Teas (and Brands that commonly use) artificial flavors/sweeteners?
I have been thinking on this subject for years really, but since It has only been since joining steepster that I grew deeply interested in flavored teas, it was not an issue till now. BUT…I really need to know which teas have artificial additives in them.
I am aware that many Davids Tea and Harney and Sons do…if anyone knows of individual teas or brands I would appreciate it. Equally, ways I can find out more, (I have started emailing some companies as well) or lists of flavored teas known not to have these, would be welcome.
thanks in advance!
Teavana also uses artificial flavours in most of their flavoured teas.
I find that most teas/tisanes that use fruit peices/chunks tend to have some kind of artificial flavouring or sweetener in them in order to enhance the flavour. Something I wasnt aware of until recently was that alot of blueberry flavoured items (not just tea), are actually flavoured with cranberry and other modified ingredients to mimic the taste of blueberry, as it is cheaper.
This is something I am interesed in as well as I find many teas often do not list that they are using artificial ingredients, or it is listed as something like: flavouring, extract, etc.
I think its safe to say that if a company is using natural flavorings they mention it because they are more expensive and generally seen as a benefit.
I didn’t realize that Harney & Sons adds sweeteners to their tea blends! I know that they clearly state that Hot Cinnamon Spice does not have any added sugar, but I couldn’t find any info on the other blends I checked.
I emailed the company this week, and they confirmed that most of their flavored tea includes artificial flavorings
Most of the more budget minded companies (H&S, Della Terra, Teavana) use artificial flavorings. The more expensive companies (Butiki, 52 Teas, Teavivre, DavidsTeas) stick to natural. At least thats my observation from personal experience.
Artificial flavorings, but not sweeteners. I can’t think of any H&S tea that includes sweeteners, acutally.
Della Terra uses artificial flavoring in many of their teas but when used it is clearly labeled.
We use flavors that are both organic and natural. They are also all vegan (our company is completely vegan) and gluten-free. We made a switch over a while ago but still have 1 lingering tea and 1 tisane. We only have one tea, that does have a combination of natural and artificial flavors (Classic Earl Grey). That is being phased out eventually as we have had a hard time making it strictly natural flavors. Our Cider Guayusa is the only offering that uses natural flavors that is not organic.
We also use dried and freeze-dried fruits that have nothing added and we don’t add sugar. Chocolate chips and chocolate chip bunny grahams are the only ingredients that we have that have any added sugar. We try to be as transparent as possible with ingredients but still need to add ingredient lists to some of the older blends on our site. We are always happy to answer any ingredient questions.
thank you for your candor here and all your efforts!
For scented and infused teas we also use both natural and organic flavor. Most of our blends are strictly a blend of fruits, herbs and flowers together or with a tea base. For instance, our Citrus Lavender Sage is just that, citrus peel blended with lavender and sage. No hidden ingredients. Our chocolate teas indicate the ingredients in the chocolate on our website. If you ever have any questions regarding our teas you know where to find me :)
Where can I find the ingredient list for H&S teas? I’m looking on their website, but I don’t see it..
I could not find it either. I had to email my questions.
FYI, not all “artificial flavors” are created equal. Read this post at Upton about nature-identical flavorings and how they are considered artificial in the US but not Europe:
http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFO_V20N2_Note.asp
thank you. I recently discovered the term “nature identical”, and have been wanting to look into what that is about.
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