Hamburg  - Tea-drinkers can hardly miss the variety of brews on offer in the stores these days - from green teas with chilli peppers, cocoa beans in rooibos tea to coffee-flavoured black teas.

Individual blends are constantly being expanded by teas that branch off into new fields of taste. German tea specialist Alexander Linhart expects even bolder and more eclectic blends to come in future.

"These days there are two types of tea drinkers," said Linhart. There's the classic tea lover, who traditionally prefers unflavoured green or black tea leaves. And there's the second type which Linhart believes is now the larger group, who drink intricate blends with strong aromas, and are thus always in search of new tastes.

Among fruit teas, Linhart has noticed a trend into the exotic: Papaya, mango and pineapple fruits are being mixed with black and green tea leaves as well as with rooibos tea. In the coming spring, Linhart expects tastes to return to fresh aromas and herbs. Alongside fruity lemon and lime, Moroccan mint will be highly prized, he said.

People who love strong blends will continue to go for vanilla and teas with sharp chocolate notes as the ideal flavours, he predicts. A deciding factor will be the quality of the ingredients. Vanilla should always be French vanilla, which can be identified clearly by sniffing the loose tea.

Aside from this variety of new combinations, there are also teas that meet the market's desire for anti-aging and health-conscious products, said Linhart. Herbal tea blends that have a laxative effect, which are often euphemistically known as cleansing teas, are typically sought after by female tea drinkers.

Tea blends that promise to help calm the drinker or promote wellness belong to this category, said Ernst Janssen, author of a tea almanac.

Well-known herbs such as stinging nettle and Paraguay tea are being combined with the sharp flavours of ginger and other Asian spices. Generally, the most popular are teas that go in spicy directions. This can be observed in the big trend toward chai teas. These are being drunk with chocolate, vanilla, ginger and chilli flavours.

Tea specialists agree that fruit teas will be a new hit among the wellness and mood-lifting teas.

"People who enjoy these teas often don't want any artificial aromas," said Janssen. Tea merchant Rolf Schoffers of Wiesbaden confirms this.

"The consumers are seeking a new direction in fruit teas," Schoffers said, adding that he is convinced that these teas are naturally low in acids and they are best when the ingredients that go into them are organic.

Unlike ordinary low-priced blends that are often found in supermarkets, the new easy-on-the-stomach fruit teas are not based on the richly-coloured and acidic rose hip and hibiscus. The red colouring comes from freeze-dried berries. Other colours come from pieces of carrot and beet that are added to the mix.

Janssen prizes varieties that consistently reject additional aromas and bits of flower petals.

"This tea can be poured out, mixed into muesli and eaten," he said.

A tea's caffeine level is something that, with all the interest in new blends, should be considered, Schoffer said. Among the variety of chai blends available, some are mixed with black tea, others are not.

"Many people like to drink tea in the evening while sitting on the sofa," he said. Black tea can be disturbing at that hour because it makes many people alert."

And tea tastes are not the only thing constantly changing in shops. The shape tea comes in also expanding.

In addition to tea bags and loose leaf tea, there are now tea roses, tea pyramids and tea balls. It also comes as a liquid concentrate in the form of small capsules that hold 6 millilitres.

These are offered by a German tea company in three varieties. The liquid concentrate can be mixed with either cold or hot water, so there's no waiting while the tea steeps. The maker of the product calls it pure tea without additives. (dpa)