Beavida's Health Tea: Meet the Wellness Warriors
Some people choose tea because they like the taste.
Some love discovering new herbs and botanicals.
Some enjoy the ritual of preparing loose leaf tea instead of firing up the coffee machine for the fourth time that day.
And some type "health tea" into Google and find themselves confronted by approximately 8,000 claims about detoxing, cleansing, balancing and transforming their bodies before breakfast.
Welcome to Wellness Warrior. We do things a little differently around here.
Our collection brings together herbal infusions made with carefully selected botanicals, distinctive flavours and ingredients you can actually read about and understand.
When we talk about health tea, we are describing herbal teas that can form part of an everyday lifestyle and tea routine. We are not suggesting that drinking a particular blend can prevent disease, treat medical conditions, "detox" your body or magically optimise everything from your hormones to your immune system.
Because sometimes a really good cup of tea is allowed to be exactly that.
A really good cup of tea.
What Is Health Tea, Anyway?
Excellent question.
There is no official category of tea called health tea.
It is a term commonly used to describe teas and herbal infusions chosen as part of an everyday, health-conscious lifestyle. What actually ends up in the cup can vary enormously.
Traditional tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. Black, green, white and oolong teas all belong to this family, although differences in cultivation and processing produce very different flavours and characteristics.
Herbal infusions are different.
They can be made from flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, fruits, spices and other plant ingredients. That means your tea cupboard could contain everything from chamomile flowers and peppermint leaves to ginger root, hibiscus and cinnamon.
Technically, many drinks we casually call herbal teas are therefore herbal infusions.
Will we correct you every time you call one tea?
Absolutely not.
We have friends to lose in other ways.
Meet the Wellness Warriors
Our Wellness Warrior collection is the broadest member of the Beavida tea family.
While collections such as Bloody Brilliant, Mood Swing Squad, Baby Bloom and Queen of Change take their inspiration from particular experiences or life stages, Wellness Warrior, such as Bless the Bladder, is about everyday tea.
Morning tea.
Afternoon tea.
"I have been staring at this spreadsheet for three hours" tea.
"Nobody speak to me until I have finished this mug" tea.
You get the idea.
Each blend has its own combination of botanicals, flavours and aromas. Visit the individual product page to find the complete ingredient list, preparation instructions and everything else you need to know before putting the kettle on.
Meet Some Herbal Tea Favourites
One of the pleasures of herbal tea is discovering just how different plants can taste.
You do not need a list of medical claims to make botanicals interesting. Their origins, aromas and flavours provide plenty to talk about already.
Chamomile
Few ingredients look quite as cheerful floating around a loose leaf blend as chamomile flowers.
Chamomile has a distinctive floral aroma and a long history of culinary and traditional use. Its gentle flavour makes it a familiar ingredient in herbal infusions and botanical blends around the world.
If floral teas are your thing, chamomile is certainly one to get acquainted with.
Ginger
Subtle, ginger is not.
This knobbly little root brings unmistakable warmth and spice to herbal infusions. Fresh and dried ginger can taste slightly different, and the amount used in a blend can dramatically change its character.
Ginger also pairs beautifully with citrus fruits and warming spices, making it a versatile ingredient in herbal tea recipes.
Hibiscus
If you like your tea with personality, meet hibiscus.
Dried hibiscus creates a striking infusion with a tart, fruity flavour. It can also produce a wonderfully vivid colour, making it particularly good fun when served chilled.
No beige wellness drink here.
Peppermint
Fresh, cooling and almost impossible to mistake for anything else, peppermint is a classic herbal infusion ingredient.
Its leaves provide that instantly recognisable minty character. Peppermint can be enjoyed by itself or combined with other botanicals to create more complex blends.
Rooibos
Rooibos comes from the South African plant Aspalathus linearis and produces a distinctive reddish infusion.
Its smooth flavour makes it an interesting alternative for people who enjoy the ritual of tea but fancy something different from traditional black or green varieties.
And yes, despite that familiar tea-like appearance, rooibos is not technically tea from the Camellia sinensis plant either.
Tea terminology is surprisingly rebellious.
Hot or Cold? Herbal Tea Doesn't Have to Be a Winter Thing
Herbal tea has a bit of a blanket-and-rainy-window reputation.
Lovely in December. Slightly less appealing when it is 32°C outside and your thighs are sticking to the chair.
Fortunately, herbal infusions do not have to be served piping hot.
Many loose leaf blends can also be enjoyed chilled, opening up a completely different way to experiment with botanicals and flavours. Fruity, citrusy and minty ingredients can be particularly interesting when served cold, while more aromatic blends can change noticeably as their temperature drops.
You can prepare your chosen Beavida blend according to its brewing instructions, allow it to cool and refrigerate it before serving. Depending on the blend, you might fancy adding plenty of ice or a slice of fresh fruit.
Just remember that iced herbal tea is still tea, not a health potion in disguise. Adding fruit to your glass does not turn it into a "detox", and serving something in a very photogenic bottle does not give it mysterious wellness properties.
It does, however, make your healthy tea considerably more appealing on a hot afternoon.
And that is reason enough.
Natural Doesn't Mean Healthy for Absolutely Everyone
We love botanicals.
We do not believe that the word natural gives them magical immunity from common sense.
Plants contain naturally occurring substances, and individual circumstances matter when choosing herbal products.
Certain botanicals may not be suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Others may interact with medicines or be inappropriate for people with particular medical conditions. Allergies obviously matter too.
That does not make herbal tea frightening.
It simply means ingredients matter.
Check the complete ingredient list for your chosen blend. If you take medication, have a medical condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have questions about whether a particular ingredient is appropriate for you, speak to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Your doctor knows considerably more about your medical history than your tea strainer does.
What About All Those Herbal Tea Health Claims?
This is where the internet gets interesting.
Search for virtually any popular herb followed by the word "benefits" and you will find an impressive collection of articles explaining what it supposedly does.
Some plants have genuinely been the subject of considerable scientific research. Others have histories of traditional use stretching back hundreds or thousands of years.
Neither automatically means that a food product containing that ingredient can be described as preventing, treating or improving a medical condition.
Research also needs context.
A study might investigate a concentrated botanical extract rather than a cup of tea. It may use a particular dose or preparation. Research could be conducted in animals, cells or a small group of human participants.
That is very different from concluding:
Plant X does Y, therefore every tea containing Plant X does Y.
We would rather leave the interesting scientific discussions for our educational Journal and keep our product and collection information focused on what you are actually buying.
How to Choose Your Herbal Tea
Forget the miracle claims for a moment.
There are much more enjoyable ways to choose tea.
Start with flavour. Do you prefer something floral, fruity, fresh, earthy or spicy? Your taste buds are allowed an opinion.
Check the ingredients. Loose leaf blends make this particularly satisfying because you can often see many of the individual botanicals in front of you.
Think about when you will drink it. Some flavours feel wonderfully fresh in the morning. Others practically demand a blanket and an evening on the sofa.
Try it hot and cold. The same herbal infusion can taste surprisingly different depending on how you serve it.
Follow the preparation instructions. Water temperature, quantity and steeping time can make a surprisingly big difference to the finished cup.
And finally: Drink something you actually like.
Life is too short for miserable tea consumed purely because somebody called it a superfood.
Wellness Without the Woo-Woo
Wellness can be useful when it means paying attention to everyday things that contribute to looking after yourself.
Food. Movement. Rest. Social connection. Medical care when you need it.
And yes, perhaps a good cup of tea somewhere amongst all of that.
It becomes less useful when every ordinary ingredient is presented as a solution to a medical problem or when "wellness" becomes another impossible standard you are expected to achieve.
You do not need to optimise every minute of your life.
You certainly do not need to detox your way into becoming a superior human.
Our contribution is considerably more modest.
We make tea.
Would You Like to Know More About Herbal Tea and Everyday Wellness?
Tea gets surprisingly complicated once you start asking questions.
What is actually the difference between tea and a herbal infusion? Does tea count towards your daily water intake? What exactly does "natural" mean? And why is everyone on the internet suddenly telling you to detox?
The Beavida blog is where we unpack the interesting bits.
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→ Read our guide to loose leaf vs tea bag
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