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Ingredient & advertising guide

This page has two jobs. First, it explains every name printed on the tin of loose-leaf tea we sell, what each plant is, and what the research does and does not say about it, including who was in each study, in what form, at what amount and who paid for it. Second, and this is the part most advertising pages leave out, it lists the headlines we run, tells you which ones are exaggerated, and separates the small number of things that are genuinely supported by evidence from the many that are not.

1. Our headlines, and what is actually true

These are the headlines we have run, grouped by the claim they make. The right-hand column is our own plain assessment. We have marked each family of headlines as Exaggerated, Partly true, Withdrawn, Our headline was wrong or Broadly supported.

The headline as you saw it	What is actually behind it
"Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Spell These 3 Words. Test Now""Top Doctors Say Mental Decline Begins When Seniors Can't Pronounce These 3 Phrases. Can You?""Memory Decline Begins When Seniors Say These 3 Phrases (See The List)""Declining Memory Begins When Seniors Say These 7 Phrases. See Which Ones"	Exaggerated There is no set of three words, three phrases or seven phrases whose spelling or pronunciation marks the beginning of anything. Nothing "begins" at a word. Word tasks do appear inside the short memory checks clinicians use, but those checks are given in person and read alongside your history, what you take daily and your age. Failing a word online means nothing on its own: plenty of people stumble over a word when they are tired, nervous or being timed. "Top Doctors" refers to no specific person. See section 4.
"Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Drinking These 3 Beverages""Japan's Greatest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Avoid Drinking These 3 Beverages""Japan's Oldest Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Stop Eating These 3 Foods"	Exaggerated No group of Japanese doctors issued this statement. There is no such panel, no such list, and no source we can point you to. Japan appears in the headline because it is widely associated with long life and with green tea, which makes the claim feel credible. That is a marketing decision, not a citation. The second half is also wrong. Memory changes with age for everyone, and no diet removes that. What is true is narrower: certain long-term drinking and eating patterns travel with faster slippage on thinking tests in large population studies. [1] [2] Association is not proof of cause, and "just avoid these three" is not how any of it works.
"Nobel Prize's Doctors Say Memory Loss Isn't Age: Just Stop Eating These 3 Foods"	Withdrawn We retract this one outright. No Nobel laureate has endorsed this page, this product, or any list of three foods on our behalf. Attaching the Nobel Prize to an advertisement implies an authority that does not exist and we should not have run it.
"The Overlooked Boxed Cereal Now Tied to 8 Out of 10 Memory Cases"	Our headline was wrong There is no such statistic. No study ties any cereal to eight out of ten cases of anything, "memory cases" is not a category any researcher uses, and no cereal has been "overlooked" by anyone: the sugar figure is printed on the side of every box. The number was invented for the headline and we withdraw it. The grain of truth is the same as for the other cereal headlines below: a diet heavy in ultra-processed food, the sweet cereal shelf included, travels in a large Brazilian study with somewhat faster slippage on thinking tests over eight years. [2] That is a modest association across thousands of people, not eight in ten of anyone. See section 3.
"Brain Experts Now Say These 3 Cereals Age the Brain Faster Than Time""Scientists Now Say This 1 Cereal Ages the Brain Faster Than Time"	Exaggerated No food ages the brain "faster than time." That phrase was written for effect and it is not a finding from any study. It is also internally inconsistent: in one version it is three cereals, in another it is one, because the number is something we test for click-through, not something anyone measured. The grain of truth: diets high in ultra-processed food are associated with somewhat faster slippage on thinking tests over years. [2] That is a modest effect across a population, not a fate sealed by a bowl of cereal. See section 3.
"Doctors Now Say This Popular Evening Drink Is Behind Memory Loss"	Partly true The "evening drink" is alcohol, and of everything our ads point at, this is where the evidence is strongest. In British civil servants followed for thirty years, higher drinking went with shrinkage of the hippocampus, the region most involved in forming memories, and with faster slippage in word fluency; light drinkers had no edge over non-drinkers. [1] What is overstated is the word "behind." Alcohol is one contributing factor among many, not the cause of memory slips. Cutting back is a genuinely good idea. It is also worth saying plainly: the tea we sell contains no alcohol, and it does contain caffeine from green tea, which is a reason to drink it in the daytime rather than the evening.
"Doctors Name 5 Popular Drinks Now Tied To Memory Decline. Coffee Tops The List""Seniors: These 4 Drinks May Be Aging Your Brain Faster""The 4 Drinks Brain Doctors Want Seniors to Quit""Doctors: 3 Popular Drinks Now Tied to Memory Loss in Seniors"	Exaggerated Notice that the count changes: three drinks, four, five. It changes because it is an advertising variable we rotate, not a number that came out of a study. No doctor is named in any version, because none was consulted. "Coffee Tops The List" is the clearest thing we have got wrong: none of the studies on this page is about plain coffee, and the product we sell is itself a caffeinated cup, because its first ingredient is green tea. The Food and Drug Administration cites 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, two to three 12-ounce cups of brewed coffee, as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in most healthy adults. [3] See section 2.
"Brain Doctors: Quit These 4 Drinks Before It's Too Late"	Exaggerated No brain doctor was consulted for this headline, and there is no "too late." The deadline was invented to make you click. The four drinks are the ones in section 2: alcohol, sugar-sweetened soft drinks, energy drinks and sweetened coffee-shop drinks. Cutting back on them is sensible for your nights, your weight and your wallet, and heavy drinking travels with poorer memory outcomes over years. [1] There is no evidence that quitting them on any particular day changes anything about your memory, and there is no age after which the change stops being worth making. See section 2.
"Memory Slipping? Check These 4 Everyday Drinks First"	Partly true Half right, in the wrong order. If your memory is slipping, the first thing to check is not a drink; it is a conversation with your own clinician about your nights, your hearing and what you take daily, none of which is settled by changing what you pour. The four drinks are the everyday ones in section 2. Reviewing them is a reasonable second step. Not enough plain water belongs on the list too. [4] [5] See section 2.
"America's Top Experts Say Mental Decline Isn't Aging: Just Avoid These 5 Kitchen Drinks"	Exaggerated The same construction as the "Japan's doctors" headline above, with the country changed. No panel of American experts issued this statement, and we cannot point you to one. Memory changes with age, and no drink removes that. The five kitchen drinks are alcohol, sugar-sweetened sodas, diet sodas, energy drinks and sweetened coffee-shop drinks, all in section 2, where the honest version of each is written out. "Just avoid" overstates what any of that evidence shows.
"Still Sharp at 90? Seniors Are Rethinking These 3 Everyday Foods"	Partly true The gentlest of our headlines, and still an overstatement. Nobody knows what keeps a particular person sharp at 90, and no single food does it. The three everyday foods are sugary breakfast cereals, processed meats and packaged baked goods, all in section 3. Eating less of them is part of the long, slow habits in section 5, and no food is a promise at any age.
"The Ayurvedic tea blend with twelve clinically studied herbs"	Our headline was wrong We have run versions of this line and we withdraw it. The tin prints twelve names and no amounts, so no reader, and no one outside the company, can check any of them against the amount its study used. More importantly, the studies behind the few plants that have them used concentrated extracts, weighed in milligrams and swallowed, not dried leaf steeped in hot water for four minutes. Five of the twelve names have no study on memory or attention that we could cite at all. A phrase like "clinically studied herbs" makes a cup of tea sound like the trials, and it is not. See section 6.
"Four Minutes Under a Lid, Twelve Plants, and Not One Amount on the Tin"	Broadly supported This is the one headline we run that states facts you can check on the tin itself, and each part checks out. The tin's own directions say to steep one teaspoon in a cup of boiled water, covered with a lid, for three to four minutes, then strain it. Its ingredient panel lists twelve plants: green tea, ginkgo biloba, gotu kola, amla, rosemary, brahmi, aloe vera, holy basil, ginger, ashwagandha, cinnamon and turmeric. And it prints no amount beside any of them, and no weight for the teaspoon. The headline states that arrangement and nothing more: it does not say the tea works, it does not say the plants are useless, and it does not say the cup is too weak. What it does is point at the thing a buyer can verify on the side of the tin in ten seconds. Section 6 sets each of the twelve names beside what its own research used.
"Neurologists Name 5 Popular Prescriptions Now Tied to Memory Decline"	Partly true, and the one not to act on alone No neurologist named a list for us, and we will not print one. What is true is that pharmacists keep lists of everyday products, some sold over the counter, that are often a poor fit after 65, and that a yearly look at everything you take is worth having. But an advertisement is the worst possible reason to change anything a clinician gave you: never stop or change it because of something you read in an ad, including ours. Put everything you take in one bag, this tin included, and ask your pharmacist. See the box at the end of section 2.

2. Every drink our ads point at

Our headlines have referred, in different versions, to "3 beverages", "4 drinks", "5 popular drinks" and "this popular evening drink" without ever naming them. Here is the complete list of what we were pointing at, and what the research actually supports for each one. Where a study is cited, it is observational unless stated otherwise: it can show that two things travel together in a population, not that one causes the other.

3. Every food our ads point at

The food headlines referred to "3 foods" and to "cereals": one cereal in some versions, three in others. Again, the number was ours, not a finding. Here is what was meant, and what stands behind it.

4. The "3 words" and "7 phrases" tests

Several of our headlines invite you to test yourself on words or phrases: spell these three words, pronounce these three phrases, see whether you say these seven phrases. There is no such validated test, and we cannot give you a real one, because a real one does not work that way.

What an actual memory check looks like. Clinicians use short structured checks. They do include word tasks: recalling three unrelated words after a delay, naming animals, repeating a sentence. But three things make them different from an online quiz:

• They are given in person, in a standard way, by someone trained to do it.
• The score is read against your age and education, not against a fixed pass mark.
• A low score is a reason for a longer conversation with your clinician, never a verdict by itself.

These checks also produce false alarms. A bad night, trouble hearing, and simply being nervous all lower scores in people whose memory is fine. This is precisely why an online word quiz is meaningless: it has none of the context that makes the real check useful.

5. Everyday habits worth more than any tin

If we only had one section to be useful in, this would be it. None of these is a supplement, a tin of tea, or a list of three foods, and none of them can be sold to you by us.

• Sleep enough, at regular hours, and keep caffeine to the daytime. That includes this tea.
• Get your hearing and your eyesight checked, and use hearing aids or glasses if you need them: straining to hear or see looks a great deal like not remembering.
• Walk, most days. Regular walking counts.
• Drink enough plain water. Being measurably short of it travelled with poorer processing speed in 1,111 older Berliners. ^{[4] [5]}
• Drink less alcohol. ^[1]
• Eat more like the Mediterranean pattern and less from the ultra-processed shelf. ^{[8] [2]}
• Stay in touch with people. Conversation is exercise for memory.
• Keep learning something: a language, an instrument, a route you have never driven.
• Once a year, take everything you take to the pharmacist, and bring the tin.

These are unglamorous. They cannot be delivered in a headline, they take years, and they are, by a wide margin, the most useful things on this entire page.

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6. Ingredient guide: what is actually in the tin we sell

What each name printed on the tin of TeaRaja is, what it is traditionally used for, and what the cited research says, including who was in each study, in what form, at what amount and who paid for it. The serving is one teaspoon of loose leaf in a cup of boiled water, covered and steeped for three to four minutes, then strained. Three notes on the tin itself, which you should read before the entries below. The tin prints twelve names and no amount for any of them, and no weight for the teaspoon; for scale only, the US Department of Agriculture lists a teaspoon of ground dried sage at seven-tenths of a gram, ^[9] so a spoonful of dried plant is measured in single grams and is shared here among twelve names. Green tea is printed first, so it is very likely most of the blend, and it carries caffeine in an amount the tin does not print. ^[7] And every trial cited below used a concentrated extract, or in rosemary's case a weighed amount of dried leaf, swallowed as a measured dose: none of them tested a tea, and nobody has measured what four minutes of hot water pulls out of a teaspoon of this blend.

Organic green tea (Camellia sinensis), leaf

The leaves of the tea plant, dried without the oxidation that turns the same leaves into black tea. Green, black and oolong teas all come from this one plant; only the processing differs.^[7] It is the first ingredient printed on this tin, so it is very likely the bulk of the blend.

Traditional and everyday use. Drunk daily across Asia for centuries, and the base of most flavored tea blends sold today.

What the research says. Green tea carries caffeine and a small amount of the amino acid L-theanine. In one study in adults aged 50 to 69, a single dose of L-theanine was associated with a faster reaction time on an attention task and fewer errors on a working-memory task.^[10] The summary of that study does not state the dose, and the tin does not state how much green tea is in a teaspoon. The National Institutes of Health notes that green tea contains caffeine, that harm to the organ that processes what you swallow has been reported mainly with green tea extracts in tablet or capsule form rather than with the drink, and that green tea may reduce the effectiveness of some medicines.^[7]

Good to know. It contains caffeine, so it is a daytime cup, not a bedtime one, and worth limiting if caffeine unsettles your heart or your stomach. Green tea may reduce the effectiveness of some medicines (the NIH names nadolol, atorvastatin and raloxifene).^[7] Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before drinking it daily if you take anything daily, or if you are pregnant or nursing.

Ginkgo biloba, dried leaf (in a tea blend)

Pieces of the fan-shaped leaf of the ginkgo tree, a species so ancient it is called a living fossil, planted along city streets across the world. Here it is the dried leaf in a tea blend, a different thing from the standardized leaf extract sold in capsules and from the homeopathic dilution found in some sprays. The front of this tin prints it as "Ginko Biloba".

Traditional and everyday use. Ginkgo leaf extract has been sold as a "memory herb" for decades; the dried leaf is also brewed as a tea.

What the research says. In the largest trial to date, 3,069 adults aged 72 to 96 took 120 mg of a standardized extract twice a day for a median of 6.1 years and declined at the same rate as the placebo group in memory, attention, language and every other domain measured.^[11] The National Institutes of Health states there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition.^[12] A pinch of dried leaf in a teaspoon of blend is far less than the 240 mg of extract a day that failed that trial.

Good to know. Ginkgo may increase the risk of bleeding in people who take anything that thins the blood; fresh ginkgo seeds are toxic. Talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily or due for an operation.

Gotu kola (Centella asiatica), aerial parts

A small, creeping perennial with fan-shaped leaves, native to wetlands from the tropical Old World to eastern Australia. It is eaten as a vegetable and in salads across South and Southeast Asia.

Traditional and everyday use. Used for centuries in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese practice, and eaten fresh as a salad green.

What the research says. In a small 2-month placebo-controlled trial of 28 healthy older adults, the highest dose (750 mg/day) of a gotu kola extract was associated with improved working-memory performance and higher self-rated alertness.^[13] A 2017 review that pooled the randomized trials found no significant effect on cognitive test scores overall, though it did find higher self-rated alertness.^[14]

Good to know. Skin rash has been reported. Rare reports of harm to the organ that processes what you swallow have been linked to gotu kola products: stop and talk to your doctor if you notice unusual tiredness, dark urine, or yellowing of the skin or eyes. Laboratory studies suggest it may interact with some products processed by that same organ; talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily.

Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica, also written Emblica officinalis; amla), fruit

A small tree of the Indian subcontinent whose round, pale-green, very sour fruit is one of the richest food sources of vitamin C. The fruit is eaten pickled, candied and in chutneys, and dried pieces of it go into herbal blends.

Traditional and everyday use. A staple of Ayurvedic tonic preparations known as rasayana, such as chyawanprash and the three-fruit blend Triphala, and used in the Indian kitchen for centuries.

What the research says. No published trial links amla to memory or attention in healthy adults, and we make no claim for it here.

Good to know. Sour and astringent; large amounts may upset the stomach. Some reports suggest it can lower glucose. Talk to your doctor before drinking it daily if you take anything daily.

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis), leaf

A small evergreen shrub of the mint family, native to the dry, rocky Mediterranean coast, whose needle-like leaves are one of the world's most familiar cooking herbs. The FDA lists rosemary among spices generally recognized as safe for their intended use in food.

Traditional and everyday use. In ancient Greece and Rome rosemary was associated with memory, and in folklore it has long been an emblem of remembrance. In the kitchen it flavors roasts, breads and oils.

What the research says. In a small crossover trial of 28 adults with an average age of 75, a single 750 mg dose of dried rosemary leaf, close to a culinary amount, was associated with faster speed of memory compared with placebo, while a much larger dose (6,000 mg) had the opposite effect.^[15] More was not better.

Good to know. Culinary amounts are widely used. In the trial above, a very large single dose (6,000 mg) slowed memory measures, so more is not better. Talk to your doctor before use if you have a health condition or take anything daily.

Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri, water hyssop), whole plant

A creeping perennial of wet ground and pond edges across India, with small oblong leaves and white to pale purple flowers. In some parts of India the name "brahmi" is also given to gotu kola, which is a different plant; some products list both.

Traditional and everyday use. One of the best-known plants of Ayurvedic practice, traditionally associated with memory, calm and sleep.

What the research says. This is the one ingredient on the tin with trials in the right age group. In 54 healthy adults aged 65 and older, 300 mg a day of a standardized extract for 12 weeks was associated with better delayed word recall and better performance on a task of ignoring distractions than placebo, with no effect on divided attention or working memory.^[16] In 98 healthy adults over 55, the same daily amount for 12 weeks was associated with better verbal learning and delayed recall, while other measures did not differ.^[17] A meta-analysis of nine such trials found faster performance on two attention-speed tests, by milliseconds, and called for a large well-designed trial.^[18] All of that used standardized extracts in tablets for at least three months. A pinch of dried plant steeped in a twelve-ingredient tea blend, or a fraction of a milligram of glycosides in a spray, is not the same thing, and nobody has tested either.

Good to know. The trials reported more stomach upset, looser stools, cramps and nausea than placebo.^[17] Reference texts advise caution for anyone who takes anything daily for the body's own hormones, note it may slow the heart rate, and note it can affect how the organ that processes what you swallow handles some medicines. Talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily.

Aloe vera juice (Aloe barbadensis, inner leaf gel)

A cactus-like plant that grows in hot, dry climates. Products are made from different parts of the leaf: the clear gel from the inner leaf, the bitter yellow latex from the outer layer, and the whole crushed leaf. In Liquid Health Neurologic it is the inner-leaf gel, pressed into a juice, and it most likely serves as part of the liquid base of the blend; the TeaRaja tin of loose-leaf tea does not say which part of the leaf it uses.

Traditional and everyday use. The gel has been applied to the skin for centuries; aloe drinks are a common beverage ingredient.

What the research says. No research links aloe to memory or attention, and we make no claim for it here.

Good to know. Aloe latex is a laxative and in 2002 the FDA required its removal from over-the-counter laxative products for lack of safety data; the inner-leaf gel is the milder part. Oral aloe leaf extracts have been linked to rare cases of inflammation of the organ that processes what you swallow: stop and talk to your doctor if you notice unusual tiredness, dark urine, or yellowing of the skin or eyes. Talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily.

Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum, tulsi), leaf

An aromatic shrub of the mint family native to India, with clove-scented leaves, grown in courtyards and temple gardens and brewed on its own as "tulsi tea". It is a relative of the sweet basil in the kitchen, with a sharper, more peppery smell.

Traditional and everyday use. Used in Ayurvedic practice for thousands of years and revered in Hindu households.

What the research says. The Merck Manual states that there are no high-quality studies in people showing holy basil is effective for any health condition, and that the small human studies that exist are of poor quality. We make no claim for it here.

Good to know. Nausea or diarrhea have been reported. It may lower the level of one of the body's own hormones in the blood, may increase bruising and bleeding alongside anything that thins the blood, and may lower glucose alongside anything taken daily for glucose. Avoid in pregnancy. Talk to your doctor before drinking it daily if you take anything daily.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale), root

The knobbly underground stem of a tropical plant native to the warm parts of Asia, now grown across South America, Africa and the Middle East, and one of the most familiar spices in the world. In this blend it appears as dried pieces of root.

Traditional and everyday use. Used in folk medicine since ancient times, mostly for the stomach, and the warming spice in Indian chai.

What the research says. The research on ginger concerns nausea and joint comfort, not memory or attention. We make no claim for it here.

Good to know. Can cause abdominal discomfort, heartburn, diarrhea and mouth or throat irritation. Talk to your doctor before drinking it daily if you take anything that thins the blood or anything daily.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), root extract

A short shrub of the nightshade family that grows in India, the Middle East and parts of Africa. The root is dried and extracted; the plant is also called Indian ginseng or winter cherry.

Traditional and everyday use. Used in Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, for more than 3,000 years, usually as a root powder taken with milk or ghee.

What the research says. In a placebo-controlled trial of 125 healthy adults aged 20 to 55 who reported stress, 300 mg per day of a sustained-release root extract for 90 days was associated with better memory and focus scores, better sleep and lower stress ratings than placebo.^[19]

Good to know. Rare reports of harm to the organ that processes what you swallow have been described with ashwagandha products: stop and talk to your doctor if you notice unusual tiredness, dark urine, or yellowing of the skin or eyes. Not for use in pregnancy. Talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily for your hormones, or if you take anything daily.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum sp.), bark

The dried inner bark of tropical trees, rolled into quills or broken into chips. Two kinds are sold: Ceylon or "true" cinnamon, grown mainly in Sri Lanka, and cassia cinnamon, the most common kind in North America. This tin does not say which one it uses.

Traditional and everyday use. A kitchen spice on every continent and the sweet note in chai.

What the research says. The National Institutes of Health states that research doesn't clearly support using cinnamon for any health condition. We make no claim for it here.

Good to know. Cassia cinnamon contains coumarin, and prolonged intake of high-coumarin products is a concern for the organ that processes what you swallow; Ceylon cinnamon carries only a trace. Since the tin does not say which kind it uses, ask your doctor before drinking it daily if you take anything daily.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa), rhizome

A plant of the ginger family grown across India and Southeast Asia, whose orange-yellow underground stem is dried and ground into the spice that colors curry. Curcumin is the compound that gives it its color. In this blend it appears as small dried pieces.

Traditional and everyday use. A cooking spice and a dye for thousands of years, and a fixture of Ayurvedic practice.

What the research says. In an 18-month trial of 40 adults aged 51 to 84, a highly bioavailable form of curcumin (90 mg twice daily) was associated with better verbal memory, visual memory and attention scores than placebo.^[20] That was a patented, concentrated preparation taken as a supplement, not turmeric steeped in water, and the National Institutes of Health states both that we don't know enough to conclude whether turmeric is beneficial for any health purpose and that harm to the organ that processes what you swallow has been reported in some people who took highly bioavailable curcumin formulations.^[21] A pinch of turmeric in a cup of tea is the culinary kind, not the studied kind.

Good to know. Culinary amounts are widely used. Turmeric can cause nausea, reflux and stomach upset; concentrated bioavailable formulations have been linked to harm to the organ that processes what you swallow.^[21] It may add to the effect of anything that thins the blood. Talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information does not constitute medical advice and it should not be relied upon as such. This product is not a substitute for medication or other treatment prescribed by a physician or health care provider. Consult your doctor before starting any dietary supplement.

7. What we can and cannot promise

Set against the headlines that brought you here, this is the complete and honest position.

Things we cannot promise, and that nobody selling you a tea or a supplement can:

• That this tea will improve your memory, your attention or your concentration.
• That it will stop memory from changing with age.
• That it offsets alcohol, sugar, processed food, or any drink or food named on this page.
• That it can replace anything a clinician gave you, or make a yearly look at everything you take unnecessary.
• That any doctor in Japan, any Nobel laureate, any neurologist or any "brain expert" recommends it. None has.
• That a word or phrase quiz can tell you anything about your brain.
• That any of the twelve names reaches the amount used in its own research. The tin prints no amounts, and the trials used extracts: brahmi at 300 mg a day of a standardized extract for twelve weeks, ^{[16] [17]} gotu kola at 750 mg a day of an extract, ^[13] ginkgo at 120 to 240 mg a day of a standardized extract. ^{[22] [11]}
• That the ginkgo does anything. The largest trial ever run, 240 mg a day of extract for a median of six years in 3,069 adults aged 72 to 96, found scores slipping at the same rate as placebo, ^[11] and the National Institutes of Health states there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition. ^[12]
• That the green tea result transfers. The studies of L-theanine and of green tea catechins used measured doses, several of them run or funded by tea companies, ^{[10] [23] [24]} and the pairing study used 50 mg of caffeine with 100 mg of L-theanine in 27 volunteers. ^[25] Nobody has measured how much of either is in a cup of this blend.
• That the turmeric or the ashwagandha does anything in a cup. The turmeric trial used 90 mg of a high-absorption curcumin twice a day, ^[20] and the National Institutes of Health's center for complementary health states that we do not know enough to conclude whether turmeric or curcumin is beneficial for any health purpose. ^[21] The ashwagandha studies used concentrated root extracts in adults aged 20 to 55 and in adults averaging 23 years old. ^{[19] [26]}
• That amla, aloe vera, holy basil, ginger or cinnamon do anything for memory or attention. We could not find a study to cite for any of them, and we will not borrow one from elsewhere.

Things we can say honestly:

• It is a 100-gram tin of loose-leaf herbal tea, packed in Kolkata by FY Wellness Private Limited and sold from Chennai by Herbkart Commerce Inc., as a food.
• Its twelve ingredients are listed above in the order the tin prints them, with no amounts.
• Its directions are one teaspoon to a cup of boiled water, covered with a lid, steeped for three to four minutes and strained.
• At two to three grams a teaspoon, a tin makes about thirty-three to fifty cups; the tin itself does not say.
• It carries caffeine from green tea, its first ingredient, in an amount the tin does not print, so it is a daytime cup.
• One small study of plain dried rosemary leaf, 750 mg in single doses in adults averaging 75, is the only study in this file that used something close to a kitchen amount of dried leaf; a dose eight times larger went the other way. ^[15]
• The same panel says to store the tin in a cool, dry place and also to store it under refrigeration; we cannot tell you which the packer meant.
• Shipping from India costs nothing extra, according to the seller; customs and import charges are the buyer's, and no delivery time to the United States is published.
• The seller does not accept international returns. A claim is possible within thirty days only for a wrong, damaged, expired or incomplete order, with an unboxing video, and an opened seal cannot be refunded. A full refund on cancellation is possible only within 24 hours of ordering.
• The seller answers on WhatsApp and Signal at +91 85969-79989 and by email at talk@herbkart.com.
• We print no price, because the seller sets it and it changes.
• The seller's page carried no reviews when we checked it on September 21, 2026, and we quote none anywhere on this site.
• We earn a commission if you buy. That is our interest in this, stated plainly.
• Nothing here is medical advice, and none of it replaces your own clinician.

8. Questions people ask us

Did a Japanese doctor, a Nobel laureate or a neurologist really say this?

No. Those attributions are advertising language. No named or identifiable expert made those statements, and none has endorsed this product.

So is coffee bad for my memory or not?

None of the studies on this page is about plain coffee, and our "Coffee Tops The List" headline overstated it. What is worth watching is added sugar in coffee drinks, and caffeine late enough in the day to cost you a night. The Food and Drug Administration cites 400 milligrams of caffeine a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in most healthy adults. ^[3] This tea carries caffeine of its own, so count it in.

Should I stop something because of your "5 prescriptions" headline?

No. Not on your own, and not because of an advertisement. Take everything you take to your pharmacist and ask whether anything is a poor fit for your age, and whether anything argues with green tea, ginkgo, holy basil or turmeric.

Which of the twelve names has the best support?

Brahmi, and only in extract form. Two twelve-week trials in healthy adults over 55 and over 65 used 300 milligrams a day of a standardized extract and found better delayed recall than placebo, with other measures unchanged. ^{[16] [17]} The tin names the plant, prints no amount, and asks you to steep it, not to swallow an extract.

How much of each plant is in a cup?

Nobody outside the company can say. The tin prints twelve names, no amounts and no weight for the teaspoon, and nobody has measured what four minutes of hot water pulls out of this blend.

How much caffeine is in a cup?

The tin does not print it. Green tea is the first ingredient, so treat each cup as a caffeinated drink and keep it to the daytime.

Is there anything in it that might upset my stomach?

Possibly. Brahmi's own trials reported stomach upset, looser stools, cramps and nausea as the commonest complaints, ^[17] and ginger, amla and holy basil can each upset some stomachs. Notice how you feel in the first week, and stop if it does not suit you.

What if I do not like it?

The seller does not accept international returns. If the tin arrives wrong, damaged, expired or incomplete, you have thirty days to claim, with an unboxing video. Write to talk@herbkart.com or message +91 85969-79989 on WhatsApp or Signal.

Are there any reviews?

No. The seller's page showed no reviews when we checked it on September 21, 2026, and we have not quoted any customer anywhere on this site.

If your own headlines are exaggerated, why should I believe this page?

A fair question. Do not take our word for it. The references below are real, published sources you can look up yourself, and nothing in sections 4 and 5 requires you to buy anything or trust us. If this page and our headlines disagree, believe this page.

Can I check these claims myself?

Yes, and you should. Every numbered reference below can be found by searching its authors and journal. For general information, the National Institute on Aging (nia.nih.gov) publishes plain-language material and sells nothing.

References

These are the sources behind the claims marked with a number above. Several are observational studies, which can show association but not cause. The studies of the plants in the tin tested one ingredient at a time, as concentrated extracts or weighed amounts, in other people; several were run in adults far younger than our readers, and several were authored in part by tea companies or by the makers of the ingredient tested. The fact sheets are the governments' own. None of them tested this tea. We have deliberately not cited anything for the claims we describe as exaggerated, because there is nothing to cite.

1. Topiwala A. et al. (2017). BMJ 357:j2353 doi.org
2. Gonçalves N.G. et al. (2023). JAMA Neurology 80(2):142-150 doi.org
3. US FDA Consumer Update. "Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?" (updated 2024-08-28) fda.gov
4. Mantantzis K. et al. (2020). Psychology and Aging 35(4):517-528 doi.org
5. Edmonds C.J. et al. (2021). Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 95:104380 doi.org
6. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2015). Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal 13(5):4102 doi.org
7. NIH NCCIH. "Green Tea" (updated February 2025) nccih.nih.gov
8. Barnes L.L. et al. (2023). New England Journal of Medicine 389(7):602-611 doi.org
9. USDA Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, "Spices, sage, ground" (SR Legacy) fdc.nal.usda.gov
10. Baba Y. et al. (2021). Journal of Medicinal Food 24(4):333-341 doi.org
11. Snitz B.E. et al. (2009). JAMA 302(24):2663-2670 doi.org
12. NIH NCCIH. "Ginkgo" (updated February 2025) nccih.nih.gov
13. Wattanathorn J. et al. (2008). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 116(2):325-332 doi.org
14. Puttarak P. et al. (2017). Scientific Reports 7:10646 doi.org
15. Pengelly A. et al. (2012). Journal of Medicinal Food 15(1):10-17 doi.org
16. Calabrese C. et al. (2008). Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14(6):707-713 doi.org
17. Morgan A., Stevens J. (2010). Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 16(7):753-759 doi.org
18. Kongkeaw C. et al. (2014). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 151(1):528-535 doi.org
19. Gopukumar K. et al. (2021). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2021:8254344 doi.org
20. Small G.W. et al. (2018). American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 26(3):266-277 doi.org
21. NIH NCCIH. "Turmeric" (updated April 2025) nccih.nih.gov
22. Burns N.R. et al. (2006). Human Psychopharmacology 21(1):27-37 doi.org
23. Hidese S. et al. (2019). Nutrients 11(10):2362 doi.org
24. Baba Y. et al. (2020). Molecules 25(18):4265 doi.org
25. Owen G.N. et al. (2008). Nutritional Neuroscience 11(4):193-198 doi.org
26. Leonard M. et al. (2024). Nutrients 16(12):1813 doi.org

Citing a study does not mean the study is about this product. The studies above tested one ingredient at a time, as extracts or weighed amounts, not the tea itself; none of the research tested TeaRaja, and none of it supports it.

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