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whenever i visit the tea alcove at Fairway Market i become overwhelmingly indecisive and want all the teas! i go around to each different brand inspecting the boxes for ingredients, checking steepster on my iPhone to get a better sense of how it will taste, and i’ll even sniff some of the boxes to see if any of the aroma has escaped, but i probably look like i’m secretly plotting a heist. plus i think the stock boy there thinks i’m a little nuts. oops!

but back to Pukka.. i found this tea in the aforesaid alcove & i must say it took me quite a while to make a decision, but luckily, the good thing about Pukka is that you can smell their tea bags from inside! you actually get a preview aroma coming from the box! I think their signature ingredient is fennel, as it’s listed in nearly all their tisanes…so not complaining! i love fennel, aniseed, rye/caroway, cumin/jeera & the like. they’re comforting savory herbs that remind me very much of the Indian food i love so dearly. and don’t get me started on the little black mustard (rai) seeds!!

anyway, the smell coming from the box was lovely plus, it had the ‘great taste gold 2011’ seal of approval. my nose was in accordance with professional tasters.. definitely worth a purchase! from the box alone i got the smell of licorice (but not an overbearing, sweet kind..an herbal, subtle kind) that is expertly balanced with the aniseed & fennel (both prominent). cardamom is another spice listed among the ingredients, and since i love cardamom in my chai & some desserts, Pukka Detox could seem to do no wrong.

first impressions when i brewed up a cup: the aroma of the infusion is primarily fennel/aniseed…using 2 bags, i feel like i am drinking a delicate savory broth reminiscent of Indian spices (the kind used in their curries as opposed to chai) although this tisane contains no turmeric, so don’t panic! i don’t really get cardamom from this tho…hmm. that’s okay, still delicious. other ingredients listed (in what must be very trace amounts) are coriander seed & celery seed. i suppose i do get a somewhat ‘vague’ impression of celery, given that the liquor is a lovely celery yellow-green & the overall aroma including the fennel do remind me somewhat of celery. celery lends itself perfectly to the fennel/licorice family of flavor & all are ‘bulb vegetables’ right? as you can tell, i majored in botany/horticulture ;p

a flavor note that also comes to mind is of fennel sourdough pretzel! something pretzel-y about this one…slightly bready. interesting! and i like it!

this pairs perfectly with my favorite straight green tea, Stash’s Organic Green, which is not currently in the database (and i must fix that!).. what’s outrageous about the pairing is that the flavor of the green tea is so clean…so crystalline…and it has some kind of light nutty-vegetal flavor which never gets bitter, and something just told me to mix it with Detox. they just work…according to my palate, at least!

if you feel like something herbal (besides chamomile), don’t want any caffeine, like aniseed & are perhaps looking for something to drink following a meal, i’d certainly recommend this!