As you may have gathered from some of my other reviews I do like to try herbal teas from time to time. The other day I read in the paper that Hibiscus tea was supposed to be good for reducing high blood pressure and because my GP is concerned about mine I went to internet in search of Hibiscus tea!
According the YOU magazine you can "Help your heart by drinking red hibiscus tea: research shows that drinking about three cups daily can help effectively lowers high blood pressure, which affects one in five adults. Organic Hibiscus Tea by Hambleden Teas, £1.89 for 24 tea bags, from Victoria Health" Digging around some more showed me that in scientific tests carried out over a period of four weeks Hibiscus tea did make a similar difference to that of traditional medical remedies so I figured it might be worth a try.
So I duly went to Victoria Health and ordered some and within days it arrived. I have to say I was impressed from the start. The packet was a deep red colour with a cellophane wrapper, underneath that was a simple cardboard box containing tea bags - nothing else, no copious wrapping just tea bags in a box ready to drop into the cup.
Almost as soon as I put hot water on to the tea bag it developed into a rich red colour in the mug and gave me a very tasty cup of herbal tea, not dissimilar to rosehip in flavour. The plus from my point of view is that the bag is more than capable of making more than a single cup of herbal tea - I think you can get two or three mugs from just one tea bag. It was tasty, fruity and quite refreshing.
It got me to wanting to know more about Hambleden who make this tea so I went in search of more information.
Their web site reveals that Hambleden Herbs is a family-owned business based on an organic farm in Wiltshire. Many of the products are produced on an organic farm in Somerset where many of the herbs are grown, dried or made into tinctures. The business began in 1982 as an organic herb growing and they launched Britain's first range of certified organic herbs in 1985 and teas in 1989. Some of their products are now sourced from overseas but they provide full details of this on their web site.
What I like about them is that they are committed to ethical food production and sustainable business practice and have a recycled and recyclable packaging policy. The herbs and spices used in their teas are cut just prior to packing and are part specific - in other words the peppermint contains leaf but no stalk and the chamomile is pure flowers. They are also guaranteed free from genetic modification, post harvest treatments such as fumigation and irradiation and they contain no colouring, flavourings (including 'natural' flavours), preservatives or additives of any sort.
If you have purchased herbal teas from your local supermarket you will have doubtless found that these are very mild in taste and quite weak in strength. The Hambleden teas appear to be a world apart and have a far better taste in my view.
They do quite a wide range of teas as well: Chamomile - Chamomile flowers Crimson Glory - Hibiscus, rose hip, elderflower, orange peel, marigold flowers Elderflower Fennel Seed - Fennel seed Hibiscus - Hibiscus Lemon Heaven - Lemon verbena, lemonpeel, hibiscus, lemon balm lemon thyme, lemon grass Lemon Verbena - Lemon verbena leaves Lime flower - Lime flowers Mate - Mate leaves Nettle - Nettle leaves Peppermint - peppermint leaves Rose Hip - Rose hips Spice Delight - Liquorice, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves
They also do a range of Organic Culinary Herbs and Spices, Organic Tinctures, and Organic Infusions - if you like herbs and spices then I would suggest their range is well worth considering.
Did the Hibiscus tea lower my blood pressure? ---------------------------------------------------------------- --- I am sorry but I am afraid I don't have the answer on that one. In the tests conducted on this the trial lasted for four weeks and the results were positive. I have only been drinking this tea for a matter of days and to be honest there isn't much discernible difference at this stage. The good news though is that I enjoy the tea so I won't find it any hardship to continue with it for four weeks to see if it makes a difference and after four weeks I shall update this review with the results
UPDATE ON BP ------------------------ Two weeks after starting on the Hibiscus Tea I can report the following:
Readings at start of trial - 134/70, 139/58, 137/62 Readings after ten days - 125/60, 127/60, 121/62
(Reading taken on three consecutive days using home blood pressure monitor on upper arm taken at approximately the same time each day - I have substituted Hibiscus tea for most hot drinks each day)
Four weeks after starting on the Hibiscus Tea I can report that overall I think there has been no real difference in my BP readings. My conclusion is that it would help if you replaced a high caffeine intake with a herbal tea but in terms of whether Hibiscus is any more effective than any other herbal tea I have reservations. Suffice it to say that my advice would be that Hibiscus tea tastes very pleasant but if you are drinking it in the hope of reducing your BP in the long term I doubt its effectiveness.
Would I recommend Hambleden Herbal Teas ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ye s I would - they seem to be much more tasty than many herbal teas I have tried previously and give a really well flavoured drink. They have a wide range of stockists nationwide and there is comprehensive list on their web site at http://www.hambledenherbs.co.uk
I got mine from Victoria Health and they cost £1.89 for a pack of 24
If you like herbal teas try these - if you don't think herbal teas are especially tasty then try Hambelden Herbs teas and you should be able to taste a difference!
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