BY DINA CHENEY

Tea: More Than

a Hot Beverage

product roundup

Tea is the world’s most consumed

beverage after water, so it comes

as no surprise that it’s seep-

ing into new categories. The distinc-

tive flavors of matcha, white teas, and

herbal blends plus health benefits like

antioxidants add allure. As a result,

many companies are reaching for

tea as a primary ingredient in products

ranging from candies to cocktails.

The latest products show

how tea has transitioned

from a hot beverage

to a hot new flavor.

PHOTOS: MARK FERRI; FOOD STYLING: LESLIE ORLANDINI; PROPS STYLING: FRANCINE MATALON-DEGNI

98 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com

product roundup

Bissinger’s Blackberry

Hibiscus All Natural Gummy

Pandas. This new candy ties

together two additional specialty

trends: hibiscus flower and func-

tional confections. Tart, deep

reddish-purple hibiscus tea, similar

in taste to cranberries, inspired the

better-for-you sweets. Organic black

carrot juice concentrate supplies

color, while organic tapioca syrup and

cane sugar add sweetness. White tea

and vitamin C give these gluten-free gummies a nutrent boost.

Introduced last summer, the blackberry hibiscus pandas joined other

tea-infused varieties, including apricot green tea and pomegranate

white tea gummies. bissingers.com

Brewla The Lifeguard and

The Luau Ice Pops. When cus-

tomers asked Brewla for ice pops

without added sugar, the company

developed these two bars, introduced

last summer. The Lifeguard, pairing

hibiscus tea and strawberry, is rich

in zinc and vitamin C, and has only

20 calories and 3 grams of sugar. The

Luau—with only 30 calories and 5

grams of sugar—combines white tea

with pineapple, mango, banana, and

coconut. Brewla also makes ice pops

in red tea and cherry pomegranate (The Hero),

white tea and peach ginger (The Lullaby), and root beer (The

Doctor). brewlabars.com

Hella Bitters Ginger Lemon Bitters. This

New York City–based company defines bitters as

“a flavor extract made by infusing bitter roots, bark,

spices, fruit, and botanicals in a spirit.” Its new offer-

ing captures the flavor of a cup of citrusy ginger

tea. Ingredients include alcohol, ginger, lemon

and orange peel, gentian, roots, and spices, with

homemade caramel syrup for sweetness and color.

Introduced in January, the sweet, earthy, spicy

notes of this small-batch product are ideal for a

Dark and Stormy. Hella Bitters also makes orange,

aromatic, smoked chile, and citrus bitters, as well as

a Craft Your Own Bitters kit. hellabitters.com

Kelvin Slush Co. Organic Tea Blended

Slush Mix. Tea seems an unlikely ingredient in

a slushy beverage. Yet, Kelvin Slush Co.—which

got its start in the food truck channel in New

York City (still running today)—has come up

with a line of superior slushes. Using organic

ingredients, the company’s mixes come in spicy

ginger, tangy citrus, and green and black tea.

These versatile base mixes can be blended with

fresh fruit, mint, and lime juice, and with or

without spirits, to yield frozen Arnold Palmers,

Dark and Stormys, and more. Recently intro-

duced, the retail line was developed in response

to customer requests for a mix that could be

used at home. kelvinslush.com

Owl’s Brew White & Vine Drink Mixer. Owl’s Brew calls

its line of products “the first tea crafted for cocktails.” Brewed in

small batches from whole tea leaves, fruits, spices,

and herbs, the agave nectar–sweetened mixers

should be combined with spirits in a 2-to-1

ratio. Introduced in May, White & Vine—a

2015 sofi Awards finalist—melds fresh-

brewed organic white tea with watermelon,

lime, lemon, and raspberry juice concen-

trates. Other flavors include The Classic

(with English Breakfast tea, lemon, and lime),

Coco-Lada (with black tea, coconut, chai, and

pineapple), and Pink & Black (with Darjeeling

tea, hibiscus tea, lemon, and strawberry).

theowlsbrew.com

Phin & Phebes Toasted

Green Tea Ice Cream. This

take on green tea ice cream is based

on genmaicha, a Japanese green tea

pairing organic sencha leaves with

roasted brown rice. With nutty, toast-

ed flavors, the ice cream is made with

hormone-free milk and cream from

a cooperative of small family-owned

farms within 20 miles of the company’s

production facility in Brooklyn, New York, plus non-GMO cane

sugar and egg yolks. The company’s products have an air of whimsy

and fun, with flavors such as Banana Whama, Coconut Key Lime,

Ginger Cookie Snap, Vietnamese Iced Coffee, and Peanutty Pretzel.

phinandphebes.com

100 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com

8012 Hankins Industrial Park Toano, VA 23168 800-831-1828 • wholesale@ThePeanutShop.com

Ask about our FREE FREIGHT program!Summer Fancy Food Show - Booth 4100

Atlanta Gift Show - AmericasMart 2W-882

Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 4420

Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 4100

product roundup

Sencha Naturals Green Tea Mints with

Coconut Granules. Sencha Naturals makes two

lines of green-tea mints: one packaged in canisters, and

the other in eco-friendly cardboard tubes. Originally,

both lines were sugar-free and sweetened with non-

GMO sorbitol. This April, the company began swap-

ping out the sorbitol in its eco-tube line for coconut

sugar granules, an unrefined sweetener, and introduc-

ing new flavors. (The canister line remains the same.)

The new varieties, flavored with spices and essential

oils, include original matcha, turmeric ginger, pep-

permint sage, citrus basil, and cinnamon cardamom,

the last of which is a 2015 sofi Awards finalist for

Outstanding Confection. senchanaturals.com

Tea Room Chocolates Chocolate

Fusion and Chocolate Fusion Slim

Bars. Tea melds with chocolate in two new

lines. Smooth, creamy, bite-size Chocolate

Fusion truffles come in Mayan pepper chai

(dark chocolate with black tea, spices, and

pepper), piña colada (milk chocolate with

piña colada fruit tea), and lapsang souchong

with Himalayan salt (dark chocolate with

lapsang souchong black tea). Coming this

fall, the petite Chocolate Fusion Slim Bars

will feature four flavors: honeybush caramel

in milk chocolate, jasmine green and tan-

gerine in milk chocolate, raspberry rooibos

in dark chocolate, and green Earl Grey in dark chocolate. All of

the products use organic ingredients and non-GMO soy lecithin.

tea-room.stores.yahoo.net

Tea-rrific Ice Cream. This company’s

full line of frozen desserts revolves around

tea infusions. Products include Lavender’s

Blueberry, Masala Chai, London Mist,

Chunky London Mist, Ginger Matcha, and

Chamomile, which earned a spot as a 2015

sofi Awards finalist. Coming this fall is a new

matcha green tea variety, inspired by customer

requests, with a heftier dose of matcha than

the ginger matcha version. All of Tea-rrific’s ice

creams are free of gums, stabilizers, and preservatives, and are avail-

able in pints for retail and 5-quart tubs for foodservice. Owned by

a husband-and-wife team, the company was inspired by Thai iced

tea and Earl Grey tea, co-owner Mario Leite’s favorite tea drinks.

tearrificicecream.com

102 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com

SANDERSCANDY.COM • 800.651.7263

GLUTEN FREE

Check out our line of fruit & snack dip. Anotherhealthy, sweet snack option.

DARKCHOCOLATECherry & Granola

Blueberry & Granola

Lemon Ginger & GranolaOrange Mango & Granola

MILKCHOCOLATE

Consumers are looking for “Better for You” options, even when snacking on sweets. Sanders Fruit & Granola Clusters ofer REAL Fruit. Nothing

artifcial and are Gluten Free.

Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 443

Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 4531

product roundup

Dina Cheney is the author of Mug Meals, Meatless All Day, Year-Round Slow Cooker, Williams-Sonoma

New Flavors for Salads, and Tasting Club.

Two Moms in the Raw Green

Tea Vanilla Truffles. Not just

for ice cream, antioxidant-rich matcha

takes center stage in these raw organic

truffles, which are vegan, kosher, non-

GMO, and gluten-free. To make them,

the company combines soaked, sprouted

raw almonds, agave nectar, cacao, sea

salt, and matcha and vanilla bean pow-

ders. Keeping the ingredients below 118

degrees is said to help preserve the nutri-

ents, which include omega 6 fatty acids,

vitamin C, zinc, and magnesium. The

family business got its start when co-

founder Shari Koolik Leidich began

preparing raw foods after having been

diagnosed with multi-

ple sclerosis in 2004. twomomsintheraw.com

Wozz Kitchen Creations Vietnamese Green

Tea & Mint Dressing. Warrick Dowsett, a for-

mer yacht chef, wanted to create a sauce inspired by

the Vietnamese dipping sauce nuoc cham. He figured

green tea–infused spring water would neutralize the

pungency of the traditional fish sauce—and he was

right. The resulting product, ideal as a marinade or

dipping sauce, also includes rice vinegar, lemon and

lime juices, cane sugar, fresh ginger and garlic, chile

flakes, matcha green tea powder, and fresh mint.

Wozz, which also makes savory sauces, relishes,

spreads, fruit vinegars, and condiments, won three

sofi Awards in 2014. wozzkitchencreations.com

Green tea–infused

spring water is the base

for a sauce that

mimics Vietnamese

nuoc cham but with

less pungency than the

traditional fsh sauce.

104 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com