Is there anything more delicious than a good cup of berry tea in the afternoon or evening? Once you’ve tried the best berry teas on my list, you’ll agree that not much can top sipping one. Rich in antioxidants and bursting with tart sweet flavours, they are a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth without gorging on dessert.
In this guide, I’ll explain what a berry tea is and some common berries used in tea. I’ll also give you a quick outline of why you shouldn’t pay much attention to berry tea benefits after counting down my 10 top berry tea blends.
Let’s dig in.
Types of Berry Tea
There are numerous types of berry tea, from raspberries to strawberries, but first let’s cover the kinds of tea you can make with berries.
The first kind is fresh berry tea. Pick some berries, pop them in water, and let them brew. This works better with some berries than others. Strawberry slices will create a subtle flavour (I’ve had success floating them in water in the fridge overnight) while other fruits like raspberries will just disintegrate and blueberries won’t infuse at all.
Next, dried berries. This is the most common way to make berry tea. By chopping up the berries finely and drying them, when they are infused with water they release a lot of flavour. This also gives tea makers the chance to add other ingredients (hibiscus is incredibly common in berry tea) and package the tea into teabags.
Finally, there’s a berry tea blend. Besides including dried berries, tea makers can use other herbal ingredients and different teas, like rooibos or black tea. A good example of a berry tea blend is IKEA Black Chai with Ginger and Elderberries, that uses just one berry to add sweetness to a spicy mix.
A tea or infusion is made by letting the fruits infuse with the water and then straining them out. If you mash the berries into the water, or juice them, it’s not technically berry tea. But it will be tasty, so I highly recommend giving this a go nonetheless. It also allows you to enjoy the antioxidant properties of many berry types.
Popular Berries for Making Tea
At Immortal Wordsmith, I have reviewed hundreds of different teas. You can use my Tea Review Index to navigate them. The berries I have come across include:
- Acerola
- Acai
- Blackberry
- Blackcurrant
- Blueberry
- Cherry
- Chokeberry
- Cranberry
- Currant
- Elderberry
- Goji
- Pomegranate
- Raspberry
- Schisandra
- Sea buckthorn
- Strawberry
10 Best Berry Teas in the UK
These berry tea blends are selected based on my own opinions and reviews. I only recommend teas that I have tried for myself and reviewed here on the blog. All opinions and photos are my own!
1. Whittard Very Berry Crush
- Type: Fruit tea
- Ingredients: Hibiscus flowers, elderberries, grapes, sweet blackberry leaves, blueberries, blackcurrants, strawberry pieces, cornflower petals, flavouring
- Where to Buy: Whittard or Amazon
Whittard Very Berry Crush is a pure fruit tea, no caffeinated tea leaves, that is one of the best berry teas I have tried. Hibiscus takes central stage, but there are other fruity notes present. Against a full-bodied base, this tea has notes of strawberry, rhubarb, and red currants.
There is a little added flavouring in this tea, but overall, it’s pretty good on that front. It’s also available in loose leaf format or teabags from Whittard of Chelsea. If you are ordering from outside the UK, you can sometimes find better delivery options through Amazon instead.
2. Zest Superberry Samba
- Type: High-caffeine green tea
- Ingredients: Young Hyson Chinese green tea, raspberry, safflower petals, tea extract, passionfruit flavour, strawberry flavour, acai flavour
- Where to Buy: Amazon
Zest Tea Superberry Samba is a high-caffeine punch when you want a fruit tea but need something with caffeine to get you through the day. With each cup of this tea containing more caffeine than coffee, plus non-GMO ingredients and natural flavourings, it will help you feel good and sustain your energy throughout the day.
As for the flavour, this berry tea is astringent and cleansing with subtle passionfruit notes, berry hints, and a nice sweetness that sweeps into the aftertaste. Just remember that the caffeine content is high – don’t be tempted to guzzle this one down quickly unless you are ready to feel a bit light-headed.
3. Whittard Blueberry Rooibos
- Type: Herbal rooibos tea
- Ingredients: South African rooibos, blackberry leaves, blackcurrant leaves, amaranth, cornflower petals, flavouring
- Where to Buy: Whittard or Amazon
The first of two blueberry teas on my list. I love blueberries, especially as they are a superfood for PCOS. But surprisingly, this tea doesn’t actually contain blueberries. Instead, it combines warm and nutty rooibos with leaves and flavouring. It scored a 3.8 out of 5 in my rating system, which is pretty good!
Whittard Blueberry Rooibos has a sweet cake-like aroma with hints of blueberry muffins and a tinge of medicine, which many rooibos teas have. As for the flavour, it is light and sweet with a watery rooibos note and soft blueberry hints. This is definitely a lightly flavoured berry tea but quite pleasant nonetheless.
4. Tea People Blueberry Black
- Type: Black tea
- Ingredients: Ceylon black tea, blueberries, cornflower petals, natural flavouring
- Where to Buy: Amazon UK
Available in the UK from a British tea brand, Tea People Blueberry Black combines black tea leaves from Sri Lanka with dried blueberries, cornflower petals for colour, and a little natural flavouring. This tea is from an ethical tea company, and they produce a range of flavourful blends including classics and not-so-classics.
This tea falls into the latter category. With the aroma of fresh muffins and blueberry jam, it makes for a very enticing and rejuvenating cuppa. This is a prime example of how black tea can work with berries just as well as green tea. It’s light-bodied and slightly astringent yet has a great warming sensation. I love it!
5. Twinings Raspberry and Lemon
- Type: Fruit tea
- Ingredients: Hibiscus, rosehips, blackberry leaves, lemon flavouring, raspberry flavouring, other flavouring, rose petals, lemon peel, liquorice root
- Where to Buy: Twinings or Amazon UK
Next is a relatively new tea that I’ve tried. Twinings Raspberry and Lemon Tea has a hint of rose petals with it that is absolutely divine. My regular readers know that too much rose can make a tea too soapy for my tastes, but Twinings have done a fabulous job balancing it perfectly in this herbal and fruit infusion.
Raspberry sweetness is the berry element in this tea, livened up with a hint of candied lemon peel, rose petals and subtle hibiscus tartness. This tea is also very affordable and comes in pyramid teabags that really allow the ingredients to infuse properly. Top marks from me!
6. Pukka Elderberry and Echinacea
- Type: Fruit and herbal infusion
- Ingredients: Liquorice root, ginger, echinacea (root and leaf), beetroot, aniseed, elderflower, peppermint, orange, rosehip, elderberry, acerola fruit, orange essential oil, natural blackcurrant flavour
- Where to Buy: Amazon
Some Pukka teas are excellent and others are awful. Their love affair with liquorice is what really lets them down. But this tea, Pukka Elderberry and Echinacea, has a gorgeous flavour. There is liquorice in the ingredients list, but with the array of fruit, floral and herbal ingredients it doesn’t overpower the balance.
The flavour reminded me of summer berries, freshly picked and ready to be made into a crumble or trifle (depending on the weather). There’s a subtle anise sweetness and also a tannin note that reminds me of red wine. I’m not much of a drinker so perhaps this wine element won’t be as pronounced for everyone. Regardless, this is a tasty and affordable teabag option that’s also certified organic.
7. Twinings Cranberry and Raspberry
- Type: Fruit tea
- Ingredients: Hibiscus, apple pieces, rosehips, elderflower, liquorice root, natural cranberry flavouring, natural raspberry flavouring, other natural flavourings
- Where to Buy: Twinings or Amazon
Another entry from Twinings! This herbal and fruit tea combines juicy yet drying cranberry with sweet and refreshing raspberry for a very pretty pink tea. Twinings Cranberry and Raspberry is the ultimate sweet berry tea when you add a teaspoon of sugar or honey.
The flavour of this tea is a perfect balance between fresh tart cranberries and deliciously sweet raspberries, wrapped up with a lingering sweet aftertaste. It is also blissfully simple to brew and almost makes for an excellent iced berry tea if you are needing to cool down.
8. English Tea Shop Berry Savoury Pie
- Type: Herbal rooibos tea
- Ingredients: Organic rooibos, apple pieces, natural flavourings, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, cinnamon pieces
- Where to Buy: Amazon
English Tea Shop are the go-to for your holiday berry tea. I found this tea among a Christmas selection of teas and found it to be quite delicious! English Tea Shop Berry Savoury Pie combines the warmth of rooibos (the pie element) with berries, apple and cinnamon for a tasty treat.
This is definitely a berry tea that you’ll want to brew strongly, as the flavour is quite subtle when you follow the instructions. If you go all-in, however, you’ll be rewarded with a mixed berry tea with soft rooibos notes and a delightful honey sweetness. You may be able to find this tea available to purchase separately, or as part of their holiday tea collection on Amazon.
9. Twinings Blackcurrant and Blueberry
- Type: Herbal fruit tea
- Ingredients: Hibiscus, rosehips, blackberry leaves, liquorice root, natural blackcurrant flavouring, natural blueberry flavouring, other natural flavouring
- Where to Buy: Twinings or Amazon
The last Twinings tea on my best berry tea list is Twinings Blackcurrant and Blueberry. I was a little unsure about this tea to start with, as I was never a huge fan of Ribena when I was a child. That classic blackcurrant soft drink was just too sweet for my tastes. However, Twinings have done a good job here.
This tea has a hot black currant squash flavour with notes of sweet blackberries, blueberries and hibiscus. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and has a well-rounded flavour thanks to the list of ingredients. So, if you want a berry tea but are trying to avoid raspberries and strawberries, this is an excellent choice. It’s available in teabag format.
10. Ahmad Tea Strawberry Sensation
- Type: Black tea
- Ingredients: East African black tea, strawberry, strawberry flavouring
- Where to Buy: Amazon
The last tea on my list is a sweet blend of East African black tea and strawberry flavouring from Ahmad Tea. Available in teabag format, this berry black tea relies a little too much on flavouring for my tastes but it’s still not a bad cuppa. As I explored in my Ahmad Tea Strawberry Sensation review, it has a bitter and hearty black tea base with subtle strawberry notes.
This is one of those rare berry tea blends that I think tastes better with milk than without. You can also add a generous teaspoon of honey to help counteract those bitter notes. If it is summertime, then adding a few slices of fresh strawberry could be a good idea too.
10 Other Berry Teas You Might Enjoy!
At Immortal Wordsmith, I have reviewed hundreds of teas. Many of them contain one or more berry, either as the main flavour ingredient or to bring the best out of other flavours. If the 10 teas listed above haven’t tickled your taste buds, these 10 other best berry tea types might be right.
- English Tea Shop Ginger Cranberry – sweet and spiced, the perfect Christmas tea?
- Pukka Wonder Berry Green Tea – elderberry and acerola meet blackcurrants and more.
- Cup of Life White Tea, Acai and Blueberry – exactly what the name suggests.
- Kusmi Green Tea with Strawberry – although it uses strawberry flavouring, it’s delicious!
- Twinings Mango and Strawberry – a tropical blend with super sweet berry notes.
- Twinings Cranberry and Raspberry – a lovely red berry tea (learn more below).
- Lipton Strawberry Tea Review – not to my tastes, but this tea has a strong following.
- Acorus Fruit Tea with Cherry – we often forget that cherry is a yummy tree berry!
- Whittard Goji Acai Tea – a mellow green tea for the summertime.
- Ahmad Mixed Berries & Hibiscus – a lovely tart and sweet flavour, this is a personal favourite.
Red Berry Tea Benefits?
I’m often asked if there are any red berry tea benefits, but that’s a tough question to answer.
To give you the short answer: yes, but the exact benefits depend on the type of berry you are consuming. For example, Lichfield Red Berries Tea features blackberry leaf and hibiscus, but only berry flavouring.
The long answer is: sort of?!
Let me explain.
- First it depends on what berry tea you are consuming.
- Next, not all berry teas actually contain the berry. Some use flavouring, others use hibiscus. For example, Janat Strawberry Tea only uses strawberry flavouring, not actual strawberry.
- Even if the tea does contain the berry, the benefits you’ll get from drinking an infusion won’t be the same as eating the whole berry fresh.
- There are some studies into berries and health benefits, but they typically use fresh berries or a concentrated extract. They may also have limitations, like a small sample group or other variables at play.
For example, strawberries are a source of anthocyanins which are linked to improved heart health. So, first you’ll only receive the health benefits if you aren’t already consuming anthocyanins in your diet, or your heart health is below optimum. Additionally, you’ll need to consume strawberries over the long term to see these benefits. But all that is a moot point if you are consuming strawberry tea, as while the flavour may transfer to the water, the nutrients may not.
What does this mean?
Basically, you should drink berry tea for enjoyment and hydration. Any health benefits are a pleasant side effect but shouldn’t be relied upon. If you have medical concerns and want to try natural supplements to help your symptoms, I think that’s wonderful but make sure you talk to a physician first!