What ingredient in this tea makes it taste sweet? Cinnamon? Cloves? Nutmeg?
Bengal Spice tea made by Celestial Seasonings tastes sweet when brewed without a sweetener. It's so sweet you could convince a taster that a fair amount of sweetener was already added to their cup. The listed ingredients are: cinnamon, roasted chicory, roasted carob, natural spice and vanilla flavors with other natural flavors, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, cloves and nutmeg. The box lists 0 calories and 0 grams of carbohydrate indicating no sugar. Further, since the second infusion also tastes sweet, I doubt they "neglected" to list an ingredient such as sugar or stevia, which would tend to fully dissolve in the first infusion.
What ingredient is making the tea taste sweet? Why isn't that ingredient used to sweeten other drinks?
What ingredient is making the tea taste sweet? Why isn't that ingredient used to sweeten other drinks?
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The ingredients that make it taste sweet: cinnamon, roasted chicory, roasted carob, natural spice and vanilla flavors with other natural flavors, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg.
Pretty much every ingredient is "sweet", and foods with those sorts of ingredients don't need as much sugar. Gingerbread cookies can get away with far less sweetener than blander cookies. I think the Starbucks Chai Latte is far too sweet, and when I make my own at home, I use far less sweetener than they do - like a tsp of splenda for 16 oz. If I were to make a latte, I would use 2 tbsp of splenda for 16 oz. This is probably why dietitians encourage people to use lots of herbs and spices in their food - foods with lots of flavor don't need as much fat and sugar to taste nice.
Pretty much every ingredient is "sweet", and foods with those sorts of ingredients don't need as much sugar. Gingerbread cookies can get away with far less sweetener than blander cookies. I think the Starbucks Chai Latte is far too sweet, and when I make my own at home, I use far less sweetener than they do - like a tsp of splenda for 16 oz. If I were to make a latte, I would use 2 tbsp of splenda for 16 oz. This is probably why dietitians encourage people to use lots of herbs and spices in their food - foods with lots of flavor don't need as much fat and sugar to taste nice.
Jun 16, 2011. 10:31 PMuhsnamih
says:
The very name tells that it's an Indian green tea. Originally the green leaves used to make this tea is grown in Darjling, India and at a few more places near. It's famously known as Indian green tea or Darjling tea.
Here's a quote from the official website - celestialseasonings.com "This adventurous blend is our caffeine-free interpretation of Chai, a piquant Indian brew traditionally made with black tea."
Chai - made of milk sugar tea specially made tea leaves/ powder.
Also all plants have glucose in them, this is exactly what plants produce to fee upon (plants make their own food). Glucose is naturally sweet and for humans it works like medical Redbull or an energy drink since it directly dissolves in your blood and makes you feel energetic.
Here's a quote from the official website - celestialseasonings.com "This adventurous blend is our caffeine-free interpretation of Chai, a piquant Indian brew traditionally made with black tea."
Chai - made of milk sugar tea specially made tea leaves/ powder.
Also all plants have glucose in them, this is exactly what plants produce to fee upon (plants make their own food). Glucose is naturally sweet and for humans it works like medical Redbull or an energy drink since it directly dissolves in your blood and makes you feel energetic.
Jun 8, 2011. 12:50 PMFoxx4050
says:
The roasted carob. Also you can't tell what the "other natural flavors" are so it could be that too.
Mar 26, 2011. 12:37 PMjrg3ni0us
says:
All of the above. But it's not too cheap, so others just use sugar
Feb 22, 2011. 5:22 PMtincanz
says:
All of the plant-based ingredients have natural complex sugars, and the hot water causes them to break down slightly. The broken down form of a complex sugar is a simple sugar, one that tastes sweet. To prove or disprove, try some of that tea with cold water, see if it is sweet still.
It is also possible that some of the "Other natural flavors" are slightly sweet.
It is also possible that some of the "Other natural flavors" are slightly sweet.
Feb 19, 2011. 1:33 PMteeval
says:
I reckon its the mix of vanilla flavouring and cinnamon. Both taste sweet on their own and cinnamon added to things, such a stewed fruit, reduces the amount of sugar needed :-D
Jan 15, 2011. 12:19 PMthepelton
says:
Carob is naturally sweet. Cardamom enhances the flavor of chocolate and carob.
Jan 4, 2011. 1:09 PMTonester
says:
According to Evitamins website:
Your answer on why Celestial Seasonings "Bengal Spice Tea" being a little on the sweet side is a hint of vanilla that adds a bit of sweetness taste.
Ingredients: Cinnamon, Roasted Chicory Root, Roasted Carob, Natural Spice and Vanilla Flavors with other Natural Flavors, Dates, Ginger Root, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg.
The answer is found at:
http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=5030
By: Tonester of DeluxeMini-Sports (http://www.deluxemini-sports.com/)
Your answer on why Celestial Seasonings "Bengal Spice Tea" being a little on the sweet side is a hint of vanilla that adds a bit of sweetness taste.
Ingredients: Cinnamon, Roasted Chicory Root, Roasted Carob, Natural Spice and Vanilla Flavors with other Natural Flavors, Dates, Ginger Root, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg.
The answer is found at:
http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=5030
By: Tonester of DeluxeMini-Sports (http://www.deluxemini-sports.com/)
Jan 4, 2011. 4:21 AMsiliconghost
says:
It's the Roasted Carob, at least according to this guy (and a few others here that mention it).
"If you don't know what carob is, it's a dark-brown pod that is native to the Mediterranean. It has a nice-chocolate-y taste is often used as a chocolate substitute. It has calcium, phosphorus and potassium. It has been purportedly used to help people survive during wars. And what's great is, it's naturally sweet! Which explains why the tea possesses a mild sweetness without any sugar."
"If you don't know what carob is, it's a dark-brown pod that is native to the Mediterranean. It has a nice-chocolate-y taste is often used as a chocolate substitute. It has calcium, phosphorus and potassium. It has been purportedly used to help people survive during wars. And what's great is, it's naturally sweet! Which explains why the tea possesses a mild sweetness without any sugar."
"Other natural flavors" are definitely weird and slightly suspicious. Basically, if a particular chemical can be found and extracted from a natural (usually plant) source, or synthesized to match the chemical(s) in that source, it can be called a "natural flavor" The New Yorker recently had a great article about it.
Dec 22, 2010. 6:52 PMArano
says:
hmm natural flavirs... strawberry flavor is in most cases extracted from the bark of some trees hehe
Dec 14, 2010. 12:04 PMmeltoneom007
says:
i think sugar n Cinnamon make it tastes beter...(spoon lickin good)
Dec 12, 2010. 2:54 PMmaddman
says:
not only the carob, but also cinnamon also tends to be a bit sweet in it's natural form, not too sweet though ,as it's sweetness is usually masked by the firy cinnamon taste. but in the form of cinnamon sticks it is a bit sweet.
vanilla when roasted with the carob carmelizes and makes a sweet taste
Yep, that is what I posted on FB and that the cinnamon would help enhance the sweetness
I knew that chicory is sweet-tasting but I didn't know why, until now.
Chicory contains a high level of inulin, which is used as a sweetener. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory
Chicory contains a high level of inulin, which is used as a sweetener. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory
It's the chicory, folks:
"the root contains up to 20% inulin" "It is used as a sweetener in the food industry with a sweetening power 1⁄10 that of sucrose"
"the root contains up to 20% inulin" "It is used as a sweetener in the food industry with a sweetening power 1⁄10 that of sucrose"
I wonder what more accurate %s are?
0.49% rounds to 0%, which gives you up to 9.8mg of each. Not sugar, must be very-sweet.
I guess the analysis is of the liquid @ 8floz (they don't expect you to eat the tea bag)
I guess Stevia too
L
Interesting thing I found
Are you sure you washed the cup before pouring the tea? ;)
Dec 7, 2010. 6:31 AMsiliconghost
says:
I've seen Stevia often used in teas as a natural sweetener. They usually list it in the ingredients though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
According to the FDA sugar is a "natural" flavoring, where as honey is not. That says a lot about Big Sugar (as they are known as in FL) and it's successful lobbying. I would guess that sugar is indeed in that tea, why there are no calories listed is probably a loop hole they found in the "natural" area.
I'd suspect it's the combination of them. I have that same tea and just made a cup, it isn't that sweet... But I do have a cold and can't smell, so maybe the sweetness is from the scent, possibly?
Other natural flavoUrs maybe? Either way, they have an amazing address.
Dec 6, 2010. 11:17 PMorksecurity
says:
I would guess that the vanilla, carob, and perhaps cardamom also add some sweet notes.
Simplest way to check would be to get some of those ingredients and try your own mixtures.
Simplest way to check would be to get some of those ingredients and try your own mixtures.
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