The Republic of Tea

I can’t help but wonder if the flat quality of this tea and the inability to get a second steeping has more to do with Central Market’s system of keeping loose tea in glass jars that get repeatedly opened and closed (and possibly sit a long time with old stock in them) and less to do with the quality of the tea.

I should probably stop being lazy and start ordering tea online again instead of buying it at the grocer. Even bulk, loose tea from the grocer just isn’t ‘good enough’ anymore.

Further proof, I think, that Yunnan golden teas are on the whole a fairly superior varietal.

By and large I am not super impressed with Republic of Tea brand loose teas. But this one is much better than the others I have on hand or have had in the past.

My only disappointment is that an attempt at a second steeping has produced a darkly colored, but essentially flavorless cup.

I really like this tea as a casual bag tea for hot or cold grab-a-mug’ing. It’s a dark pink color when done steeping and has a nice tart pomegranate flavor. I usually don’t like RoT teas and over-all I don’t tend to like fruity teas, but the tart and fruit of this one is pleasant.

This is as close to a standard item as my work tea collection has. I believe I’ve gone through three tins over the course of two jobs. Admittedly it’s gotten to be an emotional thing as much as a taste thing: I started drinking it soon after moving back to my hometown, someplace I’d wanted to be for a long time, and it has a connotation of civilized enjoyment, happiness, and health for me. When something has such a nice feeling associated with it, you’ll drink it no matter how much more you learn about tea over time…!

I do a particularly quick steep on this, sometimes as little as a ten-second dip, which yields a brew with only a pale brown color; today I did a full minute, which is slow for me with this tea (and in a brown mug, so I couldn’t tell you the color of the brew). With a quick steep, you avoid any bitterness or tannins. All you get is the vegetal flavor that I really like in this. The fruit, on the other hand, gets short shrift—but even with a much longer steep, it is never that strong in this tea. Although I normally love fruity teas and tend to bring the fruit out with lots of sugar, I drink this one plain, preferring the mere suggestion of fruit. I think it’s just that I like the Chinese green base so much. To me it tastes like grass, vegetables, freshness, and healthiness. And, of course, it tastes like happy feelings!

Example of how much my mom hates tea: she sipped some of this and said it tasted like dirty water. eye roll Thanks, Mom! (She does love bubble tea, but only because of the tapioca at the bottom, I think!)

The last of this for a while. We’re leaving for the holidays in less than a week and aside from the truly dear things like the pu-erh cake, I want to use up as much leaf as is reasonable so nothing’s getting stale while it sits. I won’t buy anything new, I don’t think, until after New Year’s day.

Wuyi oolongs really are ideal for cloudy, blustery, gloomy days. Toasty but with that hint of sweetness that anything just a tiny bit burnt always has. The kind of tea that makes you wrap both hands around the mug and just… unclench. I did two short steepings with three cups of water and strained them into one of my larger ceramic (Western style) tea pots.

I have to keep reminding myself that here in Houston, this weather is only going to last at most 8 weeks, not 8 months. I do wish the grass had more time to recover from the severe Summer drought before it is forced to go dormant, but it doesn’t look like the weather will cooperate.

I have been sleeping with a headband with earphones built into it this past week, listening to Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports vol 1” and it is kind of shaping my entire mood throughout each day — it reminds me a bit of the videophile kid in American Beauty — although hopefully a bit more healthy than that. People who think electronic music, especially ambient music, is something that a 4 year old with a laptop could make should read about the process that went into producing that album.

I recently got a quantity of Rishi brand wuyi because I was at Whole Foods not Central Market. It has accomplished nothing but to help me more deeply appreciate this one from RoTea. The Rishi has this utterly overwhelming… pong. I swear, that tea has body odor. And no matter how short or how long the steep, no matter how many steeps you do, you can’t get rid of it.

But this wuyi from RoTea is almost like a Darjeeling on steroids. Light, crisp, toasty and bold.

My pepper flake incident has exploded into a full blown head cold and so today is all about tea.

Today is going to be all about the fact that our lawns have spent the past 18 months being abused by landscapers, contractors and the worst drought Texas has on record. I basically have to get an entire year’s worth of dead grass out of the thatch in the hopes that the St. Augustine will run one more time before going dormant until March. With any luck, the spot treatment for the weeds (an eco-friendly variety of weed killer) will arrive tomorrow and I can follow-up the weed whacking and raking with weed treatment.

Oh, and I’ll be drinking this tea while I do all that work because we aren’t supposed to break 60 degrees until afternoon.

Maybe I’ll back the car into the driveway and listen to the Arabic version of the liturgy as inspiration…

For some reason I stopped buying pu-erh teas.

Probably because for some reason I stopped ordering tea online and the local merchants mark their pu-erhs WAY up.

In the wake of this, probably temporary change, I have realized that this Wuyi oolong has become my default, go-to tea.

It is a classic yum cha/dim sum type toasted oolong and while my local premium grocer charges way too much for it, this Republic of Tea variety is very much center of the road.

I usually get 3 steeps from these leaves, but with a fresher supply I could probably get more.

There’s just something always a bit “flat” about these Republic of Tea steepings that I can’t quite put my finger on.

To quote Randy Jackson “It was just a’ight for me”.

I was on the road for a whole month, and spent the time prior to using up tea in the house and haven’t had the free time to place an order since I got back, and so I am stuck drinking Republic of Tea from the bulk bins at Central Market.

Probably my favorite herbal tea at this point! Nice light flavor and naturally sweet- perfect with just a little bit of raw sugar. No need to worry about oversteeping it, because the flavor is light enough to take a little extra time in the water.

I’ve made this tea hot and cold and find it tart and delicious. It’s a good warm you up kind of tea on a cold winter night and would go over well for fans of rooibus. Cold brewed, it’s so very appropriate for summer – refreshing and cooling and quite delicious.

Loved this! Steeped for the maximum recommended brewing time (5 min, if I recall correctly) and had just a little bit of sugar with it. I’m a sucker for peach teas, but I loved the ginger kick! Truly one of the best bagged black teas I’ve had.

Simple elegance in a cup. Perfect for that delicate cup before bed. One of the few I do not buy from a tea house. Highly recommend.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tisane.

This is really good. I love how I can taste all of the components: the fruity notes of the green rooibos, the sweetness of the carrot and beet, and the juicy tart notes from the orange. Energizing and yet soothing. Very nice.

Tasty tea, although the smoke hides many of the other elements of the tea. Full review: http://exm.nr/jmVitM

Scooped a bulk sample at Central Market. This one is on the more oxidized side, and it’s good when I want something a little more robust than my usual fare of greens and lighter oolongs.

It tastes woody and nutty. No bitterness at all. The taste is balanced and has more complexity the longer you sip it. This is something I would pick for a day when I have to wake up before dawn and my feet are cold.

My name is Jennifer, and I’m a tea miser. I’m naturally a pretty generous person but I do have my standards. If you’re a tea enthusiast, I’ll share my last tsp. of my most beloved tea with you. But if you really don’t get excited about tea, you’re not getting any of my top shelf brew. Have you ever offered someone a cup of your precious tea only to see then leave half a cup? It’s horrifying! So, when I brew a big pitcher of iced tea that just anyone may be offered, I refuse to use my most coveted teas. Vanilla Apple Hibiscus tea from The Republic of Tea is a delicious tea that I am willing to share.

I’ve had this Vanila Apple Hibiscus tea for just over a year now. It’s a good iced tea. There’s a distinct apple flavor at first sip. The hibiscus gives the brew a vaguely sweet and very pleasant background. The smooth vanilla finish is a lovely surprise. It’s a very refreshing summertime tea that I won’t find myself angry at unsuspecting guests for not finishing :)

I decided to give this tea another try this morning, and it’s just on the meah side of okay. I don’t taste cherry or vanilla, but the black tea isn’t completely objectionable. I drank it. I don’t care to drink it again anytime soon.

I feel a little guilty about my run of negative Republic of Tea reviews lately. I really do think that they have some good blends, I just haven’t been drinking any of those lately :/

I like my tea twin KeeneTeaThyme am on a quest for a good chai. I thought this could be a real contender. I’d heard good things from friends who swear by Republic of Tea teas. But this was SUPER weak with one bag. I even prepared said teas as Republic of Tea suggested (simmered, milk, and honey) and it was still weak. I will try to double up on the bag as another Steepster suggested.

Backlogging. Hello yummy tea! First off opening the tin made my chocolate senses tingle! A very chocolaty scent drifts out of the tin and I honestly just wanted to eat the tea pouch. But I didn’t, no I followed the directions and waiting “patiently” for my tea to be ready. Once it was ready to drink I promptly burned my mouth I wanted to drink it that badly! The chocolate flavor was very pronounced in this tea and I really enjoyed it.