Ashwagandha Root Tea Loose Leaf for Herbal Tea, Ashwagandha Tea Herb Supplements, Withania Somnifera for Immune Support and Strength 3-5 mm Cuts Size 8 Oz Package

We drink a lot of tea. I have an herb garden and have been trying to get away from purchasing teabags. They sure are convenient, but the pure herbal teabags are outrageously expensive. Seriously , just weigh a teabag and do some math based on what you paid for the bog of teabags. Now, some herbal blends of tea I will still buy until I have enough raw ingredients to mix my own. That would be the traditional medicinal ones that we drink all day long while we're sick. It's just quicker...at least until i get a nice 'sick' blend of my own.I selected this Herbs Botanica Ashwagandha Root Tea Organic Loose Leaf because as of yet I can't grow Ashwagandha, I'm not even sure it'll grow in my USDA zone 5 climate. I also wanted to taste and test it before trying to grow it or purchasing a pound or 2 for my mixes.The cut and sifted roots arrive in a tight vacuum sealed clear bag, which is in a box. The box has many ideas and ways to use the roots, tea, infusions, smoothies, tinctures, cooking, or in capsules. Personally, if I were going to put in in a capsule, I'd powder it in my Ninja. I think that would work, as after I dry my lion's mane and oyster mushrooms I powder them to add to smoothies.The roots smell very lightly earthy, someone said like wheat, but I just say like an earthy root. If you're not familiar with the smell, you may not like it. But just trust the process.I did read the instructions for the tea, but I disagree with them. They say to add 1-2 tsp to a cup of hot water. I wanted flavor and impact, so I added a tablespoon to an 8 oz cup. I allowed it to steep for 10 minutes, but then had to heat the tea a bit. It's very light tan, not opaque like black tea. It;s even lighter than some other herbal teas. I added a bit of cinnamon honey and it was a very comforting relaxing tea.At first I wasn't sure it it was an evening tea, so of course I googled it, where I learned that you can take ashwagandha at any time of the day or night. If taken at night, it may promote relaxation and improve sleep quality, and if taken during the day, it may reduce anxiety levels and improve mood. So just choose the schedule according to your need. I made it at night for my 80 year old mother, my husband and me. My mom and I drank 2 cups and my husband drank one. We all thought the taste was ok. I could and would drink it for the relaxation benefits and to destress. By saying the taste was ok, I don't mean it requires getting used to. It just has a very mild taste.In comparing prices across the internet, $10 for 8 oz is a very good price. I would definitely order it again.

While I think this works just fine as a tea, I would definitely NOT recommend it for some of the uses they mention on the package. I'll get to that in a bit. As tea, the ashwagandha root creates a very mild-flavored, light gold tea. It tastes fine as a tea, but it doesn't really stand out as a beverage that you'd choose for its flavor. With the wealth of teas out there, however, I don't expect most people to be interested in this for its flavor. It's been used for centuries in traditional Indian medicine for various purposes. I appreciate the effects of the root, but I'm not going to guess what benefits others might get from it. I think this ashwagandha root from Herbs Botanica is a fine product to make tea with. Since they're advertising it as a tea and the only suggestion of other uses is if you zoom in and read the fine print on the packaging, I'm giving it 5 stars despite my complaints below. It's a very good quantity of a certified organic product and it is currently priced very reasonably.Now for the parts of this listing I'm not so happy with. Please note that I think this works perfectly well for tea and I think if you powder it, it can work for the other uses they mention. I just have a problem with the packaging suggesting that you can use it as is for some of these things. It is cut and sifted. That means that it's been cut (good thing since it's a woody root) and sifted to remove the dust and small pieces. Some pieces of this are still an inch long yet one of their suggestions is to put it (in the cut and sifted state) in capsules. These are hard pieces. Think of little pieces of a very soft wood like balsa that they use for model planes. If I were going to use them in a capsule, you can bet that I'd be getting out a mortar and pestle or something similar first. Same comment if I were going to use this in smoothies or cooking. In cooking, I could at least see putting this in little bags like how you might cook with a bay leaf and fishing it all out before serving. Otherwise, I strongly recommend grinding the root first to a powder if you're using this for anything other than tea. They are also what I would personally call "granules" as they are said to be on the product listing.I also have a problem with the product listing saying under "Product Description" that "this tea is free from caffeine and other artificial additives, making it a safe and healthy choice for everyone." If ashwagandha root has effects on the body like calming then it has active ingredients which may or may not be safe for you. From my research on a couple of government medical websites, the truth seems to be that there is cause to think it might react with certain medications. Be safe, talk to your doctor before use or at least look it up online for possible drug interactions.

This tastes like cardboard. Non-returnable. I will not get this again but I will try another brand but this time purchase through Vitamin store/websites where they accept returns with no questions asked.

The packaging was completely covered in what looks and feels like diesel soot. Other contents in the same box did not have the soot so it makes me wonder where this stuff is even packaged.

Lovely taste, smell. Great quality

It is so refreshing to order an herbal product and receive something that you can identify right away in the package! So many products out there are hidden inside of opaque tea sachets or pills, and you really have no way of knowing what you actually got (and plan to ingest). With this rough-cut ashwagandha, you can clearly see the cut sections of the plant inside the bag.Not a low price ($1.25 per ounce at the moment) but not a super high price, either. I think it's a fair ask for something that you can tell is the genuine product.

Very easy to steep in hot water. Doesn't taste bad. Don't have to worry about bags ripping apart when making the tea.

I add this to my custom tea blends. It's good quality. I love the size of the pieces. It's perfect for use as loose tea.