Choice Tea
A Blog about Choice Tea
I drink tea. I drink coffee as well, but I grew up with tea, and I like all the different flavors and tastes of tea. There is green, white, oolong, black, chai, and herbal tea. Tea contains anti-oxidants, which help aging intelligently, and keep free radicals at bay. In addition, tea has something that coffee does not: theanine. This is an amino acid that counters the effects of caffeine. It is also used in treating anxiety and high blood pressure, and helping to prevent Alzheimer’s. I am in favor of preventing diseases that make me lose my ability to think and function. And sometimes I don’t want the ramp up of coffee, but I need to get some work done. Like now.
Here’s me shopping in the grocery store: the packages are endless. The rows of tea are numerous. Brands jump out, new tea with fancy names glitter from boxes, sparkling tins, single packs, loose leaf. What’s a shopper to do when searching grocery shelves and tea shops? It is almost overwhelming, the tea choices.
If, perhaps, you choose Choice Tea, you choose the first exclusively organic tea sold in this country, not including medicinals. From 1989, Choice Teas have been a responsible, ethical tea company, based in the Georgetown area of Seattle. They oversee 100 products, including the labeling and packaging of their tea. As for ethics, in 2000, they were the first fair trade certified tea company. By 2010, they were non-GMO verified. Green-e-Certified renewable energy certificates (REC’s) from wind power are purchased to offset 100% of the facility’s electricity. Didn’t I say that they were responsible? Choice has also won the Responsible Packaging Award. They take organic, unadulterated tea seriously. I appreciate that.
And did I mention that they have several traditional choices for tea, plus chai and herbal, which really isn’t a tea but a tisane. The nice thing about Choice Tea is lack of blending, for the most part. The teas are straight forward: Classic Green, Genmaicha, Oolong, Darjeeling, Classic Black, Earl Grey, White Peony. What it is, is all it is. Even the herbals are uncomplicated: Chamomile, Ginger, Peppermint, Rooibos. They do get carried away with blends of Lemon Lavender Mint (yum!), Masala Chai, and Rooibos Superfruit.
As I also drink coffee (oh stop!), it was suggested to me to try the Wild Forest Black Tea that Choice makes. The ancient tea trees are allowed to grow to full height, instead of a convenient plucking size, thereby allowing the tea to become stronger. Rocket fuel strong. Holy cow, was that strong! If you are looking for a definite buzz from caffeine, the Wild Forest is worth a try. Ok, so it isn’t coffee. Get over it. It wasn’t bitter at all, and I could tell that “nap time” wasn’t happening anytime soon.
My favorite for today, because tomorrow is a different day and I could very well be in a different mood, is Liquorice Peppermint. And for all you spell check police, Liquorice IS spelled correctly. As I don’t like the taste of plain water, this is a tea that I can drink iced all day. Get out of your rut and try something new. Your brain loves new things. And you won’t age as fast. 
If you haven’t tried it, Choice Tea is nice, straight-forward tea. Just like the company. And a change from coffee. Not that anyone is giving up coffee. Let’s don’t get silly.