Review – Oteas Tea

When it comes to hot beverages, coffee is usually my favorite, but many a weeknight I will prefer a good cup of tea before sleep. I have tried many different brands and flavours of tea before, and I found many of them to my liking. Of course, the tea market is not short of tasty flavours. Earl Grey has always been my favourite tea, but I also love fruit teas, and sometimes I will have a camomile tea to help me sleep better. My usual sweetener for coffee and tea is honey rather than sugar, honey being much healthier than sugar. And when it comes to tea, depending on the flavour, I prefer my tea with honey and lemon juice, and sometimes just honey. 

Oteas is another great tea on the market. I first found out about Oteas last year, at a TIFF gift lounge event in Toronto. This annual event is called Bask-It-Style and its mission is to gift celebrities who come to TIFF every year with products from an array of high-profile sponsors from different industries -- fashion, beauty, publishing, technology, exquisite foods and beverages, and other industries. I have attended Bask-It-Style event every year since 2012. This year however, the event was postponed due of Covid. 

For many of us, a big part of our life in 2020 happened at home and online. I have worked from home ever since the pandemic started in March, and I have not attended any fashion events in Toronto this year. So instead of getting together at parties and events, we keep in touch with friends and extended family online. The case is the same for writers and bloggers who keep in touch with their favourite brands online, since the fashion events are no longer happening like they used to up until last year. 

Recently Oteas sent me a box of tea to try it. The box is called Fan Favourites, and it includes 25 tea bags, 5 flavours.

The 5 flavours are: 

-Strawberries and Cream 

-Raspberry Leaf 

-Organic Earl Grey 

-Organic Green Tea with Peppermint 

-Organic Lemongrass, Ginger and Cinnamon. 

But besides the 5 flavours that come in the box, Oteas team also included 7 other tea samples for me in the package:

-Organic Lemongrass, Apple and Hibiscus 

-Organic Rooibos Vanilla 

-Berry Blend 

-Orange and Ginger 

-Black Tea with Caramel 

-English Breakfast Tea 

-Moroccan Mint.

I allowed myself a couple of weeks to try the various flavours of Oteas tea; I still haven’t tried all of them, but I did try more than half of the flavours so far. This is a really good tea and I totally enjoyed it! The taste is smooth, rich and intense, Oteas is a great cup of tea for a cozy evening at home. I can honestly say, without any hesitation or exaggeration, that I loved all Oteas flavours that I have tried so far. This is an amazing tea. As I write this, I am having a cup of Berry Blend, another lovely Oteas flavour.

So what’s so great about Oteas tea? For all the tea lovers, Oteas is brewing something special with their limited edition Fan Favourites tea combo-pack. When I was sent this box of tea, I got my taste buds ready for these unique blends of tea. From sweet to spicy and aromatically energizing, these special blends are nestled in plant based packaging and biodegradable tea bags. Good for you and the planet. The Fan Favourite selection is inspired by the fans of films at TIFF. I couldn’t attend TIFF this year as in previous years, but when I have a movie night on a Saturday night with my family, I can pick an Oteas blend, steep and enjoy the film! 

Oteas is environment friendly. A conscious awakening has occurred across the globe. Great taste, and far less waste is what modern grocery consumers want. Oteas believes that in order to elevate our human health, our physical environment should not have to be compromised. The company is committed to using high quality hand blended ingredients, and 100% plant-based packaging. This commitment puts Oteas in a league of their own as a quality tea 100% plastic free, biodegradable and a true zero waste consumer product. 

The Oteas boxes are recyclable and reusable, following Forest Stewardship Council standards. Forest Stewardship Council sets high standards to make sure that forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible manner. The boxes are also printed with vegetable ink, and they can be recycled or composted without concern of chemicals from printing. I am actually thinking to reuse this beautiful box as a gift box for Christmas or someone’s birthday. I could decorate it with some scrapbook paper and turn it into a gift box, for a small gift like cookies, chocolate or a candle. 

The biofilm envelope of the tea bag is certified as home compostable. It completely decomposes into water and carbon dioxide. The time it takes to decompose depends on temperature, soil PH and the amount of microorganisms present. 

And finally, the tea bag, the string and the tag are 100% biodegradable, they will biodegrade over time as the tea bag is made out of corn starch. 

Oteas tea also makes a great gift, I would include a few tea bags in an organza sachet like this one and make a small gift with Oteas tea to include it in a Christmas basket for a dear one.

Ingredients of the 5 teas in the Fan Favourites box (as detailed on the package): 

Strawberries and Cream 

Hibiscus Rose hip peel 

Apple pieces 

Apple slices 

Orange peels 

Strawberry pieces 

Raspberry Leaf 

Raspberry leaves 

Apple pieces 

Light hibiscus 

Rose hip peels 

Raspberries 

Blackberry leaves 

Sweet blackberry leaves 

Organic Earl Grey 

Black tea 

Cornflower Essence of bergamot  

Organic Green Tea with Peppermint 

Organic green tea 

Peppermint Organic 

Lemongrass, Ginger and Cinnamon (all organic ingredients) 

Lemongrass 

Ginger 

Cinnamon pieces 

Spearmint leaves 

Fennel 

Liquorice root 

Pineapple pieces 

Orange peels 

Basil leaves 

Orange slices 

Cloves 

Pink pepper 

Pink corn flowers. 

Give Oteas a try, you will love it for sure! I still have enough tea bags left in my box, so I will definitely enjoy this delightful tea over the upcoming holiday season.

Photo credit: Victoria West