Teas and drinks

Herbs and fruit that open up in the cup,
hot or cold.

Freeze-dried mint, lemongrass, ginger and fruit pieces suit teas, infusions and drink toppers because they keep their cut and color in a visible blend and take up water quickly, in hot or cold water. We supply mint flakes, lemongrass rings, diced ginger, and mango and pineapple pieces or powder.

01 — The drink ingredients

Four ingredients from our range that go into drinks.

Each one is supplied as a single ingredient. Blends are developed with you.

Mint flakes

Chopped flakes for herbal teas, iced tea blends, mojito-style mixers and cafe garnishes. Certified organic.

Lemongrass rings

Cross-cut rings with a citrus note, for herbal and green tea blends and Southeast Asian-style drinks. Certified organic.

Diced ginger

Small dice for ginger teas, infusions, wellness shots and syrups, visible in a loose blend. Certified organic. Ginger powder on request.

Mango and pineapple pieces

Fruit pieces or powder for fruit teas, tea blocks, smoothie toppers and drink garnishes. Banana is also available.

02 — Hot and cold water

How freeze-dried pieces behave in the cup.

General behavior to plan around, not FD Harvest specifications. Test samples in your own drink at your own brewing conditions.

	Hot infusion	Cold brew and cold water	Dry topper on a drink
Water uptake	Fast: the porous pieces fill with water in the first minutes	Slower than in hot water, but still faster than dense hot-air-dried pieces	Takes up liquid from the drink surface; stays crisp briefly, then softens
Aroma release	Volatile oils come out quickly with heat	Slower, softer extraction over a longer steep	Aroma released as the piece wets or is crushed
Look	Pieces swell back toward their original shape	Pieces swell more slowly and stay intact	Bright pieces on foam or ice; color is the point
What to watch	Fine flakes can pass through a coarse tea bag mesh	No heat step: set the micro spec with care	Size the pieces so they sit on top rather than sink

Freeze-dried fruit pieces reconstitute quickly in cold liquid; a 1985 patent describes them doing so with cold milk.

03 — Why freeze dried

Aroma in a tea is mostly volatile oil, and heat drives it off.

The scent of mint, lemongrass and ginger sits in volatile oils near the surface of the leaf or root. Hot-air drying often causes a substantial loss of those compounds. Freeze drying uses no hot air, and in a published trial on spearmint, freeze-dried leaves kept more of their essential oil quality than hot-air-dried leaves, though less than fresh.

Ginger has a second reason. Its pungent gingerols begin to convert to other compounds when ginger is hot-air dried above about 70–80 °C. Freeze drying keeps the product far below that temperature. That avoids the heat that converts gingerols, but it does not mean every compound in fresh ginger is kept.

For a visible tea blend, the cut matters as much as the taste. A freeze-dried mint flake or lemongrass ring holds its shape and much of its color, so the blend looks like what it is. The full comparison of methods is in freeze drying compared with air drying.

04 — What to specify

Points to settle before you order samples.

A short brief on these points lets us send the right cut first time.

The drink format. Loose-leaf tea, tea bag, pyramid bag, compressed tea block, ready-to-drink base or garnish. The format sets the cut size.
Cut and piece size. Flakes, rings, dice or pieces from the standing range, or a custom cut. Tell us the bag mesh if you use one.
Powder or pieces. Pieces show in the cup; powder dissolves into a drink mix. We make powders only when you ask.
Organic status. Mint, lemongrass and ginger are certified USDA Organic and EU Organic by Ecocert.
Micro specification. Drying is not a kill step. For cold brew and toppers that are never heated, agree the limits up front. Our lots are micro-tested in our own lab.
Packing. Freeze-dried pieces take up moisture from the air. We pack them in metalized pouches; sealed, they keep for 3 years.

05 — Questions

Questions buyers ask about freeze-dried ingredients for teas and drinks.

Why use freeze-dried mint in a herbal tea?

Freeze-dried mint is dried without hot air, so less of the volatile oil that carries its aroma is driven off; in a published trial on spearmint, freeze-dried leaves rated above hot-air-dried ones. The flakes also keep their cut and color in a loose blend.

Do freeze-dried herbs work in cold brew tea?

Yes. Freeze-dried pieces are porous, so they take up cold water faster than dense air-dried pieces, though more slowly than in hot water. Because cold brew has no heat step, agree the micro specification with your supplier.

Is your ginger for teas organic?

Yes. Diced ginger and ginger powder from FD Harvest are certified USDA Organic and EU Organic by Ecocert, and the certificate is available on request.

Can freeze-dried fruit be used as a drink topper?

Yes. Freeze-dried mango and pineapple pieces sit on foam, ice or a smoothie as a colorful garnish and soften as they take up liquid. Size the pieces so they stay on top.

Can you supply a custom tea blend?

Our products are single ingredients by default. Custom cuts, powders and blends are developed with you, piloted small at the plant and then scaled, with no minimum order.

How should freeze-dried tea ingredients be stored?

Keep them sealed and dry, because freeze-dried pieces take up moisture from the air. In sealed packaging they keep for 3 years; once opened, reseal the pouch.

Contact us to discuss your product requirements.

Tell us the drink, the format and the ingredients you want to try. We send free samples with a spec sheet for each.

Herbs and fruit that open up in the cup,hot or cold.