Fruit tea — surrender to unique flavours and aromas
Fruit tea is a good choice in both winter and summer. Its refreshing, pronounced fruity notes offer an alternative to green, black, red or white teas. How do you choose a genuinely good fruit tea from all the options on shop shelves? What qualities does it offer? Is a fruit infusion better than classic tea? Find answers to these questions and more below. Enjoy reading!
Loose fruit tea or tea bags — which should you choose?
Physical and online shops offer many fruit teas, both loose and in bags. We can choose single-ingredient infusions or fruit blends, making it possible for everyone to find something suited to their preferences.
When shopping for fruit tea, focus on loose blends. They offer a wealth of flavours and aromas as well as valuable nutrients. Read labels carefully: fruit teas should contain real fruit alongside petals or leaves. Unfortunately, many are flavoured and contain acidity regulators, sugar and other sweeteners. Avoid artificial additions and choose products based on natural ingredients. These are not difficult to find, particularly in specialist tea shops.
What should you pay particular attention to when buying fruit tea?
Looking at ingredients reveals that there are really two kinds of fruit tea. What does that mean?
Fruit teas may or may not contain traditional tea. One product may include black, green or white tea; another may contain only dried fruit. This shows that the word “tea” in this context is popular but imprecise.
Instant fruit tea granules — yes or no?
The subject also includes instant, granulated fruit teas. We all recognise these products, often served to children because of their sweet, pleasant flavour.
Instant fruit teas dissolve in warm or cold water, offering many people a convenient alternative to much higher-quality loose blends. Yet production exposes instant tea to high temperatures, causing it to lose much of its valuable nutrients and vitamins. That makes it less attractive to people pursuing a healthy, mindful lifestyle. Granulated fruit teas also commonly contain substantial amounts of artificial additions and sugar!
Fruit teas — what health-related qualities do they offer?
Loose fruit tea, which we have identified as the healthiest option among fruit teas on the market, offers numerous health-related qualities. Minerals and vitamins such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium and B vitamins make it a useful addition to the daily diet. Good fruit teas contain no sugar or artificial ingredients, making the infusion particularly welcome when the body is tired from mental or physical work, stress or excessive exercise.
How to brew fruit tea
There is nothing very complicated about brewing fruit tea. Use water at 95°C and steep for around eight minutes. Then remove the dried fruit to prevent an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. Dried fruit used once for brewing is unfortunately not suitable for another infusion.
These temperature and timing guidelines are not absolute, however. Always read the label to make sure you follow the manufacturer's recommended method. Doing so gives the desired flavour, aroma and qualities.
For example, fruit teas in our online shop require different temperatures and brewing times:
- Albert Tea Strawberry Sensation, green tea with freeze-dried strawberries, rose and lavender, needs water at 75–85°C and two to three minutes of brewing.
- Albert Tea Red Blast, a red-fruit infusion, needs water at 95°C and around six to eight minutes.
Read also: Quince — the perfect addition to tea