angekfire Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I love love love Bengal Spice tea from Celestial Seasonings...a.k.a. "Tiger Tea" because it has a tiger on the box. It is delicious. With Celestial Seasonings you need to be diligent in checking labels. I had a few boxes in my cupboard before starting the Whole30 and found that all the flavours I had contained soy lecithin. I'm not sure about the bengal spice though but it was certainly a surprise to me to discover that. I found Lipton has a nice raspberry tea that is compliant, and most (not all) of the tetley teas I found are also compliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanel Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 How do you know the Vanilla Extract has no alcohol? What would the label say differently? I'm trying to figure this out because the Blueberry Muffin Larabar is out due to the same ingredient (Vanilla Extract). What makes the vanilla extract in the rooibos tea different than the vanilla extract in the Larabar? -hungry and confused on day 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 chanel - I know it can be confusing. Let me get an "official" word for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I had the vanilla extract question wit the fancy pants menu in ISWF. I opted not to serve it. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PitBullMamaLiz Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Yogi tea was mentioned above - most of the flavors I checked out have Stevia Leaf so are not compliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 FWIW, Trader Joe's Ruby Red Chai tea is a rooibus that is made without vanilla and is 100% Whole30 compliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzard77 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I love tea, I drink all sorts throughout the day. My morning blend is Numi Organic Chocolate Puerh, after steeping I whir it up with a few tablespoons of coconut milk and a tablespoon of coconut oil, delish! Throughout the day I sip hibiscus tea with orange zest and a touch of sparkling water over ice. I also love chamomile and blueberry, earl grey, or provence rooibos kombucha. I usually finish my evening with chamomile steeped with fresh grated ginger, cardamom pods, black pepper corns, and cloves, quiets my tummy and my mind. Oh yeah and "real" chai is super easy to make at home, it's similar to my above mixture that I added to chamomile, except you add cinnamon and use a black tea. Yummy! I too would love to know about the extracts as I have a Tazo tea, ingredients:Cocoa peels, yerba mate', honeybush, peppermint, licorice root, spearmint, natural flavors....this seemed iffy to me, any thoughts? I loved reading all the comments here, I'm always up for a good tea discussion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 chanel - I know it can be confusing. Let me get an "official" word for you Official word: Vanilla extract as an ingredient rules a product out, because darn near all vanilla extracts used commercially contain alcohol. However, vanilla bean is still fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Official word: Vanilla extract as an ingredient rules a product out, because darn near all vanilla extracts used commercially contain alcohol. However, vanilla bean is still fine. Okay, one final official clarification, pretty please. The recipe for pears on p. 283 calls for almond or vanilla extract. I asked about this a while back and people said it must be OK since it is in the book, but there was no official weigh in. I decided to hold off and have remained uncertain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Okay, one final official clarification, pretty please. The recipe for pears on p. 283 calls for almond or vanilla extract. I asked about this a while back and people said it must be OK since it is in the book, but there was no official weigh in. I decided to hold off and have remained uncertain. No problemo. The deal is, you CAN find VE without sugar or alcohol (like this one), so if you find it, you can use it. But in many recipes, it's easily omitted or subbed with vanilla bean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Nico it would assume that compliant extract is found. They do exist apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Pinch poke Robin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Nico it would assume that compliant extract is found. They do exist apparently. But I sure as heck am not paying $11 for 4oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 But I sure as heck am not paying $11 for 4oz. My pants would not be so fancy if my extracts cost that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boykinbaby Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I have a delish chamomile and lavendar tea and i will also have a cup of Mother's Milk tea, but i've got a 7 month old nurseling lol. Both taste good though, just plain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxamoll Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I'm starting tomorrow and it just occurred to me - can I have Gen Mai cha? (Not eating the leaves and rice obviously!) I have no idea if the brewing will pull stuff we don't want into the liquid or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Moxamoll, my gut tells me no. Unless pulling out the rice bits makes it okay. We'll let a moderator make the final decision, but it would be similar to using soaked rice water to thicken a sauce. I could be very wrong. Just out of curiosity, does it have a toasted rice flavor? It sounds very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I'm going to throw out a no here. Susan, your logic seems sound to me and I think it's a drink best shelved for 30 days. Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeljohnk Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I think there is some confusion here regarding tea and herbal infusions. I know tea is a general name for ALL infusions but what I want to know is whether Green tea is allowed or not. Green tea is fermented so this makes it different from herbals and this is why I ask the question. If any one knows the answer to this I would be grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I dont think plain green tea has ever been in question. Yes, it is allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxamoll Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Yes, it does taste like green tea with a toasted rice flavour - it's very good! But I guess it stays on the shelf for a while. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna@mymissingfactor Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Oh a tea thread, you have no idea how happy this makes me! I'm a huge addict (in a good way, not actual problem here folks!), so its actually relatively easy for me to switch to Whole30 complaint options given my collection is so big. Some general tea advice - if you're looking for more information about tea generally or a specific one, try joining steepster.com. Its a tea reviewing forum, and all the members are highly knowledgable (and there are a few great brands that directly interact with customers on there). You might find a new favourite brand, and I'm almost certain you will be able to find more options than you could have imagined that are Whole30 complaint. Look at trying some straight teas during your Whole30. As we all know, your tastebuds change when you start eating whole real foods exclusively, so don't be surprised if you can better appreciate a good cuppa. I certainly developed my love of white teas (dammit, why are they also usually the most expensive option?!) after dropping all processed crap from my diet. Green, blacks pu'erh, oolong and even some herbals can present differently on the palatte when you're not being confused by crappy food choices. And straight iced rooibos is actually my sports drink of choice! Get smart! If you're lucky to live in an area where a tea sommelier works (yes, they exist) or there is a great tea room, head along and annoy the crap out the staff asking questions. Correct brewing temperature, timing, the best methods for re-steeping, as well as the best tools will make your tea (or break it). And look at changing types of teas throughout the day to minimise your caffiene impact. Start with a hearty Irish Breakfast in the morning, then a green or oolong, white in the afternoon, then a straight peppermint after dinner. Even if you don't have a great tea room in your area, a good store (even some of the big chains like DavidsTea for you North Americans) will be able to suggest some complaint options and you can stock up on great pots, mugs, and appliances (what do I buy instead of junk food? Tea accessories. Its worse than shoes, I swear!). I noticed there are a lot of questions about vanilla - for my Whole30, I'm actually not having anything with Vanilla extract/essence. I have a black tea at home that is scented with vanilla bean (like a jasmine green). Scented ingredients are a good thing to look for as they aren't actually physically in the tea at all, the leaf has just been infused with the scent of the ingredient. If you're Australian and reading this, I'd suggest looking into the Rabbit Hole Tea Bar and The Art of Tea (disclosure - I do casual work for The Art of Tea, but only after being a long time customer, so my opinion is a long-held one). Both have a range of straight teas, and most of their ranges would be Whole30 compliant (with the exception of a few with chocolate in them, and one or two of the herbals in each have some sweetner in the dried fruit component. But their chais are great - only real spices with a tea or tisane base, no flavouring, or syrup or powder. RHTB are also exclusively organic, which is quite awesome. Generally, be careful when looking at 'big' companies' offerings - T2, Tazo, Starbucks, DavidsTea - you'll need to do a lot of ingredient reading. A lot of you have picked up on this above, but soy lectin and added sweetners of all varieties tend to be added to (especially) the flavoured options (though DavidsTea's straight teas are a great option, I love the Quangzhou Milk Oolong). Umm, yeah, so I'm a little into the whole tea thing (sorry for completely hijacking the thread!), and I'll add any other thoughts as they come to mind (unless you're already sick of me and I'll go and make myself another cuppa to compensate!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleolivia Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Tazo Orange Blossom and Passion herbal teas are both great and no sketchy ingredients! i also love Davids Tea but a lot of the fruit teas have sugar in the ingredients cause they are made with sweetened dried fruit. some have sprinkles even, so watch out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzard77 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 One of my favorite ice tea blends is hibiscus mint rooibos. Wegman's sells bulk tea and quite a few tisanes so I just buy each and custom blend my own. It's so refreshing on a hot day and has been a saviour for this dedicated sweetened iced tea drinker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenna@mymissingfactor Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 I love iced rooibos too! So amamzing in summer, we had a jug in the fridge all January. One of my favorite ice tea blends is hibiscus mint rooibos. Wegman's sells bulk tea and quite a few tisanes so I just buy each and custom blend my own. It's so refreshing on a hot day and has been a saviour for this dedicated sweetened iced tea drinker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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