Honest CocoaNova Mint Cacao Beverage Review

I received a sample of Honest Tea's new line of drinks, Honest CocoaNova (Mint Cacao), for review. The description on the bottle reads, "Think you know cacao? Think again. We start with Cacao (Ka-Kow) beans, the main ingredient in chocolate, and brew them to make a light, satisfying drink that you can indulge in anytime - guilt free. With only 50 calories per bottle, you get a delicious pick-me-up with the antioxidants and theobromine naturally found in dark chocolate."

Well, I thought I knew cacao - but this did make me think again. There is certainly a strong mint-chocolatey aroma, but the taste was not what I expected. With a Mint Cacao beverage, I expect it to be creamy and milky, but this is was water-based, which made the drink taste like a watered-down distant cousin of mint-chocolate. I tried to like it, really I did - I even went so far as to add ice and try to make a slushy type drink, but the taste was the same. It wasn't horrible - just different - and not something I could get used to.

Honest Tea Heavenly Lemon Tulsi Iced Tea Review

Have you heard of the herb "Tulsi" before? I confess that I had not until I saw it on the Honest Tea Heavenly Lemon Tulsi Iced Tea label. Turns out, "Tulsi" is also known as "holy basil", a naturally caffeine-free herb. Honest Tea says, we infuse organic tulsi with aromatic lemon peel, lemon myrtle and lemon grass for a soothing blend that transcends ordinary herbal tea.

I received samples of this tea to review recently, and I found there to that there was a strong presence of the herb & tea flavor - a taste I can't quite describe, but it wasn't too overpowering and it was rather pleasant. The tea was also a bit tangy and minty, and lightly sweetened. I think this might take some getting used to, especially if you're used to having more heavily sweetened tea drinks, but what I love about this Lemon Tulsi Tea is that I can taste the ingredients - the tea, the lemon & the basil.

Each 8 ounce serving of Honest Tea Heavenly Lemon Tulsi Iced Tea provides 30 calories and 8 grams of sugars. The ingredients are purified water, organic cane sugar, organic herbal blend (organic green roobios, organic lemongrass, organic tulsi, organic lemon peel, organic lemon myrtle), organic lemon juice concentrate, organic lemon extract.