Organic India’s Chyawanprash & Tulsi Tea

Organic India reached out to me recently about two of their organic products – the Organic Chyawanprash and the Original Tulsi Tea.

“What’s Chyawanprash?”, you may ask.

“India’s ‘Elixir of Life’ is an herbal jam made from wild forest fruits and a combination of 36 traditional Ayurvedic herbs. ORGANIC INDIA’s Chyawanprash is available in an 8.8 ounce jar containing approximately 25 servings. Made from the traditional, authentic and nutritious Ayurvedic recipe, Chyawanprash is naturally sweet, using mineral-rich gur (organic cane juice reduced to syrup), organic raw honey which is added after the heating process, and organic ghee (clarified butter). Herbs include Amla, Cardamom, Long Pepper, Cinnamon, Haritaki, Guruchi, Cyperus, Purnarnava, Shatavari, Ashwagandha, and 25 others.”

Its ingredients include organic evaporated cane juice, organic honey, organic clarified butter (ghee), organic sesame oil.

It was my first time to try chyawanprash. With thirty-six herbs (just a load of herbs!), I really didn’t know what to expect.

First attempt: I tried spreading it on bread, but it was too thick to be spreadable. Second attempt: I ate it off a teaspoon, which worked better than my earlier attempt. Organic India’s website recommends two teaspoons per day mixed to warm milk, but I haven’t tried that yet. Now with all the herbs in it, the cardamom taste was the most distinct to me. Possibly because it was the herb that I was most familiar with.

I also received a box of Original Tulsi Tea. Have you ever heard of tulsi? Me neither. When I checked Organic India’s website, here’s what I discovered:

“Throughout India, Tulsi is considered ‘The Queen of Herbs’ and is revered as a sacred plant infused with healing power. Traditionally grown in an earthen pot in every family home or garden, Tulsi (also known as Holy Basil) makes a delicious and refreshing tea that possesses wonderful health benefits that support the body’s natural immune system while relieving the body’s negative reaction to stress.”

The tea, naturally, has a distinctly basil flavor because tulsi is basil. Well, holy basil, to be specific. This tea was a blend of three tulsis: Krishna, Vana and Rama. I followed the box directions to let it steep for 5-10 minutes. I went for 10 minutes. It was a soothing herbal tea, but I felt it needed a little sweetness, so I added a teaspoon of mint sugar. For all the basil blend in this tea, I thought the basil taste was rather surprisingly subtle. Since I enjoy drinking tea, this was a good find.

These items are also USDA-certified organic, as well as non-GMO-, kosher- and even halal-certified. Both products have purported health benefits, but I can’t vouch for them because those benefits take time to kick in. One thing’s for certain: if you’re a tea drinker, then you should definitely try the Tulsi tea.

Disclaimer: A representative for Organic India contacted me to review these products. I received samples in exchange for writing a review on the blog. All opinions are my own.