National Hot Tea Month: A Guide to Moringa Tea Varieties

January is National Hot Tea Month — as good an excuse as any to look past the same box you've been buying and work out what else is in the cupboard. If moringa is new to you, this is a guide to what the different blends actually taste like, which ones have caffeine in them, and how to brew each one so it doesn't turn bitter.

What moringa tea is

Moringa tea is made from the leaves of Moringa oleifera, a fast-growing tree native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India and now grown across the tropics. It isn't a "tea" in the botanical sense — there's no Camellia sinensis in the pure blends, which is why they're naturally caffeine-free.

Ours comes from family-run farms in Sri Lanka's rainforest belt. The leaves are hand-picked, solar-dried and cut for tea rather than extracted or concentrated, so what's in the bag is whole leaf. On its own, that leaf brews to a golden-green cup that tastes green and grassy with a faint peppery finish — closer to a light green tea than to matcha.

The flavors, honestly described

Original

Just the leaf. Light, clean, faintly savory, no bitterness if you keep the water off the boil. This is the reference point — brew it once so you know what the moringa itself tastes like before you judge the blends.

Ginger, Turmeric, Apple & Cinnamon, Pumpkin Spice

The warm-spice group. Ginger is the most assertive of them and the best one for a cold morning; turmeric is mildly savory and earthy rather than sweet, and takes honey well. These are the blends that hide the green note most completely, which makes them a sensible first box if you're skeptical.

Lemon, Lemon & Ginger, Lemon & Chamomile, Hibiscus

The bright group. Citrus acidity cuts straight through the grassiness — Lemon is the mildest tea in the range and the easiest to drink unsweetened. Lemon & Chamomile is the one to keep for the evening; Hibiscus brews a deep red cup and is tart enough to drink iced without sugar.

Mint, Mango, Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach & Ginger, Watermelon

The fruit-and-fresh group, and the best candidates for iced tea. Mint is a moringa tea with mint rather than a straight peppermint — several customers describe a faint chocolate note when it steeps a while.

Chocolate, Honey & Vanilla, Rooibos

The dessert-adjacent group. Rich, round, low-acid; good with milk, which most herbal teas are not.

Green Tea and Earl Grey — the two exceptions

These two are blends with real tea leaf, and they are not caffeine-free. Green Tea is blended with decaffeinated green tea and carries under 1 mg of caffeine per serving — effectively trace, but not zero. Earl Grey is a black-tea blend with bergamot at 5–10 mg per serving — light, but real. Every other flavor in the herbal line is genuinely 0 mg. Our caffeine page has the full breakdown.

And if you actually want caffeine

The Moringa Energy Tea range is a separate line in pyramid sachets, at 155 mg of caffeine per serving — roughly a strong cup of coffee, and intended as a coffee alternative rather than an all-day herbal tea.

Brewing so it doesn't go bitter

Most complaints about moringa tea trace back to water that was too hot or a bag left in too long.

• Water: just off the boil, around 195–205°F. A rolling boil pulls out the sharper, more peppery notes.
• Time: 3–5 minutes for the herbal blends. Unlike black tea, they don't turn harsh at five minutes — but they don't get much stronger after that either.
• Second steep: the flavored blends will take one, at reduced strength. Original will not.
• Iced: brew at double strength and pour over a full glass of ice, so the melt doesn't wash it out.
• Sweetening: honey suits the spice and floral blends; the citrus ones rarely need anything.

What's in the leaf

Moringa leaves are unusually nutrient-dense for a leafy green: vitamins A, C, E and several B vitamins, along with calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, plus all nine essential amino acids and a range of antioxidant compounds. Those are content facts about the dried leaf. A cup of tea is a small serving of it, and it belongs alongside a varied diet rather than in place of one.

Building the ritual

Pick one slot and defend it — the first cup of the morning, or the mid-afternoon one instead of a second coffee. Keep the box somewhere you can see it. Buy the flavors you actually reach for. And if you're unsure where to start, our starter pack exists precisely so you can find out before committing to twenty-five bags of one thing.

Cheers to a cozy January — and to a tea cupboard with something new in it. Browse the full range of organic moringa teas, or read our taste guide for more detail on each flavor.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Always talk to a healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or managing a medical condition.