Waka Quality Instant Tea, Unsweetened Black Tea, 200 Servings

One of my new favotite Amazon finds . This is really good quality tea , powdered like a Japanese Macha or Turkish coffee and it has a nice deep rich flavor. One bag is about 2/3 a pint mason , I put it in a glass jar with an O2 absorber for better storage after opening the bag. Comes w a tiny 1/4 tsp scooper , which is enough to make a cuppa. The black tea variety did well in my Chai recipe , can't wait to try some of the others.

So, lets start with an honest disclosure: I have a complicated relationship with tea. I have read much about the health benefits of tea and wish to replace my sugar infused liquid bad habits with something healthier. Simple enough you might think, however, that’s where the complicated part comes into play; I absolutely despise the taste of tea. Preparing for this review, I invested some time into ensuring that I accurately convey the level of disgust I experience on my taste buds while consuming tea. Turns out “Hate”, which is a very powerful word to express an “intense or passionate dislike for something or someone” and was my go-to descriptor, is not at all accurate. In the hierarchy of English words used to convey dislike and negativity, it appears that hate takes a back seat to “Loathe” which itself sits behind “Abhor”. To give you some perspective of my level of abhorrence for the taste: Were I present at Boston Harbor on December 16th of 1773, I would have joined the Sons of Liberty in throwing crates of tea into the harbor, not just for the sake of raising hell about taxation without representation, but just as importantly to me, ridding the world of the foul taste of that repugnant vile weed. In my search to find a brand of tea that is somewhat palatable to my anti-tea taste buds, I have tried many different brands & types. I have attempted to camouflage the taste with honey, lemon, maple syrup, and even sugar, but with no success. Nothing I do can filter my repugnance. Here’s where any sane person would have had the realization that “Gee, maybe tea isn’t for me, I just don’t like it, so I shouldn’t drink it!” But apparently, I’m to stupid and stubborn, and my battle persists in trying to find a tea that I can consume without fighting back the gag. So, with that depressing look at the inner workings of my mind, and my lifelong battle with tea, lets move on to why I find myself here, giving this elixir a 5-star review: I stumbled into Waka’s Instant Kenyan Black Tea during my last bout of “Must find a Tea” madness, and read the reviews in which most tea drinkers referred to its unique capabilities to infuse into water without any grainy remnants and also its rich flavor. Reviews were very positive and something told me to order it. Upon its arrival, I opened the package and took a deep nasally draw and…nothing bad. I mixed up a small glass and took a sip, bracing myself for the inevitable ugly tea aftertaste letdown; but it never appeared. Instead, I was greeted with a slight but noticeable dark mustiness that was relatively pleasant with no repugnance! Zero Repugnance! I proceeded to sip away and in no time the glass was empty. At the ripe age of 49, I had just consumed my very first full cup of tea! Summary: While I cant say it’s the best drink I’ve ever had, it’s the only tea I have ever been able to finish, and from my perspective, that says everything. I’ll be ordering more! -If you’re a tea connoisseur, you would be wise to read the other reviews since what I’m peddling here isn’t going to help you much. -If you have a tea-hate personality disorder and are trying to find a tea that you won’t hate as much or at all, then take my word for it and give this a try. I can drink it straight but prefer a squeezed lemon with it, which compliments the tea well. -The caffeine level is a strong plus! Gives me a nice kick without the jitteriness of energy drinks.

This tea is pretty good, but messy, as someone else said. The powder is so fine that it tends to spill, but I’d rather deal with that than have fillers, sweeteners and flavors some corporate product developers come up with. I mix this tea with a peach-mango flavored electrolyte powder that is sweetened with stevia and that also contains extra amino acids, and I get a perfect peach tea that is good for me. Sometimes I also add collagen powder and really treat myself well. I have a couple of 40 oz. containers that I use to get my 150 oz plus of water per day, and I have developed a little routine. I stir 5 quarter-tsps of the tea powder into some hot water in my container before I leave for work. I may add a scoop of the electrolyte powder and some ice cubes then, or I may add the powder later, along with cold bottled or filtered water at work. I like to let the tea brew a little on its own if possible. I also carry the powder in a small container with the scoop in a zip lock baggie for a refill while at work. I have tubes of electrolytes for adding on the go, so I can have 2 80 oz containers-ful per day. Adding the tea makes my electrolyte drink more refreshing. If starting with hot water isn’t possible, I still start with the tea powder in a small amount of room-temperature or cold water, and shake it a lot to mix and “brew” the tea before adding everything else. As I said above, it’s a little more work than commercially available peach tea products, but it’s worth it to me to have a sweetener that doesn’t raise my blood sugar or“fake-out” my system, and that has real tea benefits plus the electrolytes and other nutrients I need. I used to drink 64 oz plus of diet soda per day, but I have gotten clean and am treating my body better. I’ve lost 40 lbs, improved all my vitals, lost the aches and pains, and look and act younger than my 70 years of age. I also don’t take any of the usual pharmaceuticals for someone of my age and health concerns. The tea/water is only part of the story, but getting off the commercial drinks is an important part!

I am really impressed with this tea. It has a nice natural peach flavor and aroma and the black tea is of great quality, nice and strong tasting but without any bitterness. The tea dissolves easily in hot water with almost no residue in the bottom of the cup after the last sip. You only need about 1/4 teaspoon per 8 ounces of water, which means a bag should last a long time, making this tea a good value for the money. It is excellent plain or with milk and sweetener (if adding milk and sweetener I like to use a little extra tea powder to make it a little stronger.) Because the tea is so good I am giving the product 5 stars but I do have one complaint. The zip on the top of the bag is absolutely useless, and I wasted a little of the tea figuring this out. I ended up cutting off the top of the bag and placing it inside a plastic ziplock bag to (hopefully) seal in the freshness. Maybe I just got a bad bag, but I won't know that for a while since I think this tea will last me quite a while before I need to reorder it.

Delicious tea powder. Ideal in every way, except it arrived in a sack. When opening the sack the fine powder becomes airborne and easy to inhale. I put on a mask and used a funnel to move contents to a jar.

Flavor is great, but recommend making in small quantities or by the glass. It turns cloudy very quickly and leaves stronger stains than normal/other brands

I really like this stuff once I learned to go lightly with it. It comes with a very small spoon. Perfect for putting one small scoop into a 16 oz bottle of spring water. I tried to use more to make it look more like Lipton instant (which isn't made anymore) but it tasted bitter. It's not as robust as Lipton, it's more subtle. Once I stopped trying to put a square peg into a round hole it was great.

If you, like me, fondly remember regular old instant Nestea (NOT with lemon flavor) and have wished there was something comparable available, let me assure you THIS IS IT! Just treat the little spoon that comes in the bag (level only, no more) as being equal to a teaspoon of Nestea and enjoy it as iced or hot tea.