As much as I love coffee and coffee type drinks, I think that I like tea more. Iced tea, hot tea, green tea, spiced tea, it's all good to me, so when I was contacted by Tisha Winters from Numi Tea to be included in Focus Organic's Ultimate Green Holidays Guide, I was excited and happy to accept. It was a great decision! I'm up to my ears in organic tea now, and I couldn't be happier.

Numi, LLC, is a leader in the natural & specialty tea category. Brother and sister founders Ahmed and Reem Rahim founded the company in 1999, which is known for premium full leaf teas, herbal teasans and an innovative line of Flowering Teas. Numi’s whole leaf teas are never treated with artificial flavors, colorings or oils common to the market resulting in a pure clean taste. Numi is committed to global consciousness and sustainability in its packaging and business practices. Numi Organic Tea is available in natural & specialty grocery stores across the U.S.

Clean taste is an understatement. I haven't been able to try all the flavors yet, but I have to praise the Aged Earl Grey Italian Bergamot Black Tea. Black tea is what I most commonly drink because it's the easiest to find and usually the least expensive. Described as "black tea scented with real bergamot oranges (not flavorigs) is robust and fruity," this tea is the absolute smoothest black tea I have ever had - no exaggerating.

Quality & Authenticity

Source: With a passion for people and learning, the Numi Tea'm travels to source its teas and herbs directly from the gardens of origin, ensuring the freshest ingredients of the season's latest pickings. Numi teas and herbs are certified Organic, Fair Trade, Kosher and Halal.

Full Leaf Quality: Numi uses organic full leaf tea in their tea bags, never bitter tasting tea dust or fannings. Each tea bag delivers the quality of loose leaf tea, releasing a smooth flavor that nourishes the body and soothes the soul.

No Oils or Flavorings: To create the purest tea on the planet, Numi uses only real fruits, flowers, herbs and spices in theirr tea bags, without the added oils or flavorings (including "natural flavorings") common in the market. This creates a natural taste, rich in authentic flavor.

Organic Decaffeination Process: Numi's full leaf tea has been decaffeinated using the Supercritical CO₂ extraction process that naturally extracts caffeine without affecting antioxidant levels or compromising flavor.

Sustainability

Numi is proud to be a WRAP of the Year Award Winner 2006. WRAP = Waste Reduction Awards Program of California

Bamboo: Numi uses bamboo in their gift boxes for its beauty and fast re-growth. Bamboo is a renewable natural resource that can grow up to 6 feet per month.

Biodegradable Tea Bags: Numi's tea bags are made from natural fibers with a double chamber to release the subtle flavors each tea and herb has to offer. They don't follow the trend of using "silky" nylon or biodegradable nylon (GMO-based cornstarch) tea bags.

Eco-friendly Packaging: Numi's tea boxes are made of 100% recycled material, 85% post-consumer waste and are shrink-wrap free.

Numi's eco-friendly practices result in 2,876 trees saved, 184,992 pounds of landfill reduced, and 1,523 million BTU of energy reduced and 260,145 pounds of greenhouse emissions prevented.

So Numi makes their teas and tea production eco-friendly, but they're also socially responsible. The bamboo products are assembled by women who have the option to work from home so they can take of their families while still earning a living. Assorted packs and bamboo items in the U.S. are also assembled by people with disabilities at Community Gatepath in CA. The state of CA matches every dollar of business Numi pays Community Gatepath to support their programs.

Numi's product line includes a huge variety of loose teas, teaware, bagged teas, iced tea, bamboo gift sets, spa teas, flowering teas, and more. Numi offers a number of unique teapots, tea carousels and tea chests. Bamboo boxes come with tea bags or can be purchased empty. Flowering Teas are hand picked and sewn premium tea leaves tied with cotton thread into various shapes and bundles When steeped in hot water, the leaves slowly expand and the flowers delicately unravel into a bouquet of breathtaking shapes. They area available in a variety of white, green, black, and oolong teas.

With the affordable pricing, all of the products make great gifts for the holidays or any time of year. You can seriously spend hours on Numi Tea's website trying to decide what you want to buy! Not only does the website offer a huge supply of great products, but it also provides a lot of information about teas, their nutritional value, and more. Check out their gift section if you are still searching for something unique. I know a few people I'm spreading the word of Numi to with the iRelax and Numi Organic Tea Set.

Also, visit Square One Organic Vodka for cocktails that can be created with Numi Teas. Definitely something different!