Acai Health Watch

People around the world have recognized for centuries that teas have profound health benefits.  Among other things, they contain the anti-cancer properties of antioxidants and their polyphenols may help with blood flow and circulation.  The primary types of tea are black, green, white and oolong.  All types of teas come from the same type of leaves, but the processing is what makes each type of tea so different in taste, color and health benefits.  In the last few years, nearly all major tea brands have introduced an acai berry tea, but there’s still a large variety of styles to be found within acai tea.  But one benefit shared by most acai berry teas is that it can be prepared both hot and cold.

Well known in high-end hotels and restaurants, Mighty Leaf makes a black acai tea with Chinese black tea and the Brazilian superfood acai to make a fruity but full-bodied brew. The black tea offers a depth that other types of acai berry teas might not.

Celestial Seasonsings offers a Sencha green tea with acai berry fruit and acai puree.  It also contains a variety of other natural ingredients like hibiscus, mango and banana, so if it’s the acai flavor you’re looking for, this might not be your best option.  Otherwise it’s a lovely tropical blend. They also offer an herbal acai berry tea option called Acai Mango Zinger which is caffeine free and has an exotic tang of hibiscus.

The Republic of Tea also has an acai berry green tea but it has a more concentrated acai berry flavor.  It features acai berries and possesses the more customary tart blueberry/grape flavor.

Like the acai berry itself, white tea contains a lot of antioxidants, so a white acai tea is particularly good for health conscious tea drinkers.  The acai white tea from Teavana also contains blueberries and black currant, making for a soothing and unusual treat.  Their Youthberry White Tea is also an energizing tropical blend made with finely ground acai that’s packed with vitamins.

In general, acai teas tend to have a balance of sweet and tart fruit flavors, not unlike other berry teas.  But they sometimes have rich, chocolatey overtones which not all tea drinkers favor.  Acai berry teas are typically not seen as an everyday drink, but an enjoyable occasional tea.  Unlike some acai berry products like juices, acai teas are not usually consumed exclusively for the acai health properties, though it’s an added benefit.  Rather, people tend to enjoy the uniquely tart, interesting combinations found in acai berry teas.

For more information about different types of acai teas, visit:
Mighty Leaf Acai Black Tea
Celestial Seasonings Zinger Tea – Acai Mango, 6 Units / 20 bag
Teavana Youthberry White Tea
Teavana Imperial Acai Blueberry White Tea

We haven’t gotten around to trying every single acai product out there, but we’re trying!

In the meantime, you’ll enjoy this review of acai green tea at TeaDiscussion.  The tea, made by Republic of Tea, seems less about the nuanced green tea flavor and more about the acai fruit, (or grape? blueberry?) but still enjoyable.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Well, for starters, the aroma of this tea was a surprise indeed. Indeed, I would have guessed this tea to be a herbal tea by the aroma…it was a pure berry fragrance, resembling but not identical to blueberry. The aroma wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, but was still quite distinct.

Once I brewed up the tea, I got a even stranger surprise. Instead of a light green colored tea, this tea was a beautiful “pinkish red” in color! A green tea that brewed up pinkish-red? Huh? Well, I wanted something different…so I had no cause to gripe.

I admit I looked at this tea a bit dubiously. I mean, a pinkish-red green tea. Come on! On top of that, the tea really didn’t have a strong aroma once brewed, making me all the more curious about it since I had no clue whatsoever what it might taste like. So, on the theory that nothing ventured is nothing gained, I gave this tea a try.

Yet another surprise. This tea tasted similar in many ways to other blueberry herbal teas I’ve had. To avoid confusion here, this is NOT a blueberry tea. But, the Acai berries of the Amazon rainforest do have a similar flavor to them. And similar to blueberries, the flavor is very strong. So strong in fact that you will NOT find a trace of your typical green tea flavor in this tea.”

Review of the Acai Green Tea from the Republic of Tea.