POLPALA,AERVA LANATA | Herbal Tea – Wild Crafted Tea – 30g

Very little content.

I ordered this Aerva Lanata aka mountain knotgrass tea by Polpala as I love loose leaf teas and this is a traditional Indian remedy. I was intrigued that it's served cold or lukewarm. It's only a small pack, 30g of fluffy, woody tea with some dust and their instructions are to add a tablespoon of the tea to a mug, pour hot water over it and then leave to stew for an hour. It's to be drunk cold/lukewarm (depending on your mug) and they recommend doing so 20 minutes before meals up to 4 times a day. The loose leaf tea has a very subtle woody scent with the smallest hint of sage when you open the packaging, add hot water to the tablespoon of the tea – I made mine in a tea infuser mug – and it reminded me of marshmallow (the herb/tea, not the sweet) and then I let it sit for an hour whilst drinking a pot of something else. This is tea that needs planning, not when you feel thirsty but I think you could probably brew a pot in the morning and then leave it in a jug in the fridge once it's cooled down or covered on the worktop so it's ready when you need it. My tea infuser mug is made of lovely thick pottery and has a cover so, an hour after the tea was poured, it was still lukewarm. The colour was slightly stewed jasmine tea. The scent wasn't strong, light woodiness, a little lemon and liquorice. Inoffensive but not especially tempting – but also not disgusting like some natural remedies I've tried previously. The mouthfeel was quite thick, like cotton soaked in water and left for a few hours, not what I expected and the taste was cottony, too, plus I got sesame seeds and a little peanut taste after a few sips – NB, there are no peanuts in it so this isn't an allergy alert, it's just the taste. The finish was woody with a little light liquorice and a hint of lime. Again, not delightful but also not offensive. 4* – This is a classic natural remedy and time will tell if it helps. I've never deliberately made tea before that's meant to be drunk lukewarm and, after being steeped for an hour, I expected a stronger aroma and taste but it's nice enough and also thirst quenching and comforting, despite being drunk lukewarm. A curious tea and one worth trying

…I really want to like this tea. However, to me - someone who drinks herbal tea daily - it was like a small bag of fluff. Even after straining it still leaves a sediment in the mug. Faint aroma of wood. But I found it didn’t really taste of much I’m so sorry, thank you for the opportunity to try your tea, but I’m afraid I did not enjoy it.