Fruity and refreshing and packed with health benefits (Twinings Green Cranberry)

Member Name: lonestarsky

Product:	Twinings Green Cranberry
Date:	14/10/08 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loads of health benefits, lovely taste, less bitter than pure green tea

Disadvantages: Can be up to £1.50 for 20 bags depending on where you buy them

I love green teas and herbal teas. I started drinking them over five years ago and now rarely deviate back to black tea or coffee. I enjoy pure green tea but since discovering green tea with added fruit flavours I have started drinking them instead as I find they are slightly less bitter than pure green tea. One of my favourites is Twinings Green Tea with Cranberry.

PACKAGING/PRODUCT
Twinings teabags come in a rectangular cardboard box, which I love because I prefer products with minimal packaging and this is easily recycled. The box has the ingredients, nutritional information, brewing instructions and a small story illustrating when tea was first discovered. The box is relatively sturdy and has a flip-lid so is robust enough to hold your teabags until they're done. There are 20 bags in the box and the net weight is 40g. There is a best before date but my current box has a BBD of Nov 2009 so they last a while.


PRICE
They're available from most supermarkets and price ranges from about £1.15 to £1.50 depending on which one you buy them from.


INGREDIENTS/NUTRITIONAL INFO
The only ingredients are green tea and natural cranberry flavouring (7.5%). Nutrition wise they have 0.2g carbs but only a trace of everything else. The main benefit is that green tea is reputed to have a lot of health-promoting properties. It is an antioxidant which means it helps eradicate cancer causing free radicals in the body. It is also said to promote fat oxidation and act as an appetite suppressant.

Personally I find that green tea does reduce hunger pangs and is also great for taking the edge off a hangover!! I can't say whether or not it has any other benefits but I enjoy the taste and I always "feel healthy" when I drink it!


BREWING
Instructions on the box say one bag per person brewed in freshly boiled water. he bag should be left to brew for no more than two minutes, then drank without milk or sugar.

I tend to brew my tea for about a minute and a half. Any longer and the tea will be too bitter. Some people add honey to sweeten it but I enjoy it as it is. I tend to fill the mug 3 quarters with boling water then top up with cold as its too hot to drink straight away otherwise.


TASTE
As I said, be careful not to overbrew as overbrewed green tea is not pleasant! This tea has a lovely fruity aroma (not necessarily identifiable as cranberry) which fades as you drink it. I would say that green tea is an aquired taste so if you're not overly keep the first time you try it, its worth persevering. I wasn't keen the first time I tasted it but wanted to finish the box. I can now say I genuinely enjoy it. It has a refreshing, slightly bitter taste which is offset by the fruity cranberry flavour. Its very different to black tea; I actually find it milder than black tea (provided you don't overbrew it!)

OTHER FLAVOURS
I also recommend the following Twinings teas:
Green Tea & Jasmine
Green Tea & Pomegranate
White Tea & Pomegranate
Nettle & Blackberry
I hope to review them at a later date!

Summary: Definitely an acquired taste but give it a go!