Fancy Food Show 2009 – Part Two (Teas)

If you read my review of the Fancy Food Show in 2007, you know how much I love tea. This year, I made a concentrated effort to try every single tea that was at the show. After all my tea tasting, here is the best of the best.

Ajmera’s Xpress Chai is by far the best tasting chai that I have ever encountered. Interestingly enough, it’s actually powdered chai made with Nestle powdered milk and not transfats, which is rare in a powdered chai. Xpress Chai is delicately flavored, not too sweet but sweet enough, not too spicy but just spicy enough. The well rounded flavor is crave worthy and the convenient packaging makes this a YummySF favorite.

Masala Chai Co. features chai concentrates with healing herbs, in a base of honey. This is rather convenient since it keeps well without refridgeration. You simply add a tablespoon into heated milk and whisk. For anyone who drinks chai infrequently, this is well worth the price and better than buying a liquid concentrate which spoils quickly. I currently have the AphroTEAsiac, which contains Chinese healing herbs specifically for women. It tastes creamy and delicious just like liquid chai concentrates, with the added benefit of Chinese herbs.

Honest Teas are by far my favorite brand of iced teas. What’s special about Honest Tea is that their teas are lightly sweetened, high in antioxidants, low in calories, and made with organic ingredients. I tried the Mango Acai White Tea, which was delicately flavored yet quite satisfying to the soul. It has replaced Snapple tea for me. Other flavors include Green Dragon Tea, Jasmine Green Energy Tea, and Pomegranate Red Tea with Goji Berry. Honest Ade is their line of refreshing thirst quenches, that include flavors like Orange Mango with Mangosteen, Cranberry Lemonade, and Pomegranate Blue. Their newest line is Honest Kids which feature drinks for kids that come in pouches reminiscent of CapriSun, with flavors such as Berry Berry Lemonade and Goodness Grapeness.

The Republic of Tea was by far my favorite tea booth. With such an amazing variety of teas lined up along the counter and a helpful staff, I will definitely be looking out for their new lines of teas on the grocery shelf. The Republic of Tea has a new line of caffeine free, organic red, wellness teas. Red tea, which is Rooibos based and high in antioxidants, is one of my favorite kinds of tea. This new line is pretty awesome, with teas that are combined with herb tonics for boosting memory (Get Smart), digestion (Get Relief), pregnancy (Get Maternal), energy (Get Charged), sleeping (Get Some Zzzz’s), and heart health (Get Heart). Love that!

The Republic of Tea also has a new line of Children’s Tea. Check out the cute bottle.

I have never actually tried Zhena’s Gypsy Teas before until the Fancy Food Show. However, after meeting the founder and mistress of tea, Zhena Muzyka herself, I was blown away. Having studied herbal medicine in Peru, Zhena used that knowledge to formulate fair trade and organic teas that help improve health. She was inspired by experiences of loved ones going through traumatic illnesses. Zhena wanted to create teas that contribute to good health, in essence, healing teas.

Her new line of Pink teas for women’s health and vitality are formulated with superberries – acaiberry, cacaoberry, cherryberry, pomberry, and wholeberry. The round tea sachets are huge as they are full leaf, full volume, bio-degradable, GMO free, and made from corn silk. It definitely feels like you’re giving yourself a gift when you savor Zhena’s teas.

Numi Tea knows how to combine tea flavors. I have tasted some awfully tasting flavor combinations at the show, but Numi blends are awesome. Numi’s newest tea flavor is Chocolate Puerh. Ohmigosh! I would have never imagined Chocolate combined with Puerh tea, which is a fermented tea from China. But Numi does it well, with ingredients like real chocolate nibs, real vanilla beans, orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg and rooibos. It’s definitely sophisticated, balanced, and well rounded. Puerh has Vitamins B, C, E, P, and K, which reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by lowering triglycerides, aid in cancer prevention due to high levels of antioxidants, and aid in digestion.

Numi teas also make a perfect gift for Valentine’s. I have actually given my in-laws a box of Numi teas and they loved it and drank it all right away.

Tags:   Chai · Drinks · Fancy Food Show · TeaNo Comments