The Republic of Tea

I love the smell of the bags (all maply syrup and pecan), but the smell of the brewed tea has a slight burnt taste to it, which reminds me of Stash’s decaf caramel creme that I could never enjoy.

The taste, though, is really nice. The black tea in this one is much stronger than the Pumpkin Ginger. There’s a definite pecan taste, and the sip finishes with strong, thick, maple notes. There’s a hint of caramel there, but it’s rather fleeting and I’m not sure if I’m imagining it or not. I don’t think I’ll try this one at 5 minutes; I think it could easily turn bitter.

I work in the same building as our plant operations department. The head of the department and I kid around that I’m the one always drinking the last of the coffee (I’m usually refilling my bottle of water at the same time he’s making the 3rd or 4th pot), and he pokes fun of the teastains in all my mugs (I do tend toward mugs that have cream or white interiors).

Today, he slyly hands me this tissue-wrapped package and tells me that I don’t know where it came from. I get back to my desk…it’s a black mug with our district’s logo on it. And it’s the perfect shape, rounded and wider at the bottom. I had to start using it immediately, of course. I’m thinking it could hold a full 16 oz…will have to test that out in a bit!

ETA: Oh, and this tea is yummy.

Switching from Christmas back to fall. Absolutely love this stuff…definitely will be heading back to WM to try and get another tin before the fall season is over.

Yes, I drove an hour (both ways) yesterday to pick up this tea and the other Republic of Tea seasonal exclusives at World Market. I’ve been craving this and the other 2 since I heard about their existence (thanks, Meghann). I lucked out, because this was the last tin of this one that the store had.

The dominant taste is ginger, followed by a rich, baked-pumpkin taste. I can also taste the black tea, and a hint of the cinnamon. It definitely screams “fall” and nearly begs you to sip some in front of a fire on a gloomy day. I see myself going through this tin fairly quickly; I’ll probably be picking up another tin before this season is over. I brewed this cup at 3 minutes (my new standard for brewing new black teas), but will try at 5 minutes and see what happens.

I’m a fan of Earl Greys. This one was a fairly good one especially for a bagged tea. It was mild and is not as strong (not so much bergamot and citrus flavors), which is good when you want something milder. This was just what I needed this morning. Usually I love the stronger Greys but this one is good. It reminds me of Twining’s Lady Grey but not that much lemon/citrus. Good blend overall. Nice and light.

This tea is pretty dang delicious. It’s so hard to brew it wrong, which is good for a newbie like me XP The flavor is so floral and smooth. Nothing bad about it! (except maybe the cost, heh)

Sample that Mom got with her Republic of Tea catalog (she ordered tea for me a while back).

I really enjoy this one!! The vanilla is strong and creamy, and the pomegranate is fruity and tart. Very creamy and dessert-like. The red rooibos isn’t a strong flavor in this one, but it is still detectable. Definitely a tea I’d purchase!!

Tried this today. Fruity! The color of the tea was dark purple then turned a deep maroon. It is tart but not overwhelmingly so. Good tea overall but still not a big fruit tea fan. I imagine this would taste good iced as well.

This is a decent tea. It seems forgiving … I steeped it for 2 minutes and it didn’t get bitter. I’m partial to lemon grass and ginger and the fact that this is fair trade! Good tea overall.

OOOPS, I MEANT TO SAY WITH OUT CINNAMON OR VANILLA!!

This a lovely smooth tasting rea tea with cinnamon or vanilla. It is the closest to “real tea” with out the caffiene. Unfortunately, Repubic of Tea has stopped making it. If you have tried it and agree with me, contact them to being making it again. Let’s change the tea world!

Another tea I still enjoy inbag. Probably one of the first teas that made me start looking at looseleaf, this tea gives a one of a kind experience and a good focus

Even though I’m trying to shy away from bags nowadays, this is the best EG I’ve found so far. It’s not a “creme” or anything like that, just a straight, smell good taste good no frills tea. I usually use a littler sugar and just enough milk to make it turn clay colored. One of my daily drinks at works when I don’t feel like making looseleaf!

Part of the RoT sampler. I have only a few left to try.

Orange Blossom has a sweet scent to it. The dry bag always has dust around it. The leaves are chopped up. Upon steeping, it is mild and interesting. There is a sweet, citrusy aftertaste, which I like. The only thing I don’t like is the hint of medicinal taste. Its like a VERY VERY watered down cough syrup.

From Jaime!

I do not like banana flavored teas and I’m not a fan of coconut- but since a really under-ripe banana takes like cucumber, I’m hoping that’s what plantain tastes like in tea.

1 bag/8oz water/11min

Nope I was wrong. A strong banana type flavor w/ coconut coming in second w/ a solid but smooth green bush base. I personal “meh…” to me, but a must try for anyone that enjoys banana and/or coconut teas. Would probably be good as a latTEA.

This tea is from Jaime, but it was Meghann that suggested I have it w/ lunch. A large Mission Carb Balance whole wheat tortilla spread w/ hummus and topped w/ ham, shreaded cheese, and banana peppers, heated for 20 sec and then rolled. I only heated the wrap so it was easier to roll. It was cold when I ate it cuz I made it while the tea was steeping.

1 bag/8oz water/11 min

The raw leaf smells mostly of orange. The aroma was so strong it got my dog’s attention when I took it out of the bag lol.

The steeped liquor has a lighter aroma and looks very much like a combo of carrot and beet juice except it’s much more translucent and more pink than red.

Ok, I can no longer say that I don’t like anything w/ beet in it. This is a very smooth balance of fruit and savoryness from the carrot. It reminds me of a tea version of V8 V-Fusion. It went great w/ my sandwhich and I bet would go great w/ borscht!:)

This is amazing and based on my liking I’d give it a 100, but flavors would have to be stronger to earn it for accuracy, which is what I rate based on.

Drank up the last of the sample bags Jaime sent me. I must get a tin in the near future as I really enjoy the banana flavor in this tisane. Very mild and sweet and green.

Ahhhh….now this is great tea! I’ve been really impressed with the teas I’ve sampled (thanks to *Jaime) from RoT’s Raw Green Bush line.

This tea smells heavenly, sweet coconut water with plantains. It is blended so harmoniously the taste is just like velvet, but lighter. This tastes like a flavored water version of a coconut banana smoothie. I will definitely be buying more of this tea. This is sooooo good!