Different Tulsi tea/holy basil tastes?

[raweater]

I had got some Tulsi Tea (Holy Basil) from Dr. Mercola years ago and it's by far my #1 favorite single ingredient tea. However I was running out and got a large bag of Tulsi tea at the health food store and it has this pronounced black licorice taste on top of the Tulsi taste from the one from Dr. Mercola.

Why does the other one have a licorice taste? Did they perhaps mix in different parts of the plant like flowers or roots?

Now I'm worried about buying any Tulsi than the brand Dr. Mercola sells, it's not that I don't like the other one, but I prefer it without the licorice background taste.

[MysticTree]

no idea why but tea doesn't last well and you say you bought it years ago. A lot of the flavour will have faded in that time. Maybe the original had that taste too but it has faded over time and your tastebuds have changed also.

Only way to find out is to get the same brand as before if it is still available.

How come you drink tea?

[raweater]

I never heard of tea not lasting, coffee absolutely but not tea. The one from Dr. Mercola tastes the same today as when I bought it, there's no doubt it's the other brand that's different. I will order more from Dr. Mercola next time as I don't want to be stuck for another 6-12 months with tea I don't like as much.

I've started drinking tea on my SAD days, it was about the only almost healthy thing I had, except I added sugar, I now sweeten it with stevia, even though it's not raw if made in hot water (the dried leaves are likely not raw anyway) it still has many health benefits.

[MysticTree]

http://coffeetea.about.com/od/teaandtisanebasics/a/TeaStorageTips.htm

I (http://coffeetea.about.com/od/teaandtisanebasics/a/TeaStorageTips.htm)t is possible I think that the tea you had has changed in taste slowly over time and of course your taste itself will have changed too. Getting the Mercola one should be as close the original as possible and it will be interesting to see if you notice a marked taste difference as that will indicate the level of "fade" of the first lot. How long ago did you buy the original tea?

I don't drink tea. Never have, even when I wasn't raw.

[raweater]

I've been drinking tea for years and store it properly and never noticed any change in taste, in any case there's absolutely no doubt that the one from Dr. Mercola did not have a licorice taste at any time, I would have remembered. My only explanation is that to save money (which makes sense as the new one was a lot cheaper) they mixed in different parts of the plant like roots.

BTW this isn't tea at all so perhaps I shouldn't call it tea, it's a completely different plant and is caffeine free.

[MysticTree]

I don't drink any types of tea whether traditional tea or herbal. Never like any of them.

Different brands taste different an example in regular tea circles would be Earl Grey. When you get some more of the Mercola stuff you'll be able to do a proper comparison. You still don't say how long ago you bought the last Mercola tea. No dried herb/plant will keep indefinitely without the flavour changing but it will change over time so what I am trying to say is be prepared for the new Mercola tea to taste different. Even if it has no licquorice notes is will probably taste different because it is fresher.