G Tea - Aloe Vera Tea

 

Interesting....

Read on...

            Our local Asian supermarket has an aisle dedicated to just tea, health drinks and dried herbs. We decided to try a new tea, something different from the green tea/black tea standbys. In the past we have tried aloe vera in a number of forms, so this aloe vera tea sounded like it was for us.

            Aloe vera is most commonly used in its raw form to treat cuts and burns. The plant is used for a number of health benefits as well. When taken orally, aloe vera has been known to improve digestion, detoxify the body, help with inflammation, can lower blood sugar levels, aid in weight loss and overall heal the body. None of these claims have been proven by the FDA, and consuming aloe in large quantities can actually be harmful to the body. The aloe vera trend has led to a number of different health drinks, teas, and supplement pills In order to make this plant into tea, the sap from the leaves is dried and later steeped in hot water. The tea is said to have similar health benefits to using the sap raw as well. You can wash burns and cuts in the steeped liquid as you would an aloe based cream.

            We used two tea bags for 4 cups of hot water.  The recommended amount is 1 cup of hot water to 1-2 tea bags. The tea has a mild licorice scent and a floral aftertaste. The floral taste is from the gingko biloba mixed in the tea bag. It is slightly bitter, but the taste is similar to green tea. Like most teas, the longer the tea steeps the stronger the flavor gets. We are both indifferent about the beverage. If we had to pick whether to buy this tea again or a green tea, we’d go with green. Aloe vera doesn’t have much of a taste on its own, but as an herbal tea or tea alternative, we would recommend.  There are a number of aloe vera products out there that we DO love, just not this one!