Asi Tea's Wild Harvested Yaupon Tea: Sweet Tea

It happens about this time every year. Just as I am writing, "Well, this will be my last bottled tea review of the year," one more new bottled tea seems to hit the grocery store shelves. This week, just hours after I sipped what I had supposed were my last new bottled teas of the year, I spotted this Asi Sweet Tea at Kroger. I had no idea what "Wild Harvested Yaupon Tea" was, but you know me, I'll try any tea once!

I love the packaging. When I looked online, I found that the company says its tea "is made from wild-picked leaves and twigs from the yaupon, a type of holly tree native to the southeastern United States. Naturally caffeinated and antioxidant-rich, yaupon has been traditionally used to prepare a stimulating and healthy beverage by the South’s indigenous inhabitants. The native tribes called it 'Big Medicine' and passed on a taste for the tea to early colonists." Who knew? (You can read more about the Savannah company by clicking here.)

This tea is sweetened with organic cane sugar and has just 60 calories in the 14-ounce bottle. I enjoyed the taste of this "Sweet Tea" straight from the bottle but even more so when I poured it into a glass with ice. If you've ever been to a church homecoming and been served sweet tea in a plastic cup, then swigged the tea around until the ice melted a little … well, that's what this tea tasted like, and that's a good memory for me! At $2.69 it was a little pricey, but I can now say I've sipped yaupon tea!