Tea and Flavors
The practice of flavoring and scenting teas has enjoyed a very long tradition, beginning with early efforts in China to cover up the flavor of raw boiled tea leaves. Today the additions to tea include flavorings, sweeteners, fruit juices, herbs, spices, tartness enhancers, freeze dried fruits, and essential oils.
Herbs and spices in particular have secured their place among the flavored tea-blender's tools. Salt was perhaps the first spice used in tea blends in ancient times, although its use was probably to offset the of the early tea preparations. Thanks to advances in cultivation and processing, we no longer need to mask tea's character, but rather use herbs and spices to compliment its natural flavor. Scented teas, containing botanicals such as rose petals, jasmine flowers and lavender were known to exist as early as the 10th century, so the manipulation of the basic teas flavor has a very long history.
Modern tea flavors consist of liquid flavors, "spray dried," "encapsulated" and "plated." Liquid flavors are generally applied to either tea leaves or to herbs and spices present in tea blends. The application can be as simple as sprinkling the flavor over the leaf, or as complex as spray systems which coat the tea with fine mists of flavor. Most tea flavors are available in natural and artificial styles, the former being derived from the original fruit or spice, and artificial being synthesized flavor. By U.S. law, a flavor which is manufactured chemically (even if it's chemical composition is identical to the original flavor) must be labeled as artificial. Similarly, flavors labeled as natural must derive from the original source as it occurs in nature. A third category called WONF (which stands for "with other natural flavors") are considered natural, but may be compromised if a variety of flavors are used to create the dominant one. A WONF cherry flavor, for example, might be a combination of real cherry, almond, and grape flavors and as such is natural, but not wholly derived from cherries.
Modern "flavor technology" is a complex and subtle alchemy. Ultimately the quality of a flavored tea must be judged by the individual according to preference. The current plethora of choices in the flavored tea market allow the consumer to find the "just right" apple, peach, raspberry, or even mango that suits them. The flavor manufactures have responded to this need with equally extensive varieties of flavors from which tea companies must choose. It is not uncommon for the modern flavored tea blender to sample a dozen or more lemon flavors before finding the right "flavor profile" for the blend, be it sour, tart, sweet, bitter, floral etc. or some combination of these sensations. Ideally the flavors will compliment the tea itself, thereby providing a more complex taste experience. Unlike the earliest tea blenders, the modern tea blender seeks a symbiotic relationship between the tea and its accompaniment.
Davidson's uses only organic and organic-compliant flavors, insuring purity and guaranteeing a GMO-free product. As most conventional flavor manufacturing involves a corn-based sugar carrier, GMOs from the corn will be present in most non-organic flavored tea. Our organic processing and organic tea requires only GMO-free ingredients as per National Organic Program (NOP) guidelines. Back to Top