Pukka Tea Review

I'm a coffee drinker at heart.  I need it like Simon Cowell needs delusional fools to be on his shows.  But I'm pretty open-minded, so I decided to give Pukka Tea a go when box of Morning Time dropped through my door.

Squeaky's daddy is always on at me for drinking too much caffeine, so I thought Morning Time might help me get a bit of peace & quiet, as it's naturally caffeine free, but designed to give you a bit of an energy boost. Rooibos is pretty similar in taste to "normal" tea, and you can drink it with or without milk.  I prefer it without, but unlike fruity herbal teas it doesn't turn the milk into pink yogurt.

The Fairtrade logo in the corner jumped out at me as soon as I saw the box.  I do try to buy Fairtrade where I can, long long ago I was a charity volunteer for an overseas aid charity when Fairtrade was first coming onto the UK consciousness, and it's stayed with me to try and support the farmers and communities rather than the pockets of big companies where I can.

The first cup I tried, I think I let steep for a bit too long.  The box says to steep for at least five minutes, but for my taste it was too long, and the tea was too strong.  To be honest I thought "this really isn't my cup of tea".  And then I firmly berated myself for making such an appalling joke, shrugged my shoulders and got on with my day.  I'm not one to be defeated that easily though, so I gave it another try the next day.

This time, I didn't leave the bag in for so long, only about 3 minutes or so.  For me that was just right.  Tastes like tea, but doesn't strip the inside of your mouth off.  The Rooibos and Honeybush make the tea a little bit sweeter than a mug of builder's (before the 4 sugars!), and it's a nice refreshing taste.  I think I might be converted.  Not every day, but it's good to have a choice.

The ginseng is a natural stimulant, has healing properties, and apparently is an aphrodisiac (don't tell daddy!), though I didn't notice that effect. Maybe that's why I should leave the bag in for longer!  Morning Time also contains Licorice Root to promote clarity and deal with stress, and Maca Root to increase energy & libido.  No seriously, DON'T tell daddy!  I'm keeping these to myself.

I also had a few samples from the rest of the Pukka range, you can't see Love here, because I drank that one as soon as I opened the envelope!, but there's a great range for most times of day & emotions.  I love the Relax and Revitalise ones.  Now I just need to convince my office mates that drinking herbal tea doesn't turn me into a beansprout knitting weirdo and I'm still the caffeine addict they know & love, just slightly calmer!

Disclosure: I was provided with a box of Pukka Tea Morning Time, and a selection of other Pukka Teas free of charge for the purpose of this review.   I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.