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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Editor's Choice: Fully Loaded Tea

Do you fall for gorgeous, design-oriented packaging as frequently as I do? If so, your next true love will be Fully Loaded Tea. Take a peek at the company’s website (www.fullyloadedtea.com) if you have any doubts.

I first tried Fully Loaded just a few weeks ago, and I’ll admit, it was the pretty pyramid bags that first drew me in. They are filled with real pieces of whole fruit, whole berries, real whole-leaf tea and other herbal accents that make these teas one-of-a-kind. (Shown here is the Shameless Berries Fruit Tea, a caffeine-free fruit tea with goji berries, blueberries and seabuckthorn.)

The founders of Fully Loaded, sisters Katya Popoff and Olga Lenova, were born in Siberia — so they know a thing or two about concocting warm beverages. When they later moved to Europe, they longed for their traditional teas and grew tired of seeing the typical mass-produced bags that had virtually unrecognizable leaves inside.

In 2006, the sisters started creating their own blends of black, fruit and green/white teas under the name Fully Loaded Tea, which refers to the natural ingredients and large pieces inside each tea bag. One of my favorites so far is the Cucumber Mojo White Tea. I’ve recently been loving those restaurants that replace the all-too-common lemon wedge floating in the water glass with a delicate slice of refreshing, seedless cucumber; this blend has the same effect. It contains white tea leaves, carrot pieces, cucumber pieces, safflowers, marigold flowers and natural flavors.

One of Stephanie’s favorites has been the Naked Strawberry Green Tea — just the name sounds delicious, right? It features bright strawberry pieces, orange flower and rose petals.

What I also like about Fully Loaded is its website. Here you’ll find informative descriptions of the health benefits of the featured ingredients in all the teas. It’s both educational and reassuring!

If you’re attending the Natural Products Expo West 2009 show in Anaheim, California, this weekend (March 6-8), don’t miss Fully Loaded Tea. They’ll be in booth #5222.

-Ashley