Herbal teas are pouring in bucketfuls in Italian supermarkets. And it is definitely a good thing, as they help to drink more water, which is essential for maintaining good health.
Hundreds of references promise additional health benefits, more or less attributable to medicinal plants enclosed in sachets. Prices are sometimes staggering, reaching over 100 euros/kg.
But how to navigate the shelves, and which products to choose? It is always useful to read the labels, especially the ingredient list. Learn to distinguish organic products from conventional ones and prefer nature over chemistry. Our market survey.
Herbal teas by the bucketful
The wide variety of herbal teas and flavored beverages offered by the GDO (Large Organized Distribution), upon closer examination, reflects the offer of a small group of operators. Also in the case of products with private label, that is, distributor branded.
The brands most widespread in Italy are Sognid’oro by Star (owned by GBFoods, Spain), L’Angelica (Coswell spa, Bologna), Pompadour and Sir Winston (Teekanne group, Germany), Bonomelli (Montenegro group, Bologna), Lipton (Unilever).
Functional herbal teas and infusions
The offer is essentially divided into three segments:
– functional herbal teas, composed of mix of medicinal herbs, selected based on nutraceutical properties (e.g., relaxing, draining, slimming, etc.). Some products, as will be seen, also contain non-natural flavourings,
– infusions instead, they are mixtures of herbs and extracts whose flavor alone is promoted. The flavors are many and imaginative, but in many cases they derive from the addition of flavorings (natural and/or synthetic), up to 8% of the product.
– flavored teas, even in the decaffeinated version, with a less lively offering.
The herbal teas
Bonomelli, herbal teas with probiotics and prebiotics
Bonomelli is the most innovative brand in the herbal tea segment. In addition to the ‘classic’ functional ones, two product lines with prebiotics and probiotics are noted, registered as dietary supplements:
– the Prebiotic is a herbal tea with 6% inulin, a soluble dietary fiber, plus chicory and psyllium (2%). A blend useful to 'nourish' health ally bacteria and promote eubiosis, i.e., the balance of gut microbiota. Price over 140 euros/kg, with added natural flavors,
– herbal teas with probioticsin turn, ‘promote the balance of intestinal flora'. The product is in 3 versions, 'After meal', 'Immune defenses' and 'Deflating'. The latter with natural aroma. Price over 140 euros/kg.
The plus of the probiotic
The added bacterium in Bonomelli's herbal teas is the Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086, a probiotic blend also known as GanedenBC 30.
Its characteristic is resistance to heat. A plus that makes this bacterium usable even in foods subject to cooking. This is not the case for the better-known Lactobacillus e Bifidobacterium, which in fact are added to dairy products.
Previous studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of Bacillus coagulans on humans and animals. It has been successfully used in a study to produce functional durum wheat pasta. (1)
Sognid’oro, functional herbal teas
Sognid’oro by Star – a brand famous for chamomile, as its name suggests – has significantly expanded the offering.
Functional herbal teas, registered as food supplements, contain only herbs, seeds, and natural flavors. The range includes 7 versions: Digestive, Draining, Fennel, Regularity, Relaxing, Slimming, and Immune defenses.
Natural flavors are added in Draining (birch and pineapple), Slimming (fucus and bitter orange), Immune defenses (echinacea and papaya) teas.
L’Angelica, functional herbal teas
The herbal institute L’Angelica boasts on the label the Made in Italy in the formula and preparation. Not also in the origin of the herbs, like many others.
For the 11 functional herbal teas classic – labeled with ‘the recipe of wellness’ – highlights the absence of flavors and extracts. Flavors instead are found in some products of the new lines, as follows.
L’Angelica, synthetic flavors and unclear labels
The herbal teas ‘Emotions with cocoa’, created by L’Angelica together with master chocolatier Mirco della Vecchia, also contain synthetic flavors in the ‘Cocoa, coffee and almond’ version. The same goes for the 3 teas of the ‘Coffee emotions’ series.
The ‘Superfood Herbal Teas’, on the other hand, have unclear labels. Vanilla is indeed highlighted on the packaging, but it does not appear in the ingredient list of both ‘Drainage Matcha Vanilla’ and ‘Moringa, ginger and vanilla’ de-puffing references.
Pompadour, black palm in the information
Pompadour (Tekanne) offers about a hundred products, all available for purchase on the producer’s website which however does not indicate the price per kg (around 70 euros) and sometimes not even the ingredient list. Instead mandatory.
Organic is available in 5 functional herbal teas. Nespresso format capsules are available for 2 functional all-herb teas, Digestive and Relax.
THE INFUSIONS
Sognid’oro, ‘natural’ only in dreams
The concept of ‘natural’ evoked on some Sognid’oro infusions is sometimes misleading.
The ‘Gardens and fruits’ line is presented as ‘exclusive blends created by wisely balancing every ingredient to surprise you with a delicious taste and give you the wellness of nature’. But in 2 out of 3 versions – ‘Apple, carrot and ginger’ and ‘Orange, carrot and pineapple’ – synthetic flavors are present. Price over 70 euros/kg
The ‘Fruit infusions’, in turn, contain 8% artificial flavors in 2 out of 4 cases. In Blueberry and Goji, for example, ‘the intense blueberry underbrush notes, combined with the pleasant sweetness of goji berries’ are easier to attribute to the 8% artificial flavors than to the homeopathic doses of blueberries (0.6%) and goji (0.5%).
As well as the Delights & dried fruit line – in the infusion ‘Pistachio and almond with lemon zest’ – it strengthens the ‘spicy taste of pistachio’ and ‘the sweetness of the almond’ with synthetic aromas. At the price of 65 euro/kg
Pompadour, flavors for breakfast for the little ones?
Pompadour suggests administering some infusions at breakfast even to the little ones:
– Berries and vitamins. With berry aroma. It contains small amounts of vitamins. It is therefore proposed as ‘ideal to accompany breakfast even for the little ones’. Price 40 euro/kg,
– Red fruits at breakfast. With strawberry and raspberry aroma. On the website: ‘Thanks to the natural sweetness of strawberries and raspberries this infusion will conquer the whole family.. Price 58 euros
The range is completed with the infusion ‘Italian Lemon, with Italian lemons’, but above all – non-natural – aromas of lemon, honey (60 euro/kg). And ‘Ginger turmeric’, with this time natural honey aromas (5%) and lemon.
Bonomelli, infusions and dried fruit
The dried fruit, or shell fruit, of Noberasco is included by Bonomelli in the 2 herbal teas ‘Tasty infusions’. With a caramel enigma, cited on the label but not among the ingredients. Prices around 95 euro/kg.
The aromas, strictly natural, then abound in the other lines of Bonomelli infusions:
– Fruity infusions, 8 flavors with 10% natural aromas not further specified, at prices from 50 to 80 euro/kg,
– Special infusions, 5 flavors ‘100% natural for small moments of daily pleasure'. With 10% natural flavors in the 'Cocoa and mint' flavour. Price 103 euros/kg
Flavored tea
The tea has to face the ruthless competition of new products. It is therefore revisited, with the addition of a variety of aromas – natural and not – that horrify enthusiasts.
Star Tea offers the ‘fruit juice flavored tea’, enthusiastically accompanied by the claim ‘When tea meets fruit!’ and ‘Intense fruit taste’.
In reality, the taste comes from synthetic aromas. In Lemon Taste tea, the ingredients are in fact tea, aromas [non-natural, editor’s note], powdered lemon juice (1.04%)In that ‘Peach with fruit juice’, tea, flavors, peach juice powder 0.77%.
Sir Winston (Pompadour) boasts a caffeine extraction technique that does not use solvents. Flavored tea abounds with unnatural flavors. 96 euros per kg.
Twinings in the red fruit flavored black tea it offers a mix composed of black tea 88%, red fruit flavors 12%. 66 euros/kg.
Lipton (Unilever) on the website web celebrates many flavored products, however without indicating the ingredients. In stores we find a ‘Peach black tea… with pieces of peach’ and ‘thenatural ingredients’ which actually, besides black tea, contains natural flavors and pieces of peach (2%). 63 euros/kg.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Konuray G, Erginkaya Z. Potential Use of Bacillus coagulans in the Food Industry. Foods. 2018;7(6):92. doi:10.3390/foods7060092 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6025323/#B3-foods-07-00092
Professional journalist since January 1995, has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and magazines (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). Author of journalistic investigations on food, she published the book 'Reading labels to know what we eat'.
