Diving into the world of herbal tea

Tea is no stranger to the people of this country. In fact, you can find tea arrangements twice or thrice a day on a Bangladeshi household's table - be it a wakeup alarm for the morning hours, an energy booster for post lunch hours or the perfect company for evening snacks. 

Soothing black and classic milk tea have been the go-to beverages for most people. But interestingly, there has recently been a change in the collective palette when it comes to tea. Although we have grown up to the melodious jingles of famous local black tea brands, now people of all ages are looking into the health benefits of drinking herbal tea. 

Herbal tea is an infusion or a blend of various leaves, fruits, flowers or the roots of edible, non-tea plants with black, green or white tea as a base. A wide assortment of different infusions are available these days at local stores or super shops. 

1. Kazi & Kazi Tea

Kazi and Kazi Tea estate, also known as K&K produces a variety of organic tea blends for both local and foreign markets at affordable prices. K&K's Green Tea is gentle on the palate, so it's a good choice for beginners who might feel intimidated by the bitterness of organic tea. It has a refreshing and grassy taste, with a pleasant aroma and a light bitter undertone. 

The 'fan favourite' flavour from K&K is the Jasmine Green Tea. With its beautiful lemon-green packaging, the Jasmine Green Tea is very light, soothing and fragrant, with a hint of sweetness. 

Another light herbal tea would be K&K's Green Lemongrass Tea, which gives off a beautiful and calming lemongrass aroma.' Add a dash of lemon juice, take it without sugar, and you have yourself the perfect late noon tea.If you like to drink tea right after a rich meal, look no further than these two flavours mentioned above. 

You can also consider K&K's newest addition, the Green Mint Tea, which comes in a very fancy packaging and carries an earthy undertone with a touch of mint. 

The myriad flavours of K&K Tea is available in packs of 40 tea bags, the price ranging from Tk170 to Tk300. If you're thinking about how to try out all the different flavours and not go broke at the same time, get yourself the K&K Medley Pack. 

2. Tulsi Pati

Tulsi Pati dons an alluring art in its packaging and offers a delightful assortment of Herbal teas. Aside from its signature Green Tea, Tulsi Pati supplies a unique blend of Lemon Ginger Tea, serving you an overwhelming fragrance of lemon with the slight spiciness of ginger. This tea is sweet, light and comfortable to the palate. 

But if you like to stick to the original strong and earthy flavours of ginger, Tulsi Pati Tea & Ginger will provide you with that refreshing spiciness. Another must-have from this brand would be its carefully curated Masala flavour, which is enriched with the aroma of cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and star anise. 

Lastly, staying true to the brand's name, you can enjoy the special earthy notes of a mixture of herbs in the Tulsi Natural and Dia Tulsi Teas. All of the mentioned flavours can be found in a package of 30 sachets for about Tk90-Tk150.

3. Halda Valley

Halda Valley aims to bring the finest, richest and most authentic flavours of Chinese herbal teas. The brand's Dragon Well Green Tea is served as loose leaves in sachets and appears to contain hand pressed flattened leaves of a rich emerald green colour. After dipping a sachet in moderately hot, but not boiling water, you will find a cup of soft yellowish shaded tea with the occasional golden hue. The tea is delicate and smooth with its grassy, vegetal sweetness and notes of nuts.

Halda Valley's Silver Needle White Tea is the only white tea produced by a local tea estate, and is regarded as a very rare and precious tea. The fine young leaves that would later produce the golden-apricot coloured tea is harvested with the utmost care. It has a strong aroma of grass, flowers and blossoms, while its taste ranges from woody, airy, and smooth traces. The full bodied sweetness and delicate flavours are highly enjoyable. 

Halda Valley offers these teas at Tk105 for six sachets. For a soulful and soothing experience with their exclusive tea menu, you can also consider visiting the aesthetically pleasing Halda Valley Tea Lounge in Gulshan Avenue.

4. Tetley

Bored of the plain taste of Green Tea? Fear not, you can now explore some interesting Green tea infusions, thanks to Tetley! The brand is not limited to the Original Green tea, but also two exclusive blends of it, namely – Green tea with Lemon & Honey, and Green Tea with Masala. Apart from the Green teas, Tetley also offers a comforting Lemon & Honey Tea that speaks loudly of the zesty lemon balm and raw sweetness from honey. The brand's Masala Tea can also be a good addition to your tea cabinet. You can get a pack of 25 sachets of these flavours for approximately Tk150.