A better flavour
On another page of our website we discuss what defines the quality of tea. Cultivation, soil and production methods will largely determine notes and depth of flavours of your tea leaves. However, it’s also a possibility to add flavours to the leaves. This is called ‘flavouring.’ For centuries herbs, fruits and other produce have been added to enhance or alter the natural flavours of food. The final goal: to create a different (better) flavour. Like many other foods to which aromas are added, tea is also a product that can be flavoured to create a whole new tea aroma.

Natural flavours
Speaking about flavouring of tea (or adding aromas) gives a somewhat chemical undertone to a lot of people. Yes, any added flavour can exist purely out of artificial ingredients, created in a laboratory. Almost all supermarket brands are chemically flavoured, but also here quality will define the end product, meaning that an added aroma doesn’t necessarily need to have a chemical base. Flavours can be added by means of flowers, blossoms, spices, herbs, nuts and pieces of fruit. Besides these more substantial aromas it is also possible to extract flavours by form of liquid essences (or oils) out of natural resources. (For instance essential oils extracted from fruits).

Classic flavoured teas
One of the most well-known flavoured black teas is seen by many people as an unflavoured (ordinary) tea: Earl Grey. This variety obtains its unique flavour by adding an essential oil extracted from the peels of bergamot (a small pear-formed citrus fruit from Italy). In green teas a jasmine tea is probably the best-known variety. Jasmine teas can be produced in several ways: by adding the whole jasmine flower to the tea itself or by ‘infusing’ tea leaves with jasmine flowers. The first variety gives a slightly sweeter cup of tea because of the adding of the whole flower (that will steep as well). For the latter variety (e.g. jasmine pearl tea) the tea leaves were able to ‘aspirate’ the flavour of the flower for several days. This will eventually give you a more refined and fresher jasmine tea, as the flower doesn’t steep.

You can be sure that all of our varieties of flavoured teas, rooibos and herbal or fruit infusions are only naturally flavoured, giving you the best cup of tea possible.