Tapee Tea contains fifteen botanicals. They are Jewel Vine, Vetiver, Thai Black Ginger, Sea Holly, Cardamom, Cat’s Whiskers, Goji Berry, Saul Waeng, Sandalwood, Nutmeg, Orange Blossom, Cinnamon, Lovage, Sand Ginger and Star Anise — every one named here, in full. Below is the full list, with what each brings to the cup.
What are the 15 botanicals in Tapee Tea?
The blend is a tisane rather than a tea in the strict sense: there is no Camellia sinensis leaf in it, and it is caffeine-free. Everything that goes into the teabag appears in the list below — the complete recipe, all fifteen botanicals. For the wider background on the blend and where it comes from, see our guide to what Tapee Tea is.
We give a Latin binomial only where we can name the species with confidence. Where a row shows no Latin name, that is deliberate — we would rather leave the cell empty than guess at a species.
| Botanical | Latin name | What it brings to the cup |
|---|---|---|
| Jewel Vine | Derris scandens | The woody backbone of the blend |
| Vetiver | — | Earthy base notes |
| Thai Black Ginger | Kaempferia parviflora | Dark, rooty depth |
| Sea Holly | — | A regional herbaceous note |
| Cardamom | — | Warm and sweet-aromatic |
| Cat’s Whiskers | Orthosiphon aristatus | Leafy herbaceous lift |
| Goji Berry | — | Rounds and balances the cup |
| Saul Waeng | — | A regional Thai botanical from the traditional recipe |
| Sandalwood | — | Soft fragrant depth |
| Nutmeg | — | Warm baking-spice finish |
| Orange Blossom | — | Floral lift |
| Cinnamon | — | Sweet, warm bark note |
| Lovage | — | Savoury depth |
| Sand Ginger | Kaempferia galanga | Aromatic rhizome note |
| Star Anise | Illicium verum | Distinctive lingering finish |
The woody, earthy base
Four of the fifteen do the structural work. They are the reason the cup pours a deep red-amber and reads as woody and earthy rather than light and green.
Jewel Vine (Derris scandens) is the woody backbone. It sets the base the rest of the blend is built on, and it is the note the cup leads with.
Vetiver supplies the earthy base notes underneath the wood. It is what keeps the cup grounded once the lighter herbs have had their say.
Thai Black Ginger (Kaempferia parviflora) adds dark, rooty depth, taking the base a shade deeper than the jewel vine and vetiver would manage on their own.
Sandalwood rounds the group off with a soft fragrant depth. It is the quietest of the four, and it shows up as much in the aroma as on the tongue.
The warm spice line
Five botanicals carry the spice, and they are most obvious in the finish — the flavour that stays with you after you swallow.
Cardamom is warm and sweet-aromatic. It lifts the middle of the cup and keeps the woody base from reading as flat.
Nutmeg gives the warm baking-spice finish. It arrives late and sits alongside the cardamom rather than competing with it.
Cinnamon contributes a sweet, warm bark note, and it is a dry sweetness rather than a sugary one. It is the closest the blend comes to tasting sweet.
Sand Ginger (Kaempferia galanga) is the second rhizome on the list and the more aromatic of the two, sitting nearer the top of the cup than the black ginger does.
Star Anise (Illicium verum) is the most distinctive note in the whole blend, and the longest-lasting. Its finish is what lingers once the cup is empty.
The herbaceous lift
Without this group the blend would be all wood and spice. These four cut across the base and keep it fresh.
Cat’s Whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus) is the clearest leafy, herbaceous lift in the cup, green and fresh against the darker material around it.
Sea Holly brings a regional herbaceous note of its own — a different green from the cat’s whiskers, and one of the botanicals that ties the recipe to where it is blended.
Lovage is the savoury one. It gives the blend a depth that runs savoury rather than sweet, and it is part of why Tapee Tea does not taste like a fruit tea.
Saul Waeng is a regional Thai botanical carried over from the traditional recipe. We name it as it is named in Thailand and leave it at that.
Floral and fruit balance
Two botanicals do the balancing, and they are the smallest voices in the cup.
Orange Blossom adds a floral lift across the top of the infusion — flower rather than fruit.
Goji Berry rounds and balances everything else, taking a little of the edge off the woody base without turning the cup sweet.
How do the fifteen botanicals taste together?
Poured, the fifteen make a deep red-amber cup with a woody, earthy base, a fresh herbaceous lift through the middle and a warm spice finish. We will be straight with you: it leans earthy, and it is pleasantly bitter. That is what this blend is, and it is worth knowing before you order. Our fuller account of what Tapee Tea tastes like goes through the cup note by note, hot and iced.
Ground fine, sealed one cup at a time
One detail changes how all fifteen behave in the water: the botanicals are finely ground to a powder rather than cut as leaf. A fine grind gives a fuller infusion than coarsely cut herbs over the same three to five minute steep, so the woody and rooty material genuinely makes it into the cup. Each teabag holds a single cup’s worth, and every teabag is sealed in its own gold-foil sachet, so the blend stays unopened until the moment you make it. Our page on the foil-sealed teabag format covers the packaging in more detail. Everything is blended and packed in Thailand.
If the list reads the way you hoped it would, our Thai 15-botanical tea in foil-sealed teabags comes in pack sizes from 25 to 250 teabags, with current prices always on the product page.