didn’t manage to hang onto. The surprise was that I didn’t. My stomach felt more settled and in general I felt more relaxed. May have been psychological but that’s how I felt.

Recommendation

I’ve been drinking this tea for nearly a year now and I have found that if I do overindulge in white wheat products then I just drink a cup of this after and it really does alleviate the symptoms. I still suffer bouts of bloating and IBS flare ups however, this tea helps to lessen the severity and frequency of these.

I’ve also found that having a cup of this tea before bed does actually help me sleep. If I eat before bed then I do tend to suffer with heart burn when I lie down but the spearmint relaxes and prevents this. The Camomile really does live up to it’s reputation as a relaxant as I get a much better nights sleep when I’ve drunk this before bed than when I don’t.

Available from

Tesco
Asda
Morrisons
Sainsburys
Holland and Barrett

Priced at £1.25 for 20 teas bags this can be a bit pricey but at one cup per day and the benefits I enjoy I think this is a fair price to pay.

Summary: I really like this tea and it does make a very refreshing change to normal tea and coffee.