(Caffeine Free Fruit and Herb Tea)

Country of Origin: Blend of various dried fruits and herbs from

Canada, USA, Thailand, Spain

Cup Characteristics: Wildberry currant and fruity,

tending sweet with a slight tart character

Infusion: Tending red

Ingredients: Luxury natural dried apple pieces, Hibiscus, Rosehip,

Cornflower petals, Natural dried currants, Elderberries, Natural flavors.

Information:

During the summer when our children were small, they were forever asking for sodas or other sugar laden drinks. Also they wanted to emulate us by having a cup of tea. Those of you who have inadvertently tried giving your children drinks that may contain caffeine of large amounts of sugar know that these are hyperactive combinations. You also probably feel a little guilty thinking ‘my child should be drinking something that is more healthy and not something that ‘wires' them up'. Well we formulated a ‘Kid's Tea'. We theorized that the Herb and Fruit teas are full of natural fruits which are very tasty and refreshing; there are significant amounts of Vitamin C and other essential nutrients in these dried fruits and they are caffeine free so all we had to do was make a blend that was appealing to children's taste buds.

This is where my children came in - they became human guinea pigs or perhaps a better term might be ‘young tea tasters'. Interestingly, when formulating these blends the reaction whether they were tasty or not was swift - probably one of the fastest tasting sessions we have ever carried out. Children and adults alike can enjoy these teas - either hot or cold! At home we would always keep a pitcher of Kid's Tea in the refrigerator, which our children consumed with great delight.

A few tips:

- do not sugar these teas excessively; there are natural sugars in the fruits, which sweeten the brew when rehydrated.

- make popsicles from the Kid's Tea for your children to enjoy outside with their friends

- let them pour their own drinks (outside of course! they have to learn sometime) - the low cost of kid's tea (despite it's wonderful taste) makes a learning curve relatively inexpensive.

- in the evening after dinner they to can enjoy a warm beverage and you can enjoy a relatively peaceful moment as a family.

- take the bubblegum out before you add the hot liquid to make the tea.

Hot tea brewing method: Place 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of Yummy Berry - Kid's Tea per cup (and add 1 teaspoon for the pot) into the teapot. Pour boiling water into pot and let it steep for 5-7 minutes (or longer - the longer the steeping time to more intense the flavor becomes). Pour into your cup and add sugar to taste. **do not add milk - the milk will curdle due to the ingredients in this blend.

Cold tea brewing method: Do Not Pour Hot Liquid directly into a Glass Pitcher

(makes 1 quart/liter)- Put 12-15 teaspoons of Yummy Berry -Kid's into a heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5-7 minutes or longer. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into the pitcher straining the ingredients. Add ice and top-up with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. or pour over ice into a tall glass