Pukka Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey Tea Review
Is there anything better than a ginger, lemon and honey tea when you feel a cold coming on?
In my excitement for spring time, I usually forget it’s still February and head outside in far too little clothing. The result is almost always a terrible cold, so naturally I reach for a tea.
When I saw Pukka’s Lemon Ginger and Manuka Honey tea, I just had to try it. While I love how simple it is to make lemon ginger and honey tea fresh, it’s not the quickest process when you’re feeling ill. Teabags seemed like a good idea.
I’ll give you a fair warning before we get into my review: don’t drink this if you’re genuinely feeling ill, it’s just going to make everything worse.
Pukka Tea (Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey) at a Glance
Izzy's Rating
2.6/5
- Blend: Ginger root, lemon extracts and manuka honey with a blend of anise-like herbs
- Flavour: Warm yet bitter anise and ginger with a subtle hint of lemon
Individually wrapped herbal teabags are not the highest quality, but they do seal in freshness for longer.
This Pukka Tea Lemon Ginger and Manuka Honey blend is not very pleasant to drink. It’s overwhelmed by strong anise and ginger flavours with a subtle hint of lemon – why not buy it yourself to find out if it’s your cup of tea?
Full Review - Pukka Lemon Ginger Tea
Izzy's Rating
2.6/5
- Type: Tagged paper filter teabag
- Ingredients: Ginger, liquorice root, elderflower, fennel seed, lemon verbena leaf, turmeric, lemon oil flavour, lemon myrtle leaf, whole lemon, manuka honey flavour.
- Health Benefits: Combat nausea and colds
- Flavour Notes: Bitterly herbaceous, tangy ginger and aniseed, subtle hint of lemon
- Aroma: Delicate lemon with ginger spices
- Milk or Lemon: Additional lemon and/or honey
- Where to Buy: Amazon
Opening the sachet and giving the tea bag a quick examine, you’re hit with a subtle yet pleasant aroma. The manuka honey gives the dry tea a lovely sweet smell that’s amber and rich. The aroma is closer to golden syrup than a British honey. It also has a warm spicy, herby smell that’s verging on musty. I double checked the use by date, which was fine for another year. Musty by design, then.
I was a little surprised at the recommended brewing time on the sachet packet – 5 whole minutes! That’s a crazy long time. If you’ve had the pleasure of brewing fresh lemon, ginger and honey tea, you’ll know that over-steeping lemon and ginger creates an almost undrinkable acidic, fiery beverage. I did try brewing this tea for the full 5 minutes, but the resulting drink was too powerful and, to be honest, off-putting to seriously review.
I brewed the Pukka herbs for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with freshly boiled water (approx. 95°C as directed), until it was a warm honey yellow. What little honey aroma there was has now completely dissipated, but there is a subtle yet distinct lemon aroma in the air along with the warm ginger spice.
Flavor
I let it cool a little before taking a sip.
The taste is dismal, at best. There’s no honey, or sweetness, at all. From the first tentative sip to the last, this herbal tea is bitter, spiced and lacking depth. The liquorice root and ginger overpower everything (at this point I was so glad I hadn’t taste-tested the 5 minute brew as directed) and leave a tingling sensation on your tongue.
I imagine this would be quite pleasant if it was balanced with honey, lemon sweetness, but it isn’t. The only hint of lemon is a slight acidic sharp, dryness that you feel on the roof of your mouth once the cup is finished.
Pukka Lemon Ginger and Manuka Honey Health Benefits
Traditionally, honey ginger tea with lemon is designed to soothe a cold. The vitamin C and sharpness from the lemon wake up the senses, while the ginger calms nausea and spreads warmth through your body, and the honey will smother a sore throat and make the whole drink a bit more palatable.
The only immediate benefit I felt was a relief from nausea. Anise-flavoured drinks on an empty stomach are never a good thing for me and often leave me feeling quite sick. With this tea, despite the strong anise flavour from the liquorice, my stomach felt fine.
The tea texture was quite watery compared to the honeyed lemon ginger tea I’m used to, so that did nothing for my throat. As for the ginger warmth, the tingling mouth sensation was so strong I didn’t notice the ginger spreading anywhere else.
Why Pukka Herbal Tea?
Pukka have a huge range of different herbal teas, some of which are absolutely delicious. This, unfortunately, is not one of them.
The flavour really lets it down.
Furthermore, when I opened up a teabag to check the contents, I was a little disappointed at the amount of tea dust and fine particles in there. The ingredients for this tea are certified organic by the Soil Association, USDA and FairWild… but that’s not really enough to make me feel like this tea is high quality.
You’ll also see from my picture these flecks of gold turmeric (which I suspect are only added for colour) and white opaque lumps. I’m guessing this is the manuka honey flavour or lemon essential oil flavour, both of which are completely overpowered.
Summary
Overall, I would not recommend this tea to you, unless you said to me “I love bitter anise and ginger flavours”.
The price is about the same as one of my favourite teas, Whittard’s Jasmine Green Tea. Yet, when you compare the two, one is a vibrant well-balanced loose leaf, and the other is a dusty overpowering barely-filled teabag.
Try it for yourself and see if you think it’s worth the money! I look forward to reading your comments.
These teabags are tagged and individually wrapped for freshness.
About Me
I’m Izzy and if this is your first time reading my tea reviews, there are a few things you should know. First, I’m not an expert, just a massive tea lover! I primarily review teas on the flavour – I’m not going to make you feel bad for drinking teabags instead of loose leaf or buying your tea from the supermarket instead of a fancy tea store. My blog is a place where you can sit back with your favourite cuppa and read about the best drink in the world.
How I Use Fresh Ingredients
Honey lemon and ginger tea is ridiculously simple to make at home. You probably already have these ingredients in the cupboard! This is one of many herbal teas and infusions included in my book. You can find this recipe and more in The English Tea Book. Subscribe to our blog for a notification when it’s available for purchase.