I remember having this for the first time and being ridiculously surprised about how it tasted. It’s very savory, and if you’re looking for a traditional, camellia sinensis tea, this likely isn’t for you, but I love it.
I’m a fan of Thai food, and this goes perfectly with pad thai, Thai hot & sour soup, or a Thai curry; I’m sure it would go with any number of other dishes as well. It’s warm and soothing and, at the same time as it’s energizing, very relaxing with the mellow undertones from the licorice. I personally wouldn’t call it spicy, but then, I’ve talked about my love of spicy things before so take that with a grain of salt; the lemon verbana and licorice root definitely do make it sweet, but I unfortunately don’t know enough about amla fruit to really judge it and what it does in the tea. Pukka’s website calls it an Indian Gooseberry and says that it’s used in ayurvedic practices.
I like curling up with this when it’s cold out, so I don’t have it often in the summer, but it’s perfect for fall and winter. I don’t find it ‘energizing’ as in it gives me more physical energy to stay awake/be alert, but clears my head and helps me focus on doing one thing (especially when I’m multitasking out the wazoo, haha), such as… writing this review when I have a paper to be editing.
It’s not one of Pukka’s teas that I have very often, but I do think it’s one of their best.
