15.2 Botanical Beverage Tasting

What are botanicals?

“A botanical is a plant or plant part that is claimed to have medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor, and/or scent, according to the National Institute of Health. Their claimed benefits can hit health need states from consumers, filling the gap for their heightened search for functional health and wellness products that taste great.” ^[1]

Why are they showing up in foods and beverages now?

As FONA International states in their Ingredient Hot List review of botanicals:

“Even before COVID-19, people were seeking out botanical ingredients for their claimed health benefits, a trend that has only strengthened since the beginning of the pandemic. With a long history of being used in natural medicine, botanicals cater to consumers’ current push towards improved health and wellness and a wide range of tasty new product introductions have made it easy for consumers to implement into their diet. While botanicals shouldn’t be used in place of doctor-recommended treatments, their claimed benefits such as stress relief, immunity support, relaxation, and more are enticing consumers.”^[2]

What are some common botanicals?

It appears many things can count as botanicals, ranging from the common to the unusual. Here are the botanicals found in a local specialty grocery store (Wheatsfield, Ames, Iowa):

Name: _________________________________

Today’s Tasting

These beverages were chosen to show a range of botanical beverage types and flavors. Beverages, where the botanical flavor was distinct or at least noticeable were chosen over beverages where the flavor appeared to be muted or covered up. If consuming a botanical beverage for potential health benefits, it may not be important for the flavor to be noticeable (but what fun is that?).

Taste a few of the beverages and see what you think. Be ready to share a little at the end!