An Honest Tuesday Tea Tasting
Of course, all of my #TuesdayTeaTasting's are honest, but this one is particularly so due to attending the UK launch of Honest, and finding out a little bit more about the drink and its founder...
Honest Launch
Honest is a new organic bottle herbal tea which is super popular in the USA and has finally made its way over to us tea-loving Brits. It launched in London last week at the Shoreditch cycle cafe 'Look Mum No Hands!' Among little fruits trees, citrus-scented flowers and pots of greenery, myself and other bloggers were treated to an Honest-inspired lunch while listening to the heart-felt story from one of the founders, TeaEO Seth Goldman.
Honest Beginnings
Seth founded Honest Tea in the US in 1998 with his Yale professor Barry Nalebuff. Seth spoke about how they started brewing batches in his kitchen. Apparently they filled old Snapple jars, stuck their own labels on, and took their concoctions to Whole Foods to pitch for sales. It must have tasted good as they got a order for 15,000 and had to quickly work out how they would fulfill the demand. 18 years later and they are the top-selling ready-to-drink organic bottled tea in the US and are still keeping their brand 'Refreshingly Honest'. It was quite an inspiring story for someone like me, starting their own little coaster company.
Honest Flavours
There are 3 bottles to pick from, all of which contain 100% organic certified ingredients. Lemon Flavoured Herbal Tea with Honey; the lightest and really refreshing, Orange and Mango
Flavoured Herbal Tea; packed with flavour, and Pomegranate and Blueberry Flavoured Herbal Tea; the most colourful of the bunch.
All 3 taste 'just a tad sweet' as it says on the bottle, and I quite like the hint of sweetness - just enough to take the edge off! Honest uses brewed herbal teas for its base. The camellia sinensis plant has played no part, so don't be expecting the taste of tea!
Honest Opinion
In all honesty, I wish there was more tea involved. The US has a wider variety with tea as the championed ingredient but they haven't (yet) made their way over here. I'm hoping they will! Until then I would give the Lemon Flavoured Herbal Tea my biggest thumbs up as it is so refreshing and perfect for what remains of summer.