Pukka

I like most of Pukka’s teas. This one is a bit mild in taste for me, but I guess that’s what you get with a chamomile base. I taste chamomile and a hint of licorice. I’m afraid I don’t get the vanilla at all.

I’ve had a raging headache all day, and this is a nice relaxing tea to have before I go to bed.

sipping some now…taste delish! Now hopefully my belly stops aching

I love the nettle flavor of this tea it’s light and nutty, and my face actually started clearing up a tad after about a month of drinking it.

As a lover of all the ingredients in this herbal infusion I was stoked to happen upon this on the grocery store shelf. Tasting this tea did not disappoint — lots of licorice flavoring with an undercurrent of chamomile and marshmallow.

However, I will warn anyone who doesn’t know about the side effects of real licorice root: hypertension and edema are rather common with even moderate consumption. This tea has enough in it that after 3 nights of drinking this before bedtime I found myself with bad hypertension for about 4 hours despite no history of it.

So, if the flavors appeal to you go for it, but know what you could be getting yourself into.

The flavor is quite subtle; I wish there were more rose and lavender in it. But it is a good nighttime blend, it does help me relax.

I wanted a different sort of peppermint tea…where other flavors actually stood out and toned the peppermint. Which is why I had high hopes for this one. But no, totally disappointed…can’t even finish a whole cup.

This is my new go-to for colds and upset stomach, it totally works! It’s a little strong at first but I got used to it. It’s fantastic with fresh lemon too.

I had this at a local restaurant as an appetizer recently and I was surprised (pleasantly) by it. I do love ginger tea, but this is a sweet and spicy one, not just the spice. I often drink it to settle my stomach or to help digest after meals but the sweetness of this really made it feel like a treat before my meal. I wouldn’t buy it I don’t think, but I’m really into loose teas over bagged teas, however I would certainly order it again!

Floral, grassy, sweet, and a little bit musty. I was excited to try it based on the variety of flowers in the ingredients, but I’m afraid the chamomile dominates and the rest play supporting roles. Still, it’s a nice relaxing cup to have right before bed, even if it isn’t terribly exciting.

It has a nice flowery blend. There is also this sweet aftertaste at the back of my throat (same one as in Celestial’s Tension Tamer) that I just cant place…common ingredients are chamomile and licorice but i don’t think it is either of those.

I really like that sweetness at the end…if anybody knows what it is..and the other teas that have that – pls, let me know :)

Thanks for this sample, Kasumi!

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

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.

This is my favourite Pukka tea. The rich taste of licorice and cinnamon is great for a chilly evening. I wasn’t a tea drinker until I tried Pukka’s teas. I’ve since branched out into loose leaf teas, but this bagged tea still has a place in my cupboard.

No notes yet.

Yum. Good for digestion. A kind of decaf chai for after dinner. Nice cardamom flavor.

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.

A slightly sweet tulsi tea, quite smooth, is nice

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.

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.

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.

I’m not usually a huge chamomile fan, but this one’s nice. Pale golden liquor, sweet taste without any strong chemical undertones. Can’t discern much of the vanilla/licorice notes, but overall it’s a workable evening fall/winter drink.

No notes yet.

Have another mug of this right now and still love it; warm and mellow and soothing and so, so calming.

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.