Thursday, April 12, 2012

Locally Bottled Beverages

Rose Secret:  Includes Rose Water, Sugar, Citric Acid

I recently tried a new Oregon-made beverage called Rose Secret.  It was tart, lightly sweet with rose scent and flavor, nicely balanced - no part was overwhelming the other.  This experience got me to thinking about the numerous locally-brewed and bottled beverages - and I'm not just talking tea!  For those of you that don't know, Portland is the micro-brew beer capital of the US.

So now let's focus on tea...here are some of the locally-brewed treasures:

The Tao of Tea has a line of micro-brewed teas and tisanes.  I'm really enjoying the bottled Tulsi's, a caffeine-free herbal infusion.  You might have heard it called holy basil. 

Tao of Tea line of bottled Tulsi*

Steven Smith has recently released a bottled tea beverage using local fruits to provide the citric acid (necessary for shelf life).  Plus, the bottle is gorgeous!

Steven Smith bottled tea


I recently sampled the Pomegranate Love kombucha from Lion Heart.  I wasn't sure what to expect, the pink color seemed almost surreal and yet it is a natural blend of pomegranate, white and green teas.  I liked it!  A friend also recommends the Ginger Fizz, and she's not even a kombucha fan.  I like to drink kombucha as an after-dinner digestive, a small cup goes a long way.

And there are many others:
What other local brandsd have I missed?

*Photo from vendor website

4 comments:

Marilyn Miller said...

Ok, I did just see another and was surprised to see it. Can't remember what company, but now you have me thinking and I will let you know. Not local, but I saw Harney & Sons has a line of bottled drinks in their newest catalog. I do like Steven Smiths tea and also the Tao of Tea Tulsi and their Oolong too.

Rosemary said...

These are all very interesting... love the delicate colors, the unique bottles, and labeling. Wonder if any of them have crossed country yet? Will have to be on the lookout!

Marlena said...

They're so pretty. Tao of Tea is in the East as well and I have to say, their bottled teas are quite good. There's only one store that carries them, but I always go see what's new. I hope Steve Smith comes this way.

Angela McRae said...

Thanks for the reviews! I haven't tried any new bottled teas in a while, so you've given me plenty to look for!