The Republic of Tea

Weak.. would probably be good if it had more flavor to it. Won’t buy it again but might finish the box.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: 6 ounces filtered boiling
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: hibiscus, apple, floral
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet apple vanilla
Flavor: hibiscus, apple
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: sweet apple, hints of vanilla
Liquor: dark pink

I drank the first cup so fast I couldn’t even log it! The second cup (fresh bag) I drank while starting the post. I am now on cup #3.

I had a wonderful (though tea-less) weekend with my friends, and came home to some drama that had me shaking with fury. I wanted a nice soothing cup of tea to calm down. I choose this for the vanilla. Sadly it is a mild hint of vanilla instead of a prominent flavor. It is however a lovely tea. Not as delicious as the pineapple lychee.

Bobbie and MilitiaJim both are displeased with the tea and find it to have a “fake sugar” after taste.

Note: I love hibiscus

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/republic-of-tea-teabag-herbal-tea.html

I just love the aroma of the wet leaves (tea bag) in this tea. It is so deliciously like black raspberries taste. I can’t wait to pick up the loose leaf version next time I make a trip to whole foods. Wish we had more tea stores by me, but all I have is one coffee shop that sells Republic’s traveler’s tins, which is what I got of this :)

Yum! Great fruity berry ness as well as green tea taste. Enjoyed this warm tonight. Thinking I need a full tin of this (just got the travelers).

The smell of the wet leaf (bag?) is of sweet strong berries. It smells like my favorite all fruit raspberry jam. Delicious. I hope the taste with the green tea is just as strong in flavor as it smells. I could sniff this all evening!

When slurped I get a bright berry forefront with a green tea calm as an aftertaste. It’s sweet without sugar. When sipped slowly it is a little less flavorful upfront, but still quite fruity. RoT greens don’t usually Pop me in the face with fruit flavor, but this is doing pretty well. I may try two bags next time. I just used 1 bag for 6oz and am getting decent flavor.

I got this in the Republic of Tea catalogue. It was very yummy. It smelled nice and peachy. I made it hot but then added ice and it made a very nice iced tea. The peach flavor really shined and I love subtle fruity iced teas. Especially with white or green bases. I would definitely consider buying this.

This tea is just okay for me. I had heard really good things about it, but it wasn’t as delicious as expected. It has a beautiful coconut scent, not so much cocoa included. For me, it tasted a bit watered down and uneventful.

Great iced, but needed sugar.

Blah. I know I said I was neutral on this like a year ago…but…nah…

I’m neutral on this tea. It’s a bit bitter and bitey for me – almost a gritty taste to it – but the scent is different and so is the blend. Kudos to TRoT for going against the grain and trying something different! I will say that at first sip you would think the aftertaste would be awful but it’s not that bad if you are a big picky aftertaste person that likes bitter fruity herbal teas this may be for you. Would prob be ok iced. I don’t care for it enough to go looking for it again, tho.

A pretty good, basic tea. It does not at all take to oversteeping well, or to hot water — be careful with this one. It’s fruity and nice, and blends really well with other flavors, but can stand alone too if you’re up for it. Personally, I won’t be restocking this one, but I didn’t mind having it.

Had this as an ICED Sample at Wegmans tonight. Again, pleasantly surprised at the Hibiscus mellowness but VERY happy…with the Key Lime Pairing it’s certainly something I could get used to ICED specifically. YUM. No…you aren’t in a Tales From The Crypt Episode…I really AM rating a Hibiscus tisane this high (based on ICED).

Had this as a HOT Sample at Wegmans tonight. I was surprised at the taste. It proved me wrong. It was sweet but pretty good. It wasn’t really tart which totally confused me…because of 99.9% of my other Hibiscus experiences. Wasn’t too bad, really…

I love the name of this tea and wanted it to be great. The smell is of a creamy, rich chocolate. The taste, however, is significantly different. I can get hints of chocolate, but now as much as you would expect from the scent. Isn’t there a darn mate (or other tea, for that matter) with a rich, creamy chocolate taste? I might be asking too much.. trying to find a healthier, but equally satisfying replacement for hot chocolate. Anyway, this tea isn’t awful, just a bit disappointing.

Oh, I really like this tea. I was not expecting to like this tea. I was expecting some kind of hibiscusy, bitter-crushed-up green tea, yucky herbal concoction. But the actual tea? It smelled like honey! Really! Like actual, from the jar, honey. And no hibiscus in sight! Along with the honey was a flowery taste, which I’m guessing is the ginseng. This tea would be any honey or sweet tea lover’s dream. I didn’t add any honey to my cup, but I’m sure this tea, with a bit of honey added, would convert any black/sweet tea drinker who thinks green tea tastes like water. This is a definite repurchase for me.

I got a sample of this with the catalogue, and it was quite good I must say. I mean the taste was comforting, and soothing. I don’t really taste honey, but it has a unique flavor to it that left me feeling good.

I have had this tea before but I liked it a little better this time. I remember it being a little more sour. This cup seemed a little smoother and sweeter. There was still that sour note that is present in most fruit teas, but overall I enjoyed the cup. Not something I would purchase for myself, but I liked the sample.

I had the bottled iced version of this, so not this exact tea but I figured it was pretty similar since the iced tea is unsweetened. It was okay, the beginning tasted like cough syrup which wasn’t pleasant but I think it was because my fridge froze it and then it un-froze which messed up the flavoring. I have had this before and don’t remember the cough syrup note. About 1/4 of the way into the bottle that flavor left and it basically tasted fruity and I swear I tasted vanilla but I don’t know where that would be coming from.

Reviewing this again because my dislike runs higher the more I drink it.

I really only drink it when I’m lazy and can’t be bothered measuring out loose tea. It’s the only bagged variety in my drawer at work. But I find myself literally gagging by the time I reach the cup’s end. The smell is nice & vanilla-y, and I still have that small bit of hope when opening the canister. But actual drinkability? Getting worse for me.

It was a nostalgia thing that made me pick this one up. When I worked in an indie movie theatre, I often went for it during my breaks. I thought maybe I just didn’t know enough about tea back then, since it didn’t taste particularly special. Thus I tried it again.

Nope. Same thing. I keep on thinking it will be amazing, because the tin itself definitely smells like, well, vanilla almond. And I like anything with one (or both) of those scents. And the smell tempts me when the mug is sitting on my desk, untouched. But I just don’t taste it in the tea. There’s something in the aftertaste… but if I can’t figure out what it is, well… not a good sign.

I bought a tin of this tea the other day as it was 50% off. I get sucked into sales so easily! This is a tasty rooibos blend — at least I remember it being one when I had it this past fall. The scent of the dry leaf is very much like an apple Jolly Rancher candy with a bit of rooibos in the background. As strange as that combination sounds, it actually works.

After water has been added, the rooibos and caramel dominate the scent and the apple fades a bit. Sipping… everything is present here: the apple (slightly artificial), the rooibos and something creamy (I’m assuming this is the caramel). The apple is most like a Granny Smith to me as it’s more tart than sweet. The rooibos is definitely prominent, so if you aren’t a fan of rooibos, I would suggest you stay away from this blend. The caramel isn’t explicitly caramel, but is a generalized creamy note that pairs itself with the rooibos base. I’m increasing the rating for this one because it’s tasty and unique!

(Psh.. no, this isn’t my fourth cup of tea today… I’m not obsessed!) If I didn’t know this was an apple tea, I wouldn’t have suspected any apple in the scent. When I think about apple, though, I can smell it! All of The Republic of Tea’s red teas seem to have a strange spicy scent added. The actual taste isn’t anything special. I sense no caramel and only a slight hint of apple in the aftertaste. A little bit of sweet is there too. It’s not bad, but nothing special, in my opinion.

I really wish this product description from the company would hint more at the actual taste of this tea because it’s hard to describe but I will give it a-go…

It’s a little bitter but nothing I can’t handle. It’s certainly floral. A bit berry, even. The scent after infusing reminds me of a candle we used to sell called Bitter Berry Dew…it was different but pleasant.

The flower didn’t quite open fully. I could see the flower itself but it didn’t open as wide as most do. However, it stayed in tact for multiple infusions. Not too shabby.