Pukka
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Good words to describe this tea – rich, cozy, luxurious.
I’m a big licorice tea junkie. Pukka takes it to the next level and adds another warm, deep layer of flavor with the cinnamon. It’s very complex and comforting and I see this as the perfect tea to sip during chilly winter nights. Very smooth, very tasty.
One note, however – I find I really have to be in the mood to have this particular tea, because while I love licorice, the cinnamon can sometimes be a bit too rich and heavy for what my palate wants at the time. Still, it’s great to have a box of this around the house.
Bagged
Aroma when Dry: bright, floral with cinnamon, slightly sweet
After water is first poured: sweet, fruity cinnamon, licorice noticeable
At end of steep:
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: Light green
Staple? No, might use medicinally
Time of day preferred: afternoon
Taste:
first notes: Sweet, cinnamon and licorice most noticeable, with hints of cardamom
As it cools? gets much sweeter, syrupy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with a floral syrupy note
Preparation
Bagged
Aroma when Dry: floral, rose jumps out, camomile next
After water is first poured: balanced floral all notes present, hinting at lavender
At end of steep: slightly fruity, floral, rose and camomile most noticeable
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light grass yellow
Staple? Yes, primarily medicinal
Time of day preferred: Afternoon, evening
Taste:
first notes: rose, slightly woody, then chamomile closes
As it cools? Chamomile notes surface only slightly, rose lingers longer
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with general floral texture, notes build with each sip.
Preparation
I remember having this for the first time and being ridiculously surprised about how it tasted. It’s very savory, and if you’re looking for a traditional, camellia sinensis tea, this likely isn’t for you, but I love it.
I’m a fan of Thai food, and this goes perfectly with pad thai, Thai hot & sour soup, or a Thai curry; I’m sure it would go with any number of other dishes as well. It’s warm and soothing and, at the same time as it’s energizing, very relaxing with the mellow undertones from the licorice. I personally wouldn’t call it spicy, but then, I’ve talked about my love of spicy things before so take that with a grain of salt; the lemon verbana and licorice root definitely do make it sweet, but I unfortunately don’t know enough about amla fruit to really judge it and what it does in the tea. Pukka’s website calls it an Indian Gooseberry and says that it’s used in ayurvedic practices.
I like curling up with this when it’s cold out, so I don’t have it often in the summer, but it’s perfect for fall and winter. I don’t find it ‘energizing’ as in it gives me more physical energy to stay awake/be alert, but clears my head and helps me focus on doing one thing (especially when I’m multitasking out the wazoo, haha), such as… writing this review when I have a paper to be editing.
It’s not one of Pukka’s teas that I have very often, but I do think it’s one of their best.
Preparation
I am getting a cold, so not a good time to be enjoying any new teas. But this was the exception, ginger tea usually really helps my throat. Fresh ginger tea is the most effective but that takes work and when getting a cold all I want is to toss a teabag into a cup of boiling water. Twinings´ Ginger and Lemon has been pretty useful at being that so far. But a while ago I was given this Pukka sample, which I was saving for the right occasion.
It´s OK to good. It´s not too spicy, nothing comparable to the kick of fresh ginger, but that makes it easier to keep drinking. It does have some kick, a milder aftertaste. It supposedly contains liquorice, a pet hate of mine, but I can not really spot it. I think I can spot the taste of the turmeric, and I don´t really like it, that note tastes sorts of muddy to me.
Am I going to buy this? Probably not if I can find the Twinings one. I like better the taste of the Twinings, it is a bit more sinus clearing hot and it is also probably cheaper (to be confirmed when I find it). This Pukka tea feels stupidly expensive here to me – around 5 euros for an admittedly very pretty box of 20 foil-sealed teabags. Only advantage the Pukka tea has to me is precisely the portability and convenience of those sealed teabags.
Preparation
I feel like I should say that, for the record, I am a fiend when it comes to spicy food. So when I drink this tea I would describe it as ‘pleasantly warm’, and I wouldn’t even consider it spicy.
For me it’s smooth and does wonders to settle my stomach. It’s a sipping tea, but I tend to sip teas as is so that’s not a problem for me. And, for those who are so inclined, I’ve found that it actually mixes quite well with white wine, especially reisling.
Preparation
So I’ve found myself becoming a bit too comfortable with caffeine lately, and decided it was time to step back a bit: new plan is no caffeine for the weekend, and after that only caffeine when it’s needed.
Which means: I’ll be getting reacquainted with my herbals.
I seem to be Steepster’s Sole Proponent of Pukka, if going by other people’s tasting notes. This didn’t even have a Steepster page so I actually had to make one. I haven’t touched this in over a year and distinctly remember not being that impressed with it, as far as Pukka teas went? I had better rooibos teas. But I had a cup of this yesterday and it just felt like a warm inviting hug, so I’ve decided to give it another shot.
It tastes exactly like typical rooibos. It IS mostly rooibos, with only a bit of honeybush, ginseng, maca, and Pukka’s typical licorice root. So if you’re not a big fan of rooibos, I can safely say that this tea probably isn’t for you. It doesn’t have a medicinal taste, but is definitely herbal. It’s sweet, smooth, and I may try it with a little bit of milk sometime even though I don’t normally have milk with rooibos. A bit weaker today, though that’s likely because I used more water when brewing it. I think this might be a ‘one mug only’ tea for me. As usual with Pukka herbals, I used boiling water and left the bag in for as long as I wanted and had no problems other than probably using a bit too much water.
If you want to sweeten it, go ahead; it’s already pleasantly sweet as it is, but adding your own sweetener is completely up to you. I imagine it would go very nicely with honey, taste-wise.
When I had it yesterday to get me through a three-hour lecture I could definitely notice the difference: I was tired the whole time and found myself closing my eyes because keeping them open hurt. So there are some things caffeine does that can’t be replicated with ginseng or maca, however ‘natural pick me up’s’ they are. But for someone who hasn’t been as wired on caffeine as I have, or doesn’t have much caffeine in general, it may help. It always depends, when dealing with brain chemistry and neurochemicals.
But the point is: this tea is lovely, and I will be paying much more attention to it!
Preparation
I think PURE and DETOX are great names for this tea.. Stimulating and relaxing. Very satisfying.
The aniseed is a tad overpowering to me. Maybe the taste all together is a bit too pure and raw.. and dont drink too much or youll get the poops
Preparation
Very nice. This organic, bagged green chai is heavily redolent of anise (love that black licorice scent and taste), with a slightly peppery undertone. The green tea is appropriately grassy – weaker than some, better than others – and works well with the cardamom and cinnamon. I haven’t tried this iced yet, but it’s quite satisfying hot with a very small amount of Stevia.
Preparation
Yesterday we went to a group meal with a lot of the boyfriend’s colleagues and respective spouses. There was an offer for after dinner coffee or tea, so I said ‘tea, please’ and was given hot water in a small pot with a lid, straight from the cooker, and a choice of three kinds of bags.
And then I kind of wished I hadn’t said anything and stuck to cola.
Choice number one: Ginger flavoured. I don’t like ginger. I definitely don’t like ginger with no additional flavouring to soften it up a bit.
Choice number two: Some sort of fruity herbal blend containing the Evil Hibiscus. I don’t like hibiscus. I do NOT like hibiscus. It tastes like blood.
Choice number three: This one, which is a chai. I don’t much care for the spicy blends, and apart from not liking ginger, cinnamon is also one of the things I don’t like much in my tea.
sigh
I decided this was the lesser evil though, and as it turns out it was fine under the circumstances. I would never buy it for myself. I would never choose it out of a (better) selection. But for an evening where I’m not really paying attention to what I’m drinking apart from the fact that it was tea, it was acceptable. And not nearly as big a dislike as the other two.
It wasn’t actually overly spicy and the cinnamon element, probably because it was in combination with the other ingredients, were more sweet-ish than what I have otherwise encountered, which is what I think was my rescue.
I imagine somebody who is fond of chai might appreciate it.
I only drank one cup though.
I have Pukka’s Vanilla Chai and I was just as disappointed with it as you have been with their plain chai. I’m also not a great fan of chai in general but found Pukka have some of the worst tasting chai’s I have ever tried.
Bonnie, actually I’ve got some opinions on that sort of thing, and I suspect they’re strongly different from yours, so let’s leave it at that.
Ch3rryprinc3ss, at least I can now say I have tried Pukka. I’ve never had that brand before, but I’ve seen them around. Apart from not caring for the offered selection, I was quite pleased that it wasn’t Lipton and/or Pickwick which are the standard brands around here, so it showed some thought process involved in the purchase. (I’m not going to consider the fact that as it’s a German family, they might not have had any idea of ‘standards’ in Dnemark to begin with, so their mindless choice could be anything)
If a place has such a limited choice (and teabags only), I figure they are not serious about quality or getting tea right and I take a pass. I’ll have water, coke, or fruit juice under those circumstances.
I erased all my comments.
Scott and Bonnie, Well, as I had already said yes to tea before that, it would have looked strange and a tad rude to suddenly change my mind like that.
I wasn’t going to go into this, because I think it’s a cultural issue, but I would never bring my own drinks or food when invited somewhere else unless you have specific dietary requirements or was asked to do so. When you visit someone you eat and drink what is offered and if it’s not up to the same standards that you are used to, tough. You can have something else when you get home. Here, if you brought your own stuff instead of taking what your host offered, you would run a certain risk of the host taking it as a statement that their offerings (which they might actually like) were not good enough. It comes across as snobbish and rude, really. There were some discussion regarding this on the boards some time ago in which most people tended to agree with your approach, which is why I think it’s one of those cultural differences. But that’s how I was raised, so I would never do it.
I thought you were in a restaurant where in casual settings having your own teabag is acceptable. I was raised with the same manners as you and would never bring any food or tea unless I had allergies,etc. (Which I do have!)
At my age, I was raised with manners noone cares about these days!
Ah okay, I wasn’t aware of that. If it had been in a restaurant I don’t think I would have ordered tea actually. Then I would be more likely to have gone for a cappucino if they had it. That’s not something I can get every day. :) No need to erase anything, though.
Yeah, I thought you were in a restaurant, too.
I think Pukka’s Vanilla Chai is better than their Original Chai. A lot of their teas tend to be sweet because of the licorice they add (save for Three Mint, I think), and their chais especially are more sweet than spicey. I seem to be one of Pukka’s sole fans on Steepster, haha.
Perhaps that extra sweetness to them was part of why I found it tolerable. I’m almost tempted to try the vanilla chai now. But only almost. And mostly because of the vanilla. :p
If you want to try the Vanilla Chai I would be happy to send you some. I have had it on my trade list for a little while with no interest so it would be good to find a new home for some. :)
I might like that, but it will have to wait a while. I’ll be out of the country for a large part of July, so it would be best to do it after I come home. I’ll try to remember to send you a PM when we’re back and if you still have it then, I’d like to try a bit. :)
I want to love their blends I really do. But so far, all I have tried, uh no. Clipper teas are usually found on the same spots (organic, free trade, and all that) and are IMo usually a bit nicer.
I haven’t seen Clipper much in Denmark. I had it in a hotel we stayed in in Copenhagen, but I can’t remember having seen it otherwise. Of course I don’t really pay attention to the tea selection in the shops much anymore.
Time to cleanse the palete after that last disappointment! Cleanse isn’t one of my preferred Pukka teas, but since I’m still desiring some detoxification I picked this out of the tea cabinet.
The liquor is a nutty brown, definitely from the fennel, nettle, and dandelion. I can definitely understand why someone wouldn’t like this, since it’s pretty far from traditional savory teas. There is a light sweetness from the licorice, but it comes out more when the tea is cold or iced. It’s not for everyone, not a snack tea or an everyday staple, but good every once and a while.
In terms of the perported skin benefits, I can get pretty bad acne at times and I don’t notice any difference when I drink the tea. Maybe you’d have to drink it more often, or more than one cup a day, but as with a lot of the benefits that Pukka advertises for their herbal tea. A lot of the time I find that it’s very psychosomatic: if you enjoy the tea, enjoy brewing it and the taste of it, then you’ll probably feel better when you drink it. For the more physical benefits like what Cleanse is supposed to do, your mileage may vary.
Preparation
So I decided to cold steep this today simply because I was lazy and I wanted a good tea that I could just toss in a mug and I didn’t want to bother boiling water so I just tossed a bag of this in a mug, filled it with some fresh water, and plunked an ice cube in (atrocious, I know). The results have actually been pretty good!
It’s not nearly as spicy as if I had brewed it properly, but the vanilla really comes through. It’s like drinking liquid vanilla with a hint of spice at the back of your throat, and I really love it.
Preparation
Had a mini girls’ day out today that involved going to one of the organic/local shopping centres that’s usually a bit too far out of our range to make it a regular stop and picked up a box of this because I don’t usually see it at my local bulk store.
The instructions say to brew with boiling water and steep for at least 5 minutes, but with Pukka herbal teas I steep them for as long as I want. So far that has yet to failed me, and Vanilla Chai continues that streak! I just popped one of the bags in one of my larger mugs and let it sit until it was cool enough for me. The liquor doesn’t colour much at first, but it becomes a nice light gold after the recommended five minutes.
The scent is very light and predominantly cinnamon, which is more cinnamon than you get while drinking it. It has a very spicey aftertaste, while the sweetness from the vanilla and licorice is what hits your palete and tastebuds first. I found myself getting the spice at the back of my throat and it was a bit unpleasant. The vanilla does tend to get lost under the licorice, though.
As a straight up masalla spice blend with some vanilla, it’s not something I’ve seen before. But it is definitely very spicey and probably not for passive tea drinkers.
Preparation
A hectic day and now a relaxing night and what better way can you relax than with a chai tea?
The instructions say to brew this for at least 5 minutes using boiling fresh water. That is exactly what I have done for this tasting note.
The colour is a nice golden yellow liquid that smells sweetly cinnamon. I love cinnamon.
The taste is subtle and spicy with cinnamon tones with a kick of licorice in the after taste. A very cheeky blend that catches up to you with each sip you have. After half a cup though it tastes primarily of the licorice and it over powers the rest of the flavours, I was hoping that it would have more cinnamon in there and some vanilla since after all this is supposed to be a vanilla chai.
Overall this is not for me, it’s not vanilla, it’s not cinnamon, it’s just pure licorice. Still refreshing but just not to my tastes. This one will be up for a trade if anyone is interested.
Preparation
Really rough day today on the emotional stress. In an attempt to calm down and sooth the frayed nerves, I lugged myself up off the computer chair and went to the tea cabinate. And I stared at it. And stared at it. And stared at it.
See, I try to limit the caffeine in my system as much as possible, except lately I’ve been buying more camelia sinensis tea; and in a not-so-great headspace, caffeine isn’t exactly a so-great choice of consumption.
So I dug out my bags and my tins and my boxes, and I reached all the way to the back and pulled out… this. Relax, from Pukka, which I’m not sure I have had or seen in a good couple of months. And on a whim, since it’s what’s there, it’s in my hand, I need something tasty, I figure, “Why not?”
And Steepster, let me tell you, I can’t imagine why I haven’t been drinking this tea every day for the past eight months.
It is deliciously sweet from the licorice, with the marshmellow root being the strongest flavour. In the bag it actually smells predominantely of fennel and ginger, a bit spicey, but once brewed it is wonderfully mellow and sweet. You might get a bit of a nip at the back of your throat, but it’s nowhere near a masala chai. After my first cup I marched right back to the kitchen to make myself two more.
The liquor is yellow, definitely from thet chamomile, fennel, and marshmellow root. Its in cup scent is mostly the sweet herbs and chamomile, though you can get a little bit of the cardomom and ginger.
I really, really recommend this tea. I can’t confirm any of the health benefits Pukka promises, but I do know that I’m feeling a little better after having something really tasty and rediscovering a much-loved tea. I can see Relax quick becoming one of my indulgent teas, since it’s just so sweet and soothing without any sweeteners. And, little tidbit, it goes incredibly well with a nice glass of wine! Pick some up if ever you have the opportunity.
Preparation
This sounds lovely….are you in the GTA? If so, where did you find this?
I am in the GTA! The store I usually get it from is called Better Bulk, an organic bulk store on the Danforth by Woodbine street. It’s also carried by The Big Carrot in The Carrot Common (Danforth and Chester), and I know Loblaws (and Dominion, I think?) are starting to carry Pukka teas in their health/organics sections.
Oooooh, I need to check this out!
Wonderful review! I just bought some of this myself and enjoyed it also, though I’ve only had one cup so far and it was pretty weak (I’ll steep it longer next time). I also enjoy Pukka’s “Detox” tea, it has a very strong and somewhat odd flavor, but I really like it.
Great tea review! I agree wholeheartedly! I picked this up a week after I tried the Pukka “Cleanse” last month. I loved the “Cleanse” so decided to try “Relax”. Boy am I ever glad I did. I’m being serious when I say it worked better to calm my nerves and put me to sleep then the sedative I take occasionally from the doctor. One cup of this and not long after I was snoozing like a baby! I was shocked at how effective a herbal tea could be to relax someone. I won’t be without this gem.
BuyTheStars my family lives right near Main and Danforth! I was born at Toronto East General, wow small world huh? :)
Btw, I bought this at Zehrs in Keswick so I’m thinking it should be available downtown if it’s here ;) I wish there was a DavidsTea up here though!
This used to be one of my favourite Pukka teas (hence the 100 rating that I gave it before even writing a review), but lately I’ve just been… disastisfied with it.
I think it has something to do with the water I use, but I just can’t seem the get the same strength as what I used to be able to get? It may be that the few bags I have left are old, but I don’t think that’s the case, they’re no older than six months and I have Pukka tea that’s much older than that and it still tastes fine.
I do think this tea is better iced/chilled than hot, so that may have something to do with it. The vanilla can be hard to find and it tastes like you’re just drinking chamomile, in which case, you know, why not just brew some straight up chamomile if that’s all the flavour you get? The fennel seed and licorice barely come through, and calling something from Pukka bland is something I thought I’d never do, but I think just using one bag per 6oz cup of water for brewing may be just that: bland. I’ll be honest, I don’t have the best habits when it comes to the water I use (I use tap water and sometimes if there’s a bit of water left in the kettle I will just use that; atrocious, I know), so I’m sure that factors into it, but still.
My advice: this always tastes best for me when I brew a large batch of it and use 3-4 teabags in a medium to large pot, so unless I figure out what (if anything) is wrong with the remaining batch I have, brew this stronger than you normally would bagged tea/Pukka/tea in general.
I’m going to leave my rating where I had it before, but if I come back and it’s more of the same I might lower it.
