Tea of the Week: Numi Organics’ Savory Tea

Are you ready for Thanksgiving yet? I’m definitely not. Lots on my to-do list this week including brining my bird and finally making up my mind about which sides to make. If you’re like me and are officially in last-minute holiday mode, Numi Organics’ Savory Teas might be just the teas for you to check out. Filled with herbs, spices, vegetables, and decaffeinated tea, these infusions can add a burst of fresh harvest flavor to your Thanksgiving menu.

There are 6 different flavors of Numi Organic Savory Tea. These infusions are sometimes found in the soup aisle of the market, and sometimes found in the tea aisle. Since they have a light broth-like essence about them, the teas are perfect for adding an extra layer of flavor into soups, stews, and brines. You can even use them to flavor the water you use for boiling potatoes or cooking rice.

For stronger flavor, I like to steep the teas for at least 10 minutes. The savory teas make a cozy snack next to a sandwich, salad, or light calorie conscious meal. Even use them like my tea blogger friend Nicole Martin from Tea For Me Please does, in her recipe for Tomato Mint Scones!

Other than the crimson red Beet Cabbage blend, there isn’t much to note about these teas in terms of their looks. Numi sells these teas both in a sampler box and by single flavor, so my suggestion is to start with the variety pack. My favorite use for these blends is to use them for adding flavor in simple chicken soup recipes, the same way that I use genmaicha to flavor my Green Tea Chicken Soup. The tea adds just a light flavor boost, giving the tea term vegetal truly authentic meaning!

Tasting Notes for Numi Organics’ Savory Tea Garden Sampler:

Broccoli Cilantro (Decaf Green Tea): Strong taste of celery seed and onion. Slightly spicy from the black pepper and turmeric. I threw a bag of this tea into the pot when steaming rice the other day and loved how it gave the rice a light veggie essence.

Tomato Mint (Decaf Black Tea): This is my favorite of the bunch. It’s similar to what a tomato-based vegetable juice tastes like without the density and salt. The mint adds a pop of freshness to the blend without tasting too herbal like a mint tea would.

Spinach Chive (Decaf Green Tea): From just a whiff, it’s obvious that there are chives in this blend. This tea is like the Broccoli Cilantro blend, but slightly sharper and brighter from the added dried lime and dill.

Beet Cabbage (Decaf Black Tea): Beets, cabbage, and apple give this tea body and a gorgeous ruby-red color. The blend is mildly sweet and spicy from the mustard seed and cloves. A tasty blend for fall or winter, especially if you enjoy Russian borscht.

Fennel Spice (Decaf Green Tea): So if you’ve had fennel before you know that it faintly tastes of licorice. On its own, this isn’t my favorite blend, but I can see that this tea would be great if used in a light seafood based soup like a bouillabaisse or paired with roasted fish. The added dried orange peel helps to mellow out this blend.

Carrot Curry (Decaf Green Tea): Tastes exactly as you would expect it to. Mildly sweet from the carrots and earthy and warm from the yellow curry powder. There’s also a touch of ginger and cilantro which makes me think of it as the tea version of my Chicken Curry Puffs.

GET IT: You can find these teas at well-stocked organic or health food stores like Whole Foods or online at  Numi Organic Tea and on Amazon…Happy Harvesting my friends!

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Bonnie Eng

They are very different Miss K! If for some reason you don’t like them on their own, throw them in with your soups and stocks–works like a charm! 🙂

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Chaya

tomato mint?! carrot curry?! that sounds amazing! I would LOVE to try that in a savory scone recipe. such a great idea.

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Bonnie Eng

Isn’t that a great idea? I haven’t tried Nicole’s recipe yet, but will once Turkey duties are over! Happy Early Thanksgiving Chaya! 🙂

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Sue

How awesome is this?!!! I am thinking it may be similar to a veggie broth, and we love to drink broth around here. So glad you introduced me to these blends, I will definitely give a try soon. Have a very happy thanksgiving!!!!

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Bonnie Eng

Exactly! These are like veggie broths without the salt so that you can add the sodium to suit your personal taste. Happy Thanksgiving Sue!! You must be super busy making scrumptious pies, ya!!?? 🙂

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shootingvienna

What?! Never heard of savoury teas before but they sound like fun! Especially the tomato mint sounds yummy. I am not fond of carrots so I will have a pass on that one 😉

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Bonnie Eng

Yes, love the tomato mint…kind of like a very light Bloody Mary! It’s weird, I don’t like cooked carrots so much but I like raw ones…go figure. 🙂

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Liz Ferguson

Savory tea! I had no idea that such things even existed, but I will look for them now. This is a great blog and your photos are lovely!

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Bonnie Eng

Hi Liz! You’re right, savory tea is definitely a new concept. They are great for cooking with and wonderful as a light snack. Thanks so much for the complements and for dropping me a line! Loved hearing from you! 😉

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Stephanie Smart

I bought this tea a Whole Foods because I thought it was so unique. I tried it on its own as a regular tea, but I find myself struggling to crave it own its own. But these ideas to use as a base for rice and soups is amazing!!! That scone idea seems amazing too. Thanks for the suggestions 🙂

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Bonnie Eng

I have to agree with you Stephanie! I also enjoy these much more with some application in cooking! I like that they add subtle flavor without overwhelming. 😉 Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you make those scones!

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