The Republic of Tea

I don’t know whether this blend is actually good or that I’m just so happy to be done with RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping thing that’s making me feel generous, but I dunno, this is pretty good. A note for the herbal ignoramuses among us: lemon balm is not the same thing as lemon. I was very surprised by both the fragrance and my first sip. =) Surprised in a good way, though, ‘cos I didn’t want anything tart.

As you may know by now, I like teas that say, Hi, I’m here! Prepared plain, this blend has a nice, bold—and yes, very "herbal"—flavour. I’ve tried loads of herbal blends and this flavour feels unique. It’s a standout, and worth trying for that reason alone. Grateful to have ended this adventure on a positive note.

This is not chai. We don’t put orange peel and star anise in our tea—or cinnamon, but that might just be my family/region)—nor is simmering tea with water, milk, and honey a traditional preparation.

With that out of the way, this blend isn’t half bad. Like every tea so far in RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping box, it’s weak, but less so than the others. I’m on Day 11 and this is only the second or third blend I’d recommend. If you’re going to go with some form of cream and sweetener, I’d recommend two tea bags; the creamer mutes the flavour too much. I was pleasantly surprised that it tastes good plain and it tastes good cold—that’s definitely uncommon for a “chai” blend.

There is one thing I will say about RoT’s blends. I find cinnamon to be a rude spotlight hog in most cases, but in the RoT blends I’ve tried so far, it’s played surprisingly well with others.

Confession: I can’t tell the difference between British Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, and Scottish Breakfast. I mean, I looked it up, but I can’t taste the difference. Black tea is black tea. I mean, I can taste the difference between PG Tips and Barry’s. And I know Earl Grey is different because the bergamot (mmmm bergamot) sets it apart. But that’s about it.

So yeah, as black tea blends go, this is fine. As has been my experience of late with RoT tea bags, it’s just fine. I’ll take PG Tips any day.

Oh, and it’s better with milk ‘n’ sugar (or oat creamer and stevia, in my case).

RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping, day 9. The first whiff of this dry blend was awful. It smelled spoiled. It quickly passed and then it smelled like it’s supposed to smell, but that first impression, wow, I have no idea what happened there.

All three flavours are present in equal measure: rooibos, peppermint (more candy cane than actual mint), and chocolate—and all three are equally muted. The end result is just okay. I imagine using two tea bags would’ve been better, but that doubles the price of the tea, and it’s just not worth it. I’m not adding a separate note for the sweetened, creamer version, because it wasn’t significantly different: as expected, the sweetener was kind of nice; the creamer (coconut milk) would’ve probably been wonderful if the flavours were bolder, but as it is it just obscured what little flavour was there.

Oh, honey! Got two sachets of this in RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping. Prepped plain, this brew is smooth, fragrant, and all honey. If that’s your thing, and you can have a bit of caffeine, you’ll love it. It needs nothing to enhance or “fix” its flavour, either; just steep and enjoy.

RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping, day 6.5. Quickly prepared the second cup, this time with oat creamer and stevia. It’s still pink, but not as pretty with the creamer. The creamer and the sweetener do a great job of cutting the tartness, of course, and the result is somewhat reminiscent of Fruity Pebbles.

I’m still not sure about oat creamer: no matter how little I use, I taste it too much. That said, it worked well here.

Still not for me.

RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping, day 6. It’s a pretty pink. And it’s tart, as expected—thanks, hibiscus! Not for me.

Got two sachets of this in RoT’s 2020 12 Days of Sipping thing. I had one plain and one with oat creamer and stevia. Both were nice, although the flavour was a bit too muted by the creamer. The tea’s fragrance is better than the flavour. I tend to like really bold flavours, so I had high expectations upon sticking my nose in my steaming mug. Ah, well. It’s nice, especially for a bagged tea, but not much better than nice. The spices do make it warm and comforting, though, so it lives up to at least half its name.

I grabbed a single sachet of this from a recent tea box. It has no ingredients listed, so I didn’t know what to expect, but it tastes quite desserty, rather like cookies. I’d usually add milk to a tea like this, but it doesn’t need it. Nice black base, nice cookie taste. I’d drink this again. I really, really enjoy it actually.

Got two sachets of this in RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping advent calendar thing. Drank one plain and one with oat creamer and stevia. Both were good, but the sweet ‘n’ creamy one was better. It’s all peach, no real ginger to speak of. Were I willing to take the time and less lazy than I am, adding freshly grated ginger to the steep and straining it out before drinking would’ve really improved the boldness of this blend.

There were two sachets of this in RoT’s 2020 advent calendar. I should’ve saved one to steep differently. As it is, I drank it plain and it was pretty good: clean and smooth, not cloying. It’s the kind of flavour that calls for some sort of creamer and sweetener, though.

Predominantly spearmint. Can’t really taste anything else. As spearmint teas go, this one’s pretty good.

Mild candy cane flavour with a hint of something else: something papery, maybe the tea bag? If you like peppermint, there are much better peppermint teas out there.

Bought at Wegmans. I first enjoyed this in a Republic of Tea sampler last year. A nice rooibos tea with hint of vanilla. Good for an afternoon cuppa.

Got this in my Sips By box this month. They’ve cottoned on to the fact that I like chocolate-flavored caffeine-free options with roasted notes, and have decided to inundate me with them. It’s getting a little boring, to be fully honest. Maybe I’ll retake the profile quiz.
I appreciate that this one at least also has coconut flavoring, to provide some relief from the chocolate monotony. The coconut tastes genuine and is well-balanced with the cocoa notes.
The RoT’s offerings usually taste watery/ weak to me overall though, and this one is no exception. I suspect that they underleaf/ undersize their sachets.
It’s OK, but nothing I would commit to buying a whole canister of.

A sample tea bag arrived with my Republic of Tea fall catalog. Its spicy and warm flavors were surprisingly good to a non-chai lover.

I tried as part of the The Republic of Tea’s Day of Tea Assortment. Good black tea with bergamot shining through

Tried as part of the The Republic of Tea’s Day of Tea Assortment. Great choice for a black tea, bergamot really shines.

Very faint flavors of apple cider and cinnamon. I use two tea bags but the flavor just isn’t there. My husband thought we should use it, just pour 6 oz of water max. Going through teas I bought while I was working long hours and assessing what I should buy again.

I bought this tea for late summer and early fall at Wegman’s. Very spicy with cinnamon and chili. Loved it.