Echinacea & Raspberry? Yes Please. (Twinings Raspberry and Echinacea)

Member Name: kimbles245

Product:	Twinings Raspberry and Echinacea
Date:	26/10/09 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes Lovely, added health benefits.

Disadvantages: Have to add sugar.

I have always been a Coffee person. Recently though I have been drinking far too much and been spending most of my day on a Caffeine high which is never good. More recently I have been starting to drink tea to reduce the amount of Caffeine I intake.

As I have been drinking Tetley Redbush Caffeine free tea I thought I would also introduce fruit tea's into my daily drinks aswell. I have previously drank Twinings tea and have known of the brand for years as my nan used to drink the Blackcurrent one all the time. I however have only previously drank the Calmolile and green teas so I thought it was time to try a new one.

On my weekly shop in Morrisons I spent ages in the tea aisle trying to find the right one for me. As I had previously taken Echinacea tablets to build my immune system after a blood transufsion I though I would give the Raspberry and Echinacea a go.

Echinacea is one of the most popular herbs used today with the Native Americans for example using it as a medicinal plant. It is a flower which was named for the prickly scales in its large conical seed head, the herb resembles the spines of an angry hedgehog and reading up about it shows me that 'echinos' is Greek for hedgehog.

Throughout history people have used echinacea to treat scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning, and diphtheria. Although this herb was popular during the 18th and 19th centuries, its use began to decline after the introduction of antibiotics. Today, echinacea is mostly used to shorten the duration of the common cold and flu and reduce symptoms, such as sore throat, a cough, and fever. Many herbalists (which my Doctor seems to be) also recommend echinacea to help boost the immune system and help fight infections.

Raspberries are loved in our house with my monkey and myself eating raspberry jam as she is not allowed strawberries. Reading up on raspberries shows that it can be used to fight against several diseases as it contains Vitamin C, taces of B Vitamins and even folic Acid. But I wondered what they would taste like together.

Twinings Echinacea and Raspberry comes in a red box with twinings written in black across a gold strip, with it also showing the echinacea flower and raspberry on the front. As soon as I opened the box I could smell the raspberries straight away. Before I even poured the water over the bag the smell was just devine.

I then poured the water over and stood back to let the tea stew for a few minutes. Once it was ready I couldn't wait to try it out so I took my first sip. I found the tea more sour than sweet (which the box advised it would be) to start with. So as I cannot drink any hot beverage without sugar I decided to add my normal amount of sugar.

This was most certainly the best decision. I just couldn't believe that it tasted exactly like Ribena and looked like it aswell. Yum, yum I love Ribena so this hot, fresh and fruity tea would be perfect for me. I have also tried it with Honey as it advises on the box but again it doesn't taste as good as it does with Sugar.

Twinings suggest on the side of the box that you can also drink it cold. Allow the tea to cool and splash over ice, drinking straight away but I haven't tried that one yet. I am saving that one for a hot summers day.

I paid £1.90ish for a box of 20 bags from Morrisons and it is now on my weekly shopping list to stay.

Summary: Lovely tea which I will continue drinking everyday.