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In 2021, I made a New Year’s resolution to drink better tea. My colleagues in the UK are always giggling about the cheap store-brand tea bags that have clearly been steeped for way too long during our Zoom calls…oops. I looked into a few options before getting a bit frustrated by the cost and setup required to make and drink loose-leaf tea.
Thankfully, I recently discovered Tea Drops, which appeared to be the solution to my problem. Tea Drops are a new way of drinking tea: organic, whole leaf tea that instantly dissolves in hot water – good for your schedule and for your body.
It’s My Cup of Tea
In 2015, Tea Drops’s founder and current CEO Sashee Chandran sought a great tea that was also environmentally friendly and convenient. When she didn’t find it on the market, she invented her signature drops. Seven years later, Tea Drops has exploded to be a wildly-popular alternative to tea bags or totally loose-leaf tea. Thanks to organic drops full of prebiotics and fiber, the company has re-defined what it means to be a tea-drinker.
Tea Drops are organic, ground, bagless tea. Each drop can, depending on flavor, include spices, flavoring powders, and organic cane sugar as a sweetener. During the manufacturing process, tea leaves (straight from the plant!) are cut and then pressure-compressed into cute shapes, like stars or hearts. While we typically filter tea leaves out of our drinks, consuming them is fairly common in many Asian cultures – tea leaves are perfectly safe to sip and consume.
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Drop It Like It’s Hot
I wasn’t sure what to think when I read that all you have to do is put the drop in a cup, add water, and mix. The company boasts that, “making a Tea Drop is just like a bath bomb…for your beverage,” which definitely holds true. I like to filter the tea before drinking it (one more step isn’t too bad) to ensure any of the loose leaves that didn’t dissolve are not left in the bottom of the cup. This didn’t happen in all of the drops I tried, but it did happen in a few, so if you’d prefer no tea sediments, then filtering is an easy way to enjoy your drink even more.
You can get a bit fancier if that’s your style. I’m a sucker for a coffee shop chai latte, so naturally, I loved the idea of an at-home beverage with these Chai Tea Latte Kit ($17), which couples the tea drops with a single-serving creamer packet.
If you’re feeling even more adventurous, you can add the tea drop to about 4 oz of boiling water, stirring to combine, then pour it over ice and add a few more ounces of cold water to create an iced tea. Compared to the slow process of heating and then cooling iced tea for hours, this is a breeze and a perfect summer treat.
Something For Everyone
Whether you have ditched the caffeine crashes your coffee gives you or you still want that little pick-me-up, Tea Drops offers a caffeine level for you. My husband recently gave up caffeine, so he’s been all about the caffeine-free options that Tea Drops offers. I, on the other hand, have an ongoing love-affair with all things caffeine, so I prefer the more caffeinated options, like the Rose Earl Grey ($15) drops.
Though it doesn’t have caffeine, I have to say that my favorite Tea Drop by far is the Ube Latte tea. It’s made from purple yams, which, as it turns out, make a lovely sip. Other popular flavors include Matcha Green Tea, Citrus Ginger, Blueberry Acai, Sweet Peppermint, Strawberry Shortcake, and Ginger Peach Cobbler. Luckily the brand offers several sampler packs perfect for tea lovers looking to broaden their horizons.
For the more health-conscious consumer, Tea Drops offers several varieties of drops with different remedies in mind. Whether you’re looking for a detox tea, tea for sickness, or tea for immune support, you can certainly shop to find the right tea for you on the brand’s site.
It’s a Tea Party That Betters the World
As a brand, Tea Drops both tastes great and feels great to support. While unfortunate, many brands employ workers who are underpaid, use super-synthetic ingredients, and contribute to the world’s climate crisis. Tea Drops, on the other hand, invests in a year’s worth of clean water supply for a community in need through The Thirst Project with every box sold. In addition, Tea Drops are designed with our future in mind, as the tea makes 15% less waste than traditional tea bags.
While not yet as dramatic as the Boston Tea Party, Tea Drops is well on its way to starting a tea revolution. With its killer taste, extreme ease, and socially responsible practices, Tea Drops will have you swapping your grocery tea bags for the drops in no time.
5 More Reasons to Love Tea Drops:
1. Tea Drops is a woman-owned and woman-led company, meaning every dollar spent is a dollar invested in women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in business.
2. The brand offers a rewards program, meaning you can save money by buying drops, referring friends, or even by writing reviews.
3. You can make cocktails (or mocktails), in addition to thai teas (with sweetened condensed milk, offered as a kit), and boba using the drops. Need I say more?
4. You’ll be in good company drinking Tea Drops. Celebs are all about the drops – Michelle Obama, Tory Burch, and Oprah Winfrey are among the A-list of stars to try and love them.
5. Tea Drops offers a subscription model in its Tea Club: customize your Tea Drops box, so there’s no need to think about re-ordering and you save money compared to the normal retail price!
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