The Republic of Tea

I bought this for my jasmine-loving mother, decided to try it first to advise on brewing parameters and ended up drinking through the entire tin. Bought another and it’s going the same way. Oops.

It’s not my favorite jasmine pearl but it’s a nice one when I feel like jasmine but don’t want to put as much thought or effort into the preparation as a higher quality tea deserves. It’s better than the average grocery store jasmine tea, always in stock at my local natural/organic foods store, and cheaper than the jasmine pearl my local tea shop carries (the tea shop’s is tastier so the higher price is probably somewhat justified). The jasmine flavor and aroma is nice and strong. It’s not as smooth as the pearls from my local shop or Yunnan Sourcing but it’s perfectly drinkable brewed any style. Lately I’ve been doing grandpa style in a Fellow Carter travel mug. The splash guard thingie (that absolutely looks like a kitchen sink drain plug) that comes with the mug works really well for keeping any floaty leaves out of the way for grandpa style brewing. It keeps my tea hot for ages so it’s been my go-to vessel while sewing and embroidering.

Love this tea. Juicy peach, subtle ginger. Would be excellent iced but really good hot.

That’s a wrap! Probably will not buy this again, just too many other good choices for the same price. Great in a pinch though since it is more-readily available at brick and mortar stores.

Began cutting this with a dash of sugar, it’s just not ceremonial grade. The energy boost is nice though. :)

First matcha wasn’t enough, I dipped in again on this one.

Went strong this time to get a feeling for the body of this matcha.

Dry, there is some light sweetness and mild scent.
The nose once wet is mostly fresh grass with a little undertone of sweet peas.

I mixed with an electric hand wisk for lack of better choices at my office. This yielded a pretty decent mixture with only smaller clumps since I did not sift before pouring.

Possibly more complex than the Kintra I started this matcha kick with, the grass and vegetal notes carry over into the body once mixed. The finish is bitter and coats the tongue, so not a huge umami or true sweetness on the latter portion of each sip.
This led to a long astringency coating the tongue which actually left me wanting to drink more, there’s an olfactory sensation with a taste akin to nibbling on a peach pit, so slight sweet fruitiness. Hard to describe.
It may turn a few off of this blend but the notes of bitterness are definitely there.

I made more of an usucha and it carried the same notes, just less concentrated. This would probably serve well as a latte matcha or culinary but is technically smooth enough to enjoy in a tea ceremony, or whatever unholy definition you have for blasting matcha with an electric whisk.

I’m pretty sure I got this at work a while back. Since I don’t see it listed on the Republic of Tea website, who knows how old it is. I’m working on motivating myself to head out of a local trail hike this morning, so it seemed like an appropriate tea to have before I leave.

Steeped for about 6 minutes in boiled water. I’m reminded of the TM Throat Coat tea that I like. There’s a bit of spice to it. I also get some basil too. Packet describes it as having a citrus flavor but I don’t get that at all. It has an aroma that reminds me of soy sauce or tamari.

Will this energize me through the hike today? We’ll see. But I’d do this again if it was still available. A quick glance at Republic’s Be Well listings didn’t show a rebrand. So I’m guessing it’s been discontinued.

The pineapple here is so authentic! It tastes just like canned pineapple. I don’t really notice any hibiscus, which I’m fine with. I get maybe a hint of lychee if I’m paying attention. This is quite unique and fun as a cold cup of tea. There’s nothing artificial or distracting (apparently it has stevia, which might bother some). I’m so glad getanzt sent three teabags so I could enjoy this multiple times. The resteep is decent too. I would totally order more of this one!

You really want this tea to taste like its description…but it doesn’t. Very light, very “thin” flavor that just isn’t that great. Not buying Republic of Tea any more; they used to be decent for the price but there are so many other GREAT teas out there. This one will be hitting the garbage like many others.

This was last night’s tea. It is part of the holiday combo I bought. I really like the rooibos cinnamon tea from Good Earth called Sweet N Spicy, and wondered if this might be as good. It wasn’t. It wasn’t a bad tea, just much milder than the Good Earth, and the cinnamon gave my mouth that drying sensation that I dislike. The flavor, as I said, was milder, but a little sweet, which I like. I have another 11 tea bags of this, and I don’t think I’ll have any trouble sipping those down . So, this is getting a recommendation from me

I just finished my tin of this tea that I bought a long time ago. It had a nice pineapple flavor, although I really didn’t taste the ginger. If you “upped” the flavor by adding a second sachet, it would get a little bitter (maybe that’s the age speaking). Anyway, I’m moving on from Republic of Tea.

I spent most of the weekend at the in-laws, so I didn’t have access to the kettle and all the tools to steep loose-leaf. I figured it was a good excuse to work on this sipsby advent I stalled out on – and the stall was very much because I wasn’t excited to see this tea. Now I’ve got to go back into my phone for the notes!

There is only so much chocolate can do to counter coconut, and this wasn’t quite enough for me, but I’ll admit it got pretty close. This felt almost like a liquid version of a Samoa/Caramel Delight Girl Scout Cookie, though a touch heavier on the coconut. I tolerated it about as long as I do the cookie before giving it over to my partner, who enjoyed the rest of the cup. It’s quite smooth and would make a fantastic dessert for someone with even a little less disdain for coconut than myself.

sipsby bagged advent, day 5

I had this one tonight. It’s chilly here in Fargo (naturally) and to me, cold winter nights just beg for a spicy herbal tea to sip while knitting. I had lost this in my office for several and just found it today while cleaning. Oops. I guess that just goes to show what you can find when you actually clean!

Anyway. I brewed it up expecting to really love it. I do enjoy cardamon in chai and spicy tea. But this was not my cup of tea. Since there is such a small amount of tea in the bag I used a little tea cup with about 6 ounces of boiling water. I let it brew for 5 minutes. The color was pretty dark. The flavor was pretty pale. That is, I got a mild spicy flavor. It was underwhelming. And I was disappointed because I expected to love this one.

I’m glad the Republic of tea sent this one as a sample with my last order because I might have bought a whole tin of this based on the description. So I am really glad I got to try it. And it was not horrible. Maybe I should have let it steep longer. If a friend served this I could certainly drink it. But I won’t order this one.

In the evening, I try to avoid caffeine, but since rooibus is not tea (grumble) I drink decaf real tea. My spouse got this one for when we have Japanese food for dinner, and indeed, it is a thoroughly acceptable green tea.

There’s nothing special about it – it’s what you’d get in the teapot of any generic “Asian” restaurant. But it’s decaf, and it works very well for the purpose of, “I would like green tea to go with my sushi and I would like not to be awake all night.”

We will continue to keep this in the cupboard. It’s not shiny or special, but it works just fine.