Healtea
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I was mailing out some tea for a friend yesterday and while I was at the post office I noticed a display with a bunch of sparkling drinks on it, including a nice feature on Healtea’s sparkling iced tisane line. Seems like they’ve updated all of the branding on their cans, and I have to say they look much more modern and approachable. The old designs were very dated looking IMO and between that and the focus on herbal ingredients they had a more niche/isolating “herbal remedy” kind of vibe to them that probably appealed to the “almond mom” type of consumer but I’d guess likely not a lot of other people…
As a local brand I’ve run across them quite a bit sampling at various venues (including MTL Tea Festival) and it’s almost always their dandelion or ginger drinks they’re sampling which taste fine but like… eh. All this to say that in this beautiful display I saw a flavour I’ve never seen them showcasing elsewhere: Hibiscus + Mango. I don’t know if that’s because this is new or maybe less popular. Couldn’t tell you. I did pick up a can though to drink on my commute home and damn it was good. Blew any other flavour I’ve tried from them way out of the water.
Even with the fizz from the carbination, there was a richness to the mouthfeel that I loved and feel like can sometimes be missing in hibiscus based drinks which can lean a little thin and sharp. This was bright, tangy, and tart – and anything but shrill. I got a ton of that deep red, berry-ish hibiscus flavour but also a really ripe and sweet mango puree that gave a tropical twist and almost cocktail-like note to the drink. The two were so tasty together!
Like… why is this not the thing you’re sampling at events!? It’s a winner!
Montreal Tea Festival – Tea #7
The last of the three RTD’s from Healtea’s booth – and somewhere in the middle for me in terms of flavour. I actually think this is the strongest of their three offerings conceptually; it’s a ginger/chamomile with some lemon in it. I’d probably enjoy it much more if I actually liked chamomile tea, but I will say that the taste of the chamomile was really apparent and if you actually enjoy that note I think you’d like this. Like the others, I found this a little bit weak/watery, but I actually sort of like that it was a softer take on a ginger profile!? The lemon was very delicate at well, but I get that it isn’t supposed to be a main flavour so it’s fine.
Overall impression of this company? They’re fine – the product is OK quality (nothing bad but nothing mind blowing either). I don’t think they’re filling a big void in the RTD retail space though, and in the category that they are hitting on I really don’t feel like they’re the strongest example of how to achieve those profiles. Happy to have had the chance to sample their whole assortment though!
Sipdown (1542)!
Another freebie RTD from the MTL Tea Festival discovery box! This is one that I’ve tried before at the first festival. I didn’t love it back then, and truthfully I don’t love it now either. However, I think it’s much more pleasant than that first taste. Sweet and minty with herbal undertones – but not too shabby! Sippable and refreshing but not something I would reach for under most circumstances.
Flavors: Dandelion, Herbs, Mint, Sweet
Montreal Tea Festival – Tea #6
I think this was my least favourite of the three flavours offered at Healtea’s booth. Conceptually I think the idea of a mint/dandelion RTD sounds nice but I found the sample rather weak/watery and there was a muddy/dirty tasting quality to the mint in this drink.
Montreal Tea Festival – Tea #5
So, one of the booths at the festival was a ready to drink/bottled tea company; Healtea!
They had three different flavour options out so we just rapid fire drank all three. I didn’t really spend any time lingering on them, just formed some quick snap impressions. It wasn’t the most interesting booth at the festival by a long shot so we didn’t dwell on it long…
This was my favourite of the three flavours – it was, in my opinion, the most unique and interesting taste with a smooth and lightly sweet herbaceous profile with distinct notes of nettle and rosemary. I feel like I’m really just a sucker for anything rosemary, though. However, even with it being my favourite of the bunch I didn’t exactly think it was exceptional. Though I can totally see how this combination of ingredients would be really thirst quenching.