Nutrition and health food stores have been found to be quite expensive and the quality of the products to be questionable . I have found that any processed form of Pau D'Arco, such as tablets, capsules and tinctures to be ineffective. Powdered bark in gelcaps seems to be
totally useless.The phrase "BUYER BEWARE!" certainly is valid when purchasing the authentic and high quality product.
When purchasing Pau d'Arco tea you should be aware of the species and origination of the herb. The most significant species, as determined by Professor, Dr. Walter Accorsi (world's foremost authority on "Medicinal Plants of the Rainforest"), is named "Tabebuia Avellanedae" or "Tabebuia Impetiginosa". The two species are the same... The texture should be "Fine Grind", "Tea Bag Cut", and sometimes referred to as "cut and sift". It is about the same texture as most ground coffees or teas. The powdered form of the herb is usually used for making gelcaps or tinctures. The "Rough Grind" is looks more like "slivers of wood" and if authentic must be prepared differently than the "Fine Grind". The tea should appear as redish purple in color. There are slight differences in the fine grind textures due to the grinding processes but is insignificant.
I have sampled many of the products that are offered by the nutrition and herbal stores on the Internet and find that only a very few have significant knowledge of Pau d'Arco tea and it's preparation. There are several that sell products at low prices and find that they are poor quality and essentially useless products.
For more information on finding reputable sources to purchase the tea you can research the following stores that I have found to supply the high quality product...
OREGON
PRINCE IMPORTS, INC..
www.princetea.com
(503) 738-4148
CANADA
ATLANTIS HEALTH CENTERS
www.atlantishealthcenters.com
(250) 446-2539