Red Rose India Single Estate Blend Organic Green Tea has a notably intense green tea flavor, though very little bitterness when you follow the supplied steeping instructions. Most any green tea can become excessively sour if left to steep for too long, in water that’s too hot. But when brewed correctly, this brew tastes divine.
As thirsty and relentless green tea fans for a few decades now, we’re constantly checking for the cheapest yet best-tasting green teas. And, as organic green teas go, this Red Rose tea is among the cheapest and best tasting organics we’ve sampled, and for its price of under $3 per 20-count box, it tastes no different than premium teas. The avocado flesh green color looks nutritious and is thus, naturally pleasing to the eye. This brand of the beverage tends to be transparent and colored something like beer. But it sweetens nicely with agave nectar, stevia, or honey. It’s unique aroma shouts, “green tea,” aloud, but says little else. This brew smells precisely as a green tea should.
Benefits, Features, Advantages, and Pros
Organic and fair trade certified green tea. This product is certified USDA organic. Certified organic by NOFA-NY, Certified Organic LLC. Fair Trade certified, by Fair Trade USA.
Long shelf life. Keeps for over a year without much flavor shift due to aging, as long as you store it in a dry, dark, and cool place. Shelves in dry basements that are at least several feet off the floor work well, we’ve found.
Single estate blend. Grown in the Nilgiri region of Southern India, at the Korakundah estate, this tea product has been cultivated where tea tends to thrive best; at very high elevations above sea level, where the sun is very bright, and the air is quite thin. All the tea in this product comes from the same place as well. So you get a consistently wonderful tasting beverage, box after box, and teabag after teabag, and quality assurance is easier for the producer to sustain at the one location.
Assertive yet delicate taste. For those who like a strong green tea without the usually-accompanying bitterness, this drink is for you.
Pure tea product. This is a 100% natural green tea (it has to be, to qualify as organic); without chemical additives. No preservatives, colors, or artificial flavors. This beverage is about as purely natural as you can get. That’s true, even if you were to farm it yourself.
Health promoting ingredients. Contains natural tea flavonoids.
Individually wrapped tea bags. The teabags are individually wrapped in paper for freshness, and as a second step to preserve the delicate flavor, they wrap each box in cellophane. The one we bought smelled quite fresh once the fresh lock wrap was removed, though it had no aroma while still wrapped.
Requires little sweetener. For our tastes, this pure tea sweetens well with stevia, nectar, syrup, monk fruit, or Truvia. Stevia sweetens this tea without destroying the so-easily-masked green tea flavor. With bitterness being so low herein, less sweetener is required to season this beverage to taste, than is so in other brands we’ve tasted.
Typical caffeine concentration for green tea. Red Rose has caffeine, yes, that is naturally occurring and not added. The levels seem similar to other brands tasted, at 35 milligrams per serving. So this green tea triggers the same mood-lifting effects observed in the Salada, Great Value, Stash, Tazo, and Bigelow brands.
Moderately easy to find. Available at most larger grocery stores and teashops.
Disadvantages, Problems, Limitations, Cons, and Suggested Improvements
Teabags not wrapped airtight. Note that though these tea bags are individually wrapped, keep in mind that unlike Bigelow teas, these wrappings are not completely air-tight, as the aroma young tea leaves greets you as soon as you peel off the cellophane. So this tea may not stay fresh for as long as the Bigelow green teas, which do include a sealed surrounding bag for each tea bag.
Easy to over brew. If you leave the teabags in the hot water for more than roughly five minutes, a bitter tasting tea emerges.
Can stain teeth. Any green tea including Red Rose can stain the teeth. Indeed dental hygienists know when you’re drinking green tea, no matter the brand really, just from the discoloration they finds on front teeth. Yet the health benefits of green tea are worth the additional pain of slightly harder to clean molars. Besides, we’ve not found that any one brand of green tea stains teeth any more than another.
Caffeine Withdrawal symptoms. Can trigger a caffeine withdrawal headache if you drink this tea product regularly, and then stop suddenly.
Too much tea may exacerbate nausea. Particularly when I’ve not taken this tea for some days, I can feel dizzy when I pick it up again; especially when riding in a car after drinking it.
Honey covers the tea flavor quickly. Honey, for sweetening this green tea can completely mask the identifying flavor that makes the taste of green tea unique, if you add more than just enough for adequate sweetness. The tea flavor is easily destroyed by non-neutral, flavored sweeteners.
Brewing Instructions
- Remove one teabag from envelop and place in cup or mug.
- Heat water in kettle or microwave oven to just below boiling.
- Once hot, pour the water into the cup, over the teabag.
- Steep for two to three minutes, according to taste. Steep longer for a stronger green tea flavor.
- Add lemon, sugar, orange, or lime as desired.
- We recommend keeping a spoon in your cup, to stir the tea occasionally while drinking. This prevents any bitterness from accumulating at the bottom of your mug.
Ingredients
Organic fair trade certified green tea.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 tea bag (2 grams). Makes 8 fluid ounces prepared.
- Servings per container: 20.
- Calories: 0.
- Calories from fat: 0.
- Total fat: 0 grams, 0% DV.
- Sodium: 0 milligrams, 0% DV.
- Total carbohydrate: 0 grams, 0% DV.
- Protein: 0 grams.
Our Rating
This single-estate green tea from Red Rose is very close to top-notch. In fact, it’s one of the best-value green teas we’ve tried, at just under fourteen cents per serving. We got our 20-count box at Walmart for $2.68. We’d highly recommend this Red Rose organic tea. Bitterness is relatively low, and that signature green tea flavor is unusually strong. We rate this product at 96 out of 100.
Where To Buy Red Rose Single Estate Blend Green Tea
Look for Red Rose India Organic Green Tea in the dark green, pale green, and white box with the dark green and red lettering at larger grocery stores and tea shops.
References
- Green Tea on Wikipedia
- Red Rose Tea Company Website
- Organic Tea Definition on the Tea Encyclopedia
- Single Estate Blend Organic Green Tea Official Red Rose Product Page
- Where To Buy Red Rose Single Estate Blend Green Tea
Revision History
- 2015-01-26: Originally published.