Ready to try something new? When it comes to tea, there’s no end to the possibilities. Here’s our list of 7 unusual fruit teas and their health benefits.
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Although there’s plenty to be said for common fruit teas like mixed berry or apple and cinnamon, we like to mix things up a bit and experiment with some different, unusual fruits in our NutraTea blends.
As well as bringing an exotic twist to our herbal teas, these fruits bring a range of health benefits that add a little something extra to your brew. From hedgerow classics like hawthorn berry and rose hip, to the exotic flavours of acerola and bitter melon, there’s plenty for those with adventurous palates to explore.
In this blog post, we’ll look at seven of these unusual fruit teas in more detail and give you some of the headline benefits of each ingredient.
1. Bilberry
You’d be forgiven for mistaking these small dark blue berries for blueberries – they are very similar in appearance. Indeed, bilberries are often known as European blueberries. Like their American counterparts, these small berries are packed with health benefits.
Bilberries are best known for supporting our eye health. They’re used to ease eye strain and dry eyes and may also help to prevent eye conditions like glaucoma and cataracts.
That’s why we use bilberries in our NutraVision blend, along with herbs and other fruits that help to keep our eyes healthy.
2. Hawthorn Berry
A well-known sight in hedgerows around the UK, hawthorn is a tree with a strong place in folklore. Said to belong to the fairies, this tree is also beloved by herbalists for its many health benefits.
The small red berries of the hawthorn are known as haws. Since these berries are fairly tart, they aren’t generally eaten raw, but are a delicious addition to a herbal tea blend. Packed with vitamins, hawthorn berries are traditionally used to treat heart issues and support the circulatory system.
Hawthorn berries are one of the star ingredients in our NutraLipid tea – a blend aimed at combatting high cholesterol and maintaining your heart health.
3. Guarana
A tropical fruit that is native to Brasil, guarana looks oddly like an eyeball, with its white aril, black seed, and red shell. The seeds of this fruit are particularly prized and have been used in indigenous herbal medicine for centuries.
A natural source of caffeine, guarana is also packed with antioxidants and has a profile similar to green tea. Guarana is often used to boost concentration and banish fatigue. It may also help with weight loss – speeding up our metabolisms and helping with fat burning.
We use guarana in our NutraBoost blend to fight tiredness and improve your focus. It’s also an ingredient in NutraTrim, our tea aimed at helping you maintain a healthy weight.
4. Acerola
Also known as Barbados cherries, the fruit of the acerola is packed with vitamin C, as well as other beneficial vitamins and minerals. Found in the Caribbean and Central and South America, the fruit of this tree isn’t actually a cherry at all, despite looking very similar.
All that vitamin C makes acerola a popular supplement for boosting the immune system and helping our bodies fight infection and disease. Vitamin C is also important for collagen formation, wound healing, and maintaining our teeth and bones.
We use acerola in our NutraFlow blend, which is designed to support the urinary tract and help you avoid UTIs. All that vitamin C helps our bodies fight off the pathogens that can cause urinary tract infections. Vitamin C appears to be especially effective against infections caused by nitrate-reducing bacteria, according to Live UTI Free.
5. Bitter Melon
A popular tropical fruit grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, bitter melon is often used in savoury dishes. As the name suggests, this melon isn’t sweet at all but has a bitter flavour that intensifies as it ripens.
Bitter melon is also a popular traditional medicine, mainly used to treat diabetes and high cholesterol. It helps with blood sugar control, acting similarly to insulin and helping your cells use glucose more effectively.
We use bitter melon as the main ingredient in our blood sugar management tea, NutraGlycemia.
6. Rose Hip
The round, red fruit of roses, these hedgerow fruits are a common sight in the late summer and autumn. Rose hips have been used in European herbal medicine for centuries and are also a favourite of the beauty industry, where they are used to regenerate our skin and even out our skin tone.
Rose hips are packed with vitamin C and other antioxidants. As a result, they are often used to combat oxidative stress and inflammation. In particular, rose hip is a popular herbal remedy for osteoarthritis, helping to keep our joints mobile and pain-free.
You can find rose hips in our NutraBone tea, a premium blend designed to support healthy bones and joints.
7. Juniper Berry
If we’re being technical, juniper berries aren’t actually a fruit at all. Instead, they are the seed cones of the juniper tree. But these dark purple seed cones are commonly referred to as berries and have many benefits for our health. So, we thought they were worth including.
Best known for their use in making gin, juniper berries are rich in antioxidants, making them a potential ally in combatting inflammation and oxidative stress. Juniper berries also have antimicrobial properties, helping to fight infection and disease.
Juniper berries can increase the volume of urine and help keep our urinary tracts and kidneys healthy. That’s why we use it in NutraFlow, our tea blend for keeping your body’s fluid levels balanced.
