Comforting tea to have on hand for COVID, cold & flu season!
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. However, I was given a free sample of this product to review. The opinions in this review are strictly my own. I am not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. I am just a fan of the company. I write these reviews to help my fellow shoppers.
With it getting colder it’s time to have more warm comforting beverages like hot chocolate, tea and apple cider! There’s a product at Costco I’ve seen for a while and have wanted to try and today I’m reviewing it on the blog. The Costco Vonbee Honey, Citron & Ginger Flavoured Tea Base.
Taste
I used this to make tea and also tried it as a marmalade. As a marmalade it’s delicious on toast, plain scones or English muffins. It’s wonderful as a tea. There’s a strong lemon and citrus flavor and a ton of warmth coming from the ginger, this is also quite sweet and you can taste the honey. It’s got bits of citrus peel in it which I personally love but if you don’t want citrus peel in your tea you could use a strainer. You can add more or less than the recommended three teaspoons to make your desired tea strength.
Cost
I paid $11.99 Canadian for this massive 2.2 kg jar. It’s a really big jar so that price seems reasonable!
Convenience
You can use this to make hot or cold tea or you can use it as a marmalade or to make salad dressings. The best before date is almost two years from the date I purchased the tea. To make tea you just add three teaspoons of this to a cup of hot water and mix.
Nutrition
Three teaspoons is 50 calories, 12 grams of sugar, 15 mg of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates and zero grams of fat. Lemon and ginger are known to help with digestion, healing and have anti-inflammatory effects.
This jar is going to last me FOREVER! It will be perfect during the cold and flu season and the tea makes a super comforting cozy drink to have when feeling a little chilled.
Taste: 8/10
Cost: 8/10
Convenience: 10/10
Nutrition: 4/10
What is your favorite kind of tea to have?!
Vonbee, honey, ginger, citron. Nice natural flavour, good for anytime of day to enjoy a cup of tea. Flavour is natural.
Can we buy on-line this Costco Vonbee Honey, Citron & Ginger Tea Base.
Hi “Natalie”
If that was you, then that was nice!
….referring to the answer, I mean.
Well, not everyone can read small print & maybe Sven was up at 1:25 am, reading Costcuisine, because he can’t fall asleep after having coffee!
…And you answered so nicely, “I don’t think so”, referring to VonBee 2kg (marmalade).
Some Aussies from the Okanagan, still remember Marmite or Marmalade sandwiches
I love this tea so much. I have already gone through 4 jars of it in 2 months. Its just so good. There is a lot of sugar in it, but thats the only down side I have to it.
It really is just so good, you should try it!
We love it also and now Costco in Kelowna BC Canada doesn’t have any in stock errr we have been drinking it for 4 years straight then poof gone
Ese te me encanta pero ya no lo encuentro en Costco ya no lo tienen por qué si muchos lo compramos está fuera
This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE Costco item. I go from one store to another trying to find it in Los Angeles but Costco doesn’t have it out all of the time.
I LOVE this product so much, I’ve thought of using it as a baste for baked chicken. Has anyone used it as a baste?
Lol, in Australia the package currently does not mention using it on toast or even bread or as salad dressing, it only says it is TEA . lol.
Its marmalade, Costco, its tastes like marmalade, its jelly like marmalade, why not just call it marmalade ?? Call it Marmalade, and put “MAKE Marmalade Tea!” as the second line ?
Costco did not manufacture the item. It simply is bringing it to you from VonBee. I dislike marmalade, however I enjoy this as a tea. I prefer it strained.
I find there is definitely a difference between this product and regular marmalade. This is a soupy honey based product with some citrus rind. Marmalade is a stiff sugar based thick spread with much more rind and often bitter. Marmalade is often associated with orange as opposed to lemon and less of a ginger base. This mix is a great hot drink to address a scratchy throat or cold symptoms. The honey, lemon, ginger combo is a special mixture for sure.
Haha…I totally agree. This is NOT tea…it’s marmalade. Good for toast and maybe a dollop in a salad but not in cold or hot water as a drink. And, it’s full of high fructose corn syrup, only 5% honey. It’s disingenuous marketing. I don’t get it.
seriously ? only 5% honey ? I just bought it yesterday I do agree it’s more like marmelaid than tea honey…deliciuos on toast bread but Ok on tea.
That’s because this product isn’t only marmalade… It’s the base to a traditional Korean tea called yuja cha. It’s by a Korean brand, so they’re advertising it as they would typically use it but also mention that you can use it in other ways if you wanted. If you go on a deep dive it’s actually pretty interesting!
I tried a sample of this at Costco and liked it. I bought it and once it’s refrigerated it becomes clumpy and doesn’t dissolve easily to make tea.
Sure it does. Just keep stirring.
Me encanta con sparkling water, , solo 2 cds. Hielo y a disfrutar bebida muy refrescante me fascina pero ya se me esta terminando y no e podido encontrar en otra tienda.
I leave in NJ and you don’t have the honey citron and ginger tea, is that something you are going to carry?
Hopefully they bring it to NJ!
Would love to see this product brought back. It is really good! I would make a trip to the store for this product alone.
It’s back here!
This is very delicious marmalade good on toast, waffle, meats & tea most delicious and satisfying. Best product.
Which location in alberta canada that vonbee is available?
I haven’t seen the honey, citron and ginger one for a few months.
I bought mine in Okotoks, Alberta
I recently purchased at Sherwood Park. Most locations in the Edmonton area have it but can be hit and miss as to when it’s available.
I just bought it today at The Red Deer Costco.
I wonder if you can use this somehow as a base sweetener in cooking and baking. It tastes great and maybe it could be adapted to some type of honey ginger cookie recipe.
what is the caffeine ratio please
I don’t think it has caffeine
Does it contain caffeine?
I don’t believe so.
Its contains ZERO black tea or green tea . Black and green tea , “cha” is the leaf of the specific camelia (camelia sisensis .. which means asian camelia. ),
There is no tea leaf or tea leaf extract in this.
It is marmalade, with citrus and ginger flavours, in jelly aka jam form
) .
Why is it even labelled TEA ? you can use any jam to make a tea, but it is really going to be marmalade flavoured tea, why not call it marmalade ???
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We have tried to duplicate this recipe using non gmo things and stevia with honey. It was good but their conveniently prepared container full is so tempting.
One might consider this a treat…
im in love with this, i got one recently! 😊
I have been buying this for some time now but today I checked for this at my Costco in Altamonte Springs, Florida and they said it has been deleted and none of the stores in central Florida have any left!
Same her in Canada..I went to Costco to get another jar this morning but couldn’t find it and no one seemed to know about it. I am so sorry as I think I have become addicted to it .
Mary in Victoria BC
It’s back at my local Costco in Edmonton
It’s in Nanaimo Costco. I was there today and stocked up wit it . I am so afraid that they will discontinue it as I LOVE it !!
I love the flavor and many uses of the honey citron & ginger tea. I was very disappointed in the fact that high fructose corn syrup was in the ingredients!! I am so used to Costco’s high standards and the fact that they carry a lot of organic foods. I did not read the label till so was putting it on my French toast!! I was all ready to share this big jar with my children so they might want to purchase it also but will not now as that tells me it is a GMO product. Sad for me.
Sorry I’m a bit of an idiot with all this , what is wrong with fructose as corn syrup? Compared to any other sugar
Joy made it clear that she believes that the corn syrup used is highly likely to be from GM corn. The package makes no claim that its not. She is right, imports of corn products to South korea would be highly likely to be from GM corn, as it comes from India, USA, or Brazil ??
However you are correct to question the logic of the complaint, as I see that Brazil grows GMO cane sugar, and the stevia crop could very well be GMO too. So for any plant sugar or sweetener, it would likely be GMO unless the producers specifically ordered and used nonGM products – they would probably label that if they went to that expense. Or they could use the chemical sweeteners saccharin or aspartame…