Fruity Tea? (Twinings Raspberry, Strawberry & Loganberry)

Member Name: daylelisahall

Product:	Twinings Raspberry, Strawberry & Loganberry
Date:	17/01/07 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Caffeine free, smells gorgeous, healthy for you

Disadvantages: Doesn't taste as good as it smells, little more expensive than normal tea bags

I have to admit to not drinking enough water. Every now and then, when I feel my skin is bad or I need a bit of a detox, I switch to Twinings Herbal Tea Range to give myself a break from caffeine for a while. I first started drinking herbal tea a few years ago and gave up soon after as I found it very tasteless. Last year, when I was deciding to be healthy for a while again, I came across Twinings Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry Tea bags so decided to give them a go.

Availability
I would imagine that these tea bags are available in most supermarkets such as Asda, Sainsbury etc. I usually by my tea bags from Tesco where a box of 20 cost 84p which is fairly reasonable but obviously more expensive than other tea bags such as PG Tips. An advantage of buying these tea bags from Tesco, is that they are quite often on the 'buy one, get one free' offers which means you can buy two boxes (40 teabags) for £1.40.

Packaging
I think the packaging is quite eye catching. The box is a red / pink colour and very fittingly, there is a picture of strawberries and raspberries on the front. The box has a section which you can pull out and this enables you to access the teabags. There is a lid made from cardboard which comes back over the push through section which ensures that your tea bags are kept fresh. On the back of the box is all the usual info such as directions for use, ingredients, nutritional information etc.

Directions For Use
Put a tea bag in a cup and pour freshly boiled water over the bag. Personally I prefer my tea quite strong as I like it to have a certain amount of flavour, so I tend to leave the tea bag brewing for around 5 minutes which turns the drink a dark shade of red. At 1st when you add the water to the bag, the liquid turns all sorts of different shades which is a bit odd but after brewing for a bit, the tea soon turns to a more normal colour (if red can be a normal colour for tea?) One tea bag should be used per cup to get the full flavour, although maybe if you preferred your tea very weak then you could share a tea bag between two cups. Milk is not to be added to herbal teas!

The Flavour
As I mentioned earlier, I was put off herbal teas as I found them quite tasteless. This product however is different. Although the smell is a lot more powerful than the taste, this tea does actually have flavour to it. From the smell, which is very sweet and I think smells similar to Vimto (but sweeter) you would assume that the tea itself would taste the same. This is not the case, the taste is a lot more subtle than the smell. You get the sweetness from the strawberries and this contrasts with the sharp flavour of the raspberries although neither flavour is excessively strong. To be honest, I am not entirely sure what loganberries taste like so I'm not sure what sort of flavour they may add to the tea. The best way I can describe this tea, is saying it is like a watered down fruit juice. Although this doesn't sound too appealing, I can assure you it is, I am just trying to give you a realistic idea of the taste.

Range
Twinings have a massive range of teas that they are famous for. They produce normal tea bags as well as a wide range of different flavours of herbals teas. Out of all the different flavours I have tried, this is by far my favourite.

Advantages
This tea does make me feel healthier. I tend to drink just herbal tea (along side water and other non caffeine drinks) for 2 weeks and by the end of the two weeks, my skin glows and I feel healthy. These tea bags contain no caffeine and as you don't have to use milk, are also much healthier for you. They are naturally sweet so people who have sugar in normal tea, will probably not require it with the herbal teas which is another healthy benefit.

Summary
Personally, I think this is by far the best flavour herbal tea from the Twinings range. They make a great caffeine free alternative from normal tea and can be added to any detox or healthy living plan. The taste is subtle but enjoyable and the smell is divine. This product can be drunk hot or cold. If you would like it cold, then you have to boil water in same way, pour over tea bag and then leave to cool. I find this extremely refreshing in the summer. If you have never been a fan or herbal tea, then you should give these a try! They converted me!

Summary: A nice healthy alternative to normal tea.