The Republic of Tea

I over leafed this a bit to finish off the last of the sample. It was a risk that ended well. The tea ended up richer instead of bitter like I have experienced in some over leafing situations. I’m almost done with this cup already, but I’m questioning how much I like it. I do like it, but I was quite taken by it in my first cup. I could probably stand to buy another sample and do further investigating!

Another find in the bulk section of Whole Foods! This definitely smells like a breakfast tea, all malty and hearty. The taste is much brighter. I get grassy flavors in the sip, surrounded by malt with a little tannin at the end. Adding cream, cause it just feels right with a breakfast tea, more well rounded and meal like. The grass flavor is mellowed out, the whole thing is more balanced and smooth. There are still brighter notes in the sip, the malt is richer and mild, the tannin at the end is subtle. This tea is quickly growing on me and I didn’t expect that.

I like Republic of Tea Milk Oolong fairly well prepared per the package instructions but it wasn’t memorable. However, recently I wanted tea and found a few grams of this in the back of the cupboard. I didn’t have quite enough for a full cup so I tossed about a gram into my cup and prepared it “grandpa” style. Oh my! It was a lovely way to bring out full fruity and floral notes. The milk and vanilla notes were largely gone after the first cup but continued steeping and more water brought out the flavors of spring and summer. I think that measly gram could last an entire day and still be flavorful in the last cup. I do recommend this tea but I think it best served "grandpa"style.

I got this as a free sample in Republic of Tea’s seasonal catalog. Aww yiss, winter blends.

This is reminiscent of eggnog, heavy with vanilla. But instead of nutmeg, as one would find in eggnog, they used cardamom. It has a creamy, sweet note that makes me put this in the dessert tea category. The raspberry leaves give it a bit of a dryness that balances that out somewhat. Others have said they tasted caramel, but I don’t.

There is just something missing here in this blend. Clove? Cinnamon? Ginger? I don’t know. It’s an ok cup, but I’m not into it.

All I can taste is the peach, pleasant taste, but just peach.

I’m on a (tea) bag roll today. I received this free sample in the mail from The Republic of Tea just before Christmas. This was one of my favorite companies during my bag days seven years ago when I was just a TEAnager (hee hee). The company displays a lot of imagination and creativity with the many tea selections they offer, including special limited holiday selections, like this one.

When I opened the wrapper, my nostrils were immediately filled with a delicious aroma like eggnog or a Christmas cookie. My senses are easy to please when it comes to sweet stuff. I dropped the round and tag-less bag disc into boiling water for five minutes as recommended by the wrapper for the maximum brewing time.

The finished aroma was also like eggnog…yes…or a Christmas cookie. The color was bright amber.

The flavor of this tea was true to its smell. It tasted just like eggnog…and, one more time… or a Christmas cookie. Although the flavor was potent, and probably not found in nature, it did not taste chemically artificial to me. There was no astringency and a pleasant enough aftertaste remained on my palate that reminded me of Christmas cookies past.

If I were ever to return to my early life as a bag drinker, I would be fine with this selection again during the holidays. I prefer loose leaf but sometimes I don’t have a problem when I’m told it’s in the bag.

Yuck. Just rooibos, rooibos, and more rooibos with a hint of a watery chocolate flavor. I steeped it forever, and it was still just barely drinkable. I gave up after just a few swallows.

I have to hide this one. When I observe the specified water/tea bag ratio, it’s really good. A great cup in the evening, and too many friends and family agree. I am under a self-imposed (though loosely regarded) buying freeze, and I need this to last a little while.

Chocolaty, minty, and deliciously creamy.

When I started the coffee-tea transition, I was not a flavored coffee fan, and was pretty sure the same would be true of tea. For my experience, the sweet, spicy and sometimes exotic aroma from various flavoring or additives don’t always translate in the cup.

That said, after dabbling with herbals and simple blends like Morocco Mint, I decided to try some flavored teas and tisanes during the Christmas season. My wife favors decaf options, and you can always offer something that smells awesome to a holiday guest.

With its base black tea, I tried Sip and Be Merry moments after opening the box. It smells fantastic and the bag infuses very quickly. It smells and tastes somewhat fruity; the second most notable flavor is the vanilla. I can see the black tea in the cup, but there’s no real evidence of it in the flavor. Not bad. My guests and co-workers love it. My wife can even drink it early in the day. That’s my positive review as I cleanse my palate with some Irish Breakfast Tea.

I first enjoyed a cup of Lapsang Souchang at Russian Tea Time in Chicago. This is not that! I have had this sitting in my pantry for close to a decade because neither I nor anyone in my family want to drink it; the smokey, barbecue-like flavor is just too strong. Fortunately, I have enjoyed sticking my nose in the canister to smell its potent, almost pipe tobacco fragrance every once in a while to make the price somewhat worth it. I need room, so it is going in the trash.

I just love this tea with all of my heart. I use it when I’m feeling the hankering for hot chocolate but don’t need all the sugar from hot chocolate and it pleases every time.

If I could take some of the beautiful scent in the canister and put it towards bolstering the taste of this tea, I would. It’s a lovely blend of peach, ceylon, and ginger but RoT teas do steep on the weak side so that means double the tea bags.

Received this as a free sample tea bag in a catalog. Republic of Tea hasn’t been sending out samples for awhile but it appears they have started again. I wonder what that’s about. I’m disappointed to see that this tea is the same sample they offered in their catalog last year. They offer so many teas so why not offer something different for people to try? After drinking this I can safely say that my thoughts on it remain the same as the last time I had it. Don’t care for it.

This was a sample from their catalog. I Prepared with a tiny bit of soy milk and a tiny bit of honey. Sipping on this the black tea’s base is too weak and quite absent unfortunately. The flavor doesn’t make up for the lack of base either. I can taste something that resembles alcoholic flavored extracts you would use in baking. It reminds me of a very artificial amaretto flavor I’ve had chocolate that tasted like that before. I believe this must be the caramel coming through and am quite disappointed. It is slightly creamy but not nearly to the extent that the Downton Abbey Ms. Patmore’s Pudding tea is. Which is one of my favorites. I do not recommend this tea to buy as it is quite boring and the quality resembles a lower priced tea bag.

I got this as a sample from the Republic of Tea. This is a pretty nice tea, reminds me of the holidays, as I’m sure it’s meant to. The vanilla is pretty clear and the cardamom is mostly what I tasted as ‘warm’ (in the sense, not the temperature). I probably wouldn’t buy this but I wouldn’t complain about drinking it again.

Made with milk and sugar.

Another take on English Breakfast I like a lot! Steeped this one twice with good results. The Kenya tea adds a sweet, rounded edge, making this less brisk than some other versions.

Plenty of flavor and body in this malty cup!

Surprised this isn’t ranked higher. Maybe a straight Assam is just too “plain Jane” for some. I like it. A lot! This is an unblended, single-origin Tea, and its simple, malty goodness is exactly what I was hoping for. Just as with art, there’s no accounting for taste, and one opinion is as valid as the next. For me – this was a welcome cup!

Backlog

A coworker and I have started sharing tea samples with each other. Despite her “coffee ritual” from Starbucks on the way to work, she has started to look forward to “work tea time” (where we swap out tea during the slower hour(s); despite oftentimes having different tastes in tea)…My tea from her was this HiCaf Caramel Black….

At first, I thought to myself that this may have had potential, on the account that Republic of Tea is usually a more expensive brand of bagged tea. However, from what I’ve tried in the past, it has always been quite disappointing, so there was no hope in this being good.

I had three bags of this tea, so I had cut one of them open and poured the contents onto a piece of paper. Following that, I did the same with a bag of Lipton (just for fun). I asked my other coworker which tea might’ve been the better of the the two and he stated,
“Umm…there’re not the same?”

With that said, ROT & Lipton are the same to anyone looking at the tea directly, rather than basing their opinion on the box/packaging and/or type of tea present.

Notes: Gross. Bitter, tasted stale, & zero notes of caramel. I took one sip before spiting the tea out and making a cup of something else. My coworker that had made the tea swap with me found this to be some sort of hilarious joke, though. She also dislikes this tea, but wanted my opinion on it….Sadly, ROT has yet convinced me that their teas are worthy of the $9.99 per tin.

Totally generic tea. Quite bland, no distinct flavors, nothing particularly good or bad about it. I guess there’s a touch of sweet that could be the mango, but otherwise, just very average and nondescript. Might be good iced, or with food but not something to drink for its own merits.