This post may contain affiliate links, which costs you nothing but helps us continue to create positive change.
When one of my tea affiliates asked me if I would like to review one of their products, of course, I said yes! It would be silly to say no to such a kind request, right? As a person who is just getting into hot tea, as opposed to my beloved coffee, I have found that I am a bit picky about my choices. So what is a girl to do when the product I tried isn’t even close to being up to my standards?
Initial Excitement
When Okuma Nutritionals asked me to try their Wu-Long Slimming Tea, I thought “this could be great!” As an American woman, I am always looking for a way to shed a few pesky pounds that refuse to go away. So this tea sounded like a good possibility. As I have mentioned before, and thousands of others, tea has MANY great health benefits. Some of these include:
- High in Antioxidants
- High in Flavonoids (depending on the type)
- Boosts immune system
- Contains natural Anti-Cancer agents
- Brightens your smile
- Can prevent heart attack and/or stroke
- Strengthens bones
- Can promote weight loss
It is this last bullet point that they got me on, since their claim is that it burns twice as many calories as green tea. You see, this Wu-Long tea is made from Oolong tea, instead of the more popular Green tea. Oolong tea is supposed to rev up your metabolism even higher than green tea does, as is evidenced by multiple studies. This is the reason why they chose to use Oolong instead of Green tea for their product.
Tea Trial
Once I got the package in, I read the directions, which you should always do. They stated to drink a cup in the morning before breakfast and another cup before lunch. Both Bryan and myself decided to try it, since they gave us a large box of tea bags, and followed the directions. Mostly. Since our work hours are crazy and we don’t really eat a proper lunch, the second suggested cup didn’t happen regularly. We tried, but I can tell you that part was a fail most of the time.
The first time we tried it, we were not impressed with the flavor. Or lack thereof, to be more specific. It just tasted like heated water. Now please keep in mind that I am from California, so hot tea wasn’t really a thing when I was growing up in the first place. In the second place, when we drank tea, it was what my ex-husband refers to as “flower tea.” My tea is brewed outside and is a mixture of tea, flowers and herbs. This type of tea doesn’t require any sweeteners because it is full of flavor naturally. What this means is that I am not used to sweetening my tea, and still prefer not to do so, even when the tea is hot.
Since this tea lacked any and all flavor, Bryan and I made a point to add our awesome Young Living Essential Oils to each cup to give it some sort of flavor. That certainly helped, because we have a ton of essential oils that we use daily, in just about everything!
Unhappiness
I was really not happy with the product, so I reached out to my affiliate rep and asked if they had other teas with ANY sort of flavors. The response was a big fat NO. I asked if they would consider making some with pomegranate, acai, berries, hibiscus, something, anything to make it more palatable. They told me that it was something to keep in mind but as of right now they had no plans to do so. This really wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. So I have to say that I wasn’t really happy with it because I have a hard time promoting something that I don’t like.
The Results
Not only were we not thrilled with the lack of flavor, but I didn’t lose anything. Now, it could be a user error because I rarely drank the second cup since lunchtime is a figment of my imagination most days. But I figured that I would see some sort of change. Even if it was only a pound or two, since I was adding something new to my regimen. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothing.
Due to the fact that we didn’t like the flavor and it didn’t do anything for my metabolism, of note, I was in a predicament when it came to writing the review. The affiliate rep reached out to me with excitement to see my review. I cringed when I saw that email because I already voiced how unhappy I was with the flavor. So I was in a quandary what to do with regards to my product review.
After some thought, and some insight from others in my writing group, I decided it was best to just lay it all out.
The Deal
If you are into bland tea, and fine with adding your own flavor, then I say give it a shot. Maybe you will have different results that I did.
However, I have found a few other affiliates that have fruits and herbs in their teas so that I don’t have to doctor up my cup. I prefer those, personally. Zest Tea has been my favorite find so far. Bryan and I both love the natural flavors they have and the extra boost of caffeine doesn’t give us the jitters like full caff coffee does.
Overall, we weren’t big fans of this tea and won’t be drinking it again. Unless, they decide to get creative and come out with some different blends with some actual flavor. Until then, we will stick with our Zest Tea favorites, Blue Lady and Pomegranate Mojito, and the Dandelion Burdock tea that we have been blending together from our friends at Moon By Moon Apothecary here in Raleigh.
What are some of your favorite teas and why?
