Whether you're craving the juicy sweetness of peaches, the bright tang of citrus, or the refreshing flavor of ripe berries, fruit teas are always in season. Naturally caffeine-free and equally delicious hot or iced, these colorful infusions are fast becoming favorites around the world.
In this post, I'll touch on how fruit teas came to be and what’s making them so popular today, while exploring a few freshly picked Harney & Sons favorites that can add more fruit-forward flavor to your summer.
What Is Fruit Tea? (Fruit Teas vs. Fruity Teas)
Before I go any further, we should establish the difference between fruit teas and fruity teas.
Fruity teas are, putting it plainly, teas that have fruit in them. One good example is our Blueberry Green, a Chinese green tea that we’ve enhanced with blueberry pieces, plus lemongrass and vanilla. Fruit plays a part here, but it’s a supporting role. The tea is still the star, and caffeine is very much in the picture.
Fruit teas, on the other hand, contain no actual tea (and therefore, no caffeine). Their all-natural ingredients include fruit flavors, fruit pieces, and botanicals (such as hibiscus or rosehips), and it’s these teas that we’re here to discuss today.
The Story Behind Fruit Tea
It’s hard to say when the first person thought of making a drink by pouring hot water over fruits and flowers (we’ve always been a pretty inventive species). But what we do know is that the practice increased in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries.
That’s when the Dutch East India Company, British East India Company, and other trading companies drastically expanded the availability and affordability of citrus and other then-exotic fruits (not to mention cinnamon, cloves, dried ginger, and other spices). Accordingly, European blenders began to incorporate more citrus peels and berries into their herbal infusions, enhancing their flavor, aroma, and visual appeal.
By the 20th century, advances in food dehydration had expanded possibilities. And some of those possibilities were realized by a man named Andrew Demmer.
Does Fruit Tea Have Caffeine?
The short answer: no. Fruit teas contain fruit, fruit flavors, and botanicals. But they don’t contain any leaves from the caffeinated tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Which means you can drink them at any time of day or night, without worrying about caffeine keeping you awake.
The Man Behind Modern Fruit Tea
In the 1980s, our friend and colleague Andrew Demmer introduced a fresh take on fruit infusions to his Demmers Teehaus tea shops in Vienna, Austria. Beginning with a blend called Obstgarten, he blended dried fruits with flowers and botanicals, developing bold yet approachable flavors for customers wanting natural, caffeine-free beverages.
It wasn’t long before those beverages became favorites in Vienna, and then Austria and Germany. Now, their popularity has spread from Central Europe to find an enthusiastic following in the United States.
What Makes Fruit Teas So Appealing?
We think that fruit teas will be one of the next big beverage trends. If you’re wondering why that is, I’ve got an explanation.
For one thing, fruit teas are wonderfully flavorful. Whether you gravitate toward citrus, berries, tropical fruits, or stone fruits, there's a fruit tea for every palate.
But there are other reasons as well.
In a nation that’s becoming increasingly health-conscious, fruit teas are a refreshing alternative to soda with no added sugar (and no corn syrup in sight). They’re plant-based (with no artificial additives), and naturally flavored. Moreover, they offer hydration with no energy spikes.
Because they’re caffeine-free, you can drink them at any hour of the day or night, and a lot of people do exactly that. Fruit teas are as refreshing in the morning or afternoon as they are soothing at night.
Lastly, the vibrant colors of fruit teas present and photograph beautifully, which is why you may have seen them popping up in your TikTok and Instagram feeds lately.
How To Make Fruit Tea
Like herbal teas, fruit teas should be brewed in 212°F water for five minutes. Once the steeping time is reached, remove the tea to achieve the perfect strength.
At least, that’s how to brew a cup of hot fruit tea. One of the qualities of fruit teas is that they taste just as good cold (especially on a hot summer day), and it doesn’t take much extra effort to turn a hot tea into a cool one.
As you may already know (especially if you’ve read my recent blog, Unlikely Iced Tea Options), the traditional way to brew a glass of iced tea is to brew a cup of hot tea first. Put a teaspoon of loose tea in an infuser (or use a single sachet or tea bag), but cut the amount of boiling water you would typically use in half to create a concentrate. Once your tea has steeped, pour it over a glass filled with ice, and top it off with cold water as needed.
The Fruits of Our Labor
Delivering authentic flavors without caffeine, all our fruit teas are made with all-natural ingredients. Whether you're drawn to bright citrus, tropical fruits, or the sweetness of late-summer berries and stone fruits, we have a refreshing infusion waiting to become your new favorite.
Blood Orange Fruit Tea is our most popular fruit tea, and one sip will show you why. Bright citrus leads the way, supported by apples, rosehips, hibiscus, beet root, marigold, and safflower, all combining to make this vivid orange-red cup as refreshing as it is beautiful.
Capturing the lush sweetness of ripe mangoes, our Mango Fruit Tea is balanced by the tart brightness of hibiscus and complemented by rosehips, orange peel, and apple pieces. The result is a brilliant crimson infusion with a tropical character.
A fragrant orange-red infusion, Peach Fruit Tea captures the essence of late summer with real peach pieces, combined with rosehips, hibiscus, apple pieces, and safflower petals.
Citrus and passion fruit take center stage in Orange Passion Fruit Tea, a tropical blend of fruits and flowers that includes rosehips and hibiscus. Brewing up to a crimson red color, this cup has both a fruity aroma and delicious tropical fruit flavors (subtly enhanced by floral notes).
One of our own blends, Goji Berry Fruit Tea, is a strikingly colored brew (crimson red, with orange hues) that marries the tart sweetness of dried goji berries with the complementary flavors of blueberries and raspberries, all resting atop a base layer of hibiscus and rosehips.
Lastly, Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tea is a vibrant ruby-red drink that blends the sweetness of ripe strawberries with the tartness of kiwi, yielding a fresh, fruit-forward blend that also includes rosehips, hibiscus, apple pieces, and orange peel.
Go Forth and Sip
Whether you're discovering fruit tea for the first time or looking for a new favorite, this is the perfect time to explore these colorful, naturally caffeine-free infusions. Our Fruit Tea Sampler (filled with four-ounce tins of Blood Orange Fruit Tea, Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tea, Mango Fruit Tea, and Peach Fruit Tea) can add a little more color to your day (not to mention your cup). And if you’d like to try yet another refreshing summertime treat, check out our easy, delicious Tea Slushie recipes. Happy sipping!
