Why are citrus peels used in herbal tea?

There are a wide variety of herbal tea recipes, suitable for every taste. Quite frequently, besides herbs, they also include dried fruit, spices, and other organic ingredients. Citrus peels are among the most popular ones.

Light sourness and subtle bitterness of citrus “skins” make the flavor palette of tea more interesting and expressive, while the intense flavour gives rise to dreams of orange groves, lemon trees in tropical gardens and lime slices in a cool mojito that you drink on the coast of the ocean … Magical, romantic associations!

The dried peel perfectly conserves the bright aroma of fruits- that’s the reason why it is so frequently added to classic tea (black, green) and herbal blends. For example, in the blends of “Chayane”, created on the basis of wild herbs from the slopes of the Armenian mountains, a citrus note is also sometimes felt: in “Blue Tea”, “Mulled Wine” …

However, not only the taste and aroma make orange, mandarin, grapefruit, lemon, lime peels such a popular addition to teas and herbal blends. The zest – the upper, “colored” layer of the peel – contains more nutrients than the pulp! And in the albedo – the white layer of the peel – there is a lot of pectin.

The peel of different citrus fruits differs somewhat in the set of valuable substances, but not substantially. Your organism will be grateful anyway. One can only be glad that the beneficial substances are perfectly preserved during drying. And when brewing tea, the zest easily gives its treasures to a hot drink, turning it into a magical elixir.