[Review] Treehouse Teas - 100% Hawaii-grown tea

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Rich volcanic soil, high elevations, and a tropical climate are just a few aspects that define Hawaiian tea’s own niche in the tea world. With tea from the islands produced by hand at either small-scale farms or by hobbyists, its scarce availability makes Hawaiian leafy brews a particularly unique specialty tea.

Treehouse Teas is a Honolulu-based boutique tea company connecting these small batch, 100% Hawaii-grown teas and botanicals with appreciators of fine, rare teas globally.

While I’ve had mamaki tea before, I was absolutely delighted to have my first taste of true US-grown tea from Treehouse Teas. Here’s my review of Treehouse Teas’ magnificent lineup of teas and botanicals!

Milk Chocolate Oolong* ($20.00)
2019 Autumn Harvest, "Wild White", Assam White Tea* ($25.00)
Mamaki* ($12.50)
Hibiscus* ($15.00)
Prime* ($20.00)

*Note: Treehouse Teas’ products are all small-batch and seasonal, so the ones I tasted may no longer be available. Check their shop to see their newest teas.

About Treehouse Teas

Treehouse Teas is owned by Brittnee Lau, a tea educator, blender, and certified tea sommelier since 2015. It was through a connection with a tea farmer in Hawaii that she learned about just how much tea grew in Hawaii, which sparked her interest in educating others on Hawaiian tea and eventually making it the focus of her brand.

Brittnee, who is Native Hawaiian, also strives to accurately market and deliver true "Hawaiian Tea”, a label which is often inaccurately used to market tropical-inspired teas with imported ingredients and not a hint of real Hawaii-grown tea.

As a result, Brittnee has sourced all Treehouse Teas ingredients exclusively from Hawaii since 2020, making this truly a 100%-Hawaii grown tea brand with a commitment to genuine labeling.

As a tea blogger, I’ve seen a mind-boggling number of tea companies. And Treehouse Teas sets itself apart with a unique commitment to sourcing, quirky crayon box looking packaging, and authentic, down-to-earth branding.

Each tea description on the website is written in the first-person with Brittnee’s candid opinions. She also lists each and every ingredient that goes into the tea, along with the farm name or source.

This personable approach makes it feel like you’re buying tea from a friend who knows the farmers directly.

About Treehouse Teas’ products

Supporting small business while simultaneously knowing exactly where every tea leaf, cacao shell, and bit of vanilla came from is something that speaks to my heart. That’s because there are countless benefits both for the consumer and farmer.

There’s a domino effect in communities when you buy from a small farmer, as is the case through Treehouse Teas. Because there are far less steps and people involved than with, say, mysterious tea bought through a supermarket under the Lipton brand, money spent in a more direct supply chain has a much wider impact on the farmer, the local labor, and in turn their own community [1].

And for the tea drinker, you know exactly where your tea comes from and how it was produced—literally from plant to table.

What makes Hawaii-grown tea different?

Another reason to love this brand is all that Hawaii-grown tea represents [2]:

Almost all processing is done by hand
One of the few teas grown in the United States
Relatively low use of pesticides
Makes up an estimated 0.14% of the loose leaf tea market in the US
Unique taste and characteristics due to unique growing climate and soil

Treehouse Teas’ herbal teas

“Prime” featured in the foreground - a blend of mamaki, moringa, young ginger, lemongrass, and hoja santa.

A far cry from chamomile, peppermint, and other common herbal infusions, Treehouse Teas’ botanical blends use endemic Hawaiian plants like mamaki or tropical ones like hibiscus.

My first impression after opening each box was that the leaves and petals were still largely intact, a welcome change from the dust and tiny particles typically found in tea bags.

In addition to tasting the hibiscus and mamaki teas, I also sampled Prime, which is a blend of mamaki, moringa, young ginger, lemongrass roots, & hoja santa.

Hibiscus - I’ve mostly had hibiscus in the form of Mexican agua de jamaica, which is sweetened hibiscus water with some spices. Treehouse Teas’ Hawaii-grown hibiscus comes as full petals and brews into a bright ruby red. This also makes for a delightfully refreshing iced tea with a crisp finish.

Mamaki - While I’ve had bottled mamaki from Shaka Tea and homemade mamaki iced tea in Hawaii, this was my first taste of freshly brewed mamaki. I let it cold brew overnight and the result was a light and airy flavor that almost resembled tamarind.

Prime - This colorful healthful blend is reminiscent of an herbal gobstopper (or jawbreaker) with several pleasing layers of flavor. The ginger and lemongrass are subtle but give Prime a nice little kick. The fun little shapes and spirals remind me of a chicken noodle soup to comfort you in the evening or when feeling under the weather.

Milk Chocolate Oolong & Assam White Tea

Milk Chocolate Oolong - This desserty tea blends dark roasted oolong with cacao shells, vanilla, and cinnamon (all grown in Hawaii, of course). The taste is earthy and almost like hojicha mixed with drinking chocolate. The non-tea ingredients are subtle so they don’t overpower the oolong or give this an overwhelmingly Tootsie Roll taste like some dessert teas.

2019 Autumn Harvest, "Wild White", Assam White Tea - I didn’t even know Assam white tea was a thing, so this tea was both a pleasant discovery and very intensely tea-tasting tea. I’m not sure how else to describe it. I like true teas on their own, so I really enjoyed this one that reminds me of what tea is really supposed to taste like.

I recommend Treehouse Teas for those looking for a truly specialty tea or as a gift for a tea lover in your life, because chances are, they haven’t tasted Hawaii-grown tea (yet).

Visit Treehouse Teas for more information or follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Tea provided by Treehouse Teas for review.

[1] “Another Reason to Buy Directly from Farmers: You Could Help the Local Economy More.” Modern Farmer, 2 Oct. 2018, https://modernfarmer.com/2016/07/another-reason-buy-directly-farmers-help-local-economy.
[2] “Hawai'i-Grown Tea: A Market Feasibility Study.” College of Tropical Agricultural, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2011.

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about the author

Hello, is it tea you’re looking for? Raquel is an Arizona-based tea drinker who writes about tea as a side hobby. Her current favorites are Earl Grey with a splash of milk and any Japanese green tea.