The Republic of Tea

I cold brewed this one today. It was nice. Not fantastic, but nice. My brother is here to stay for the weekend and he liked it better than I did. He added sugar to his, but I am not a fan of sugar. He knew right away from the smell that it is watermelon. I’ll be happy to drink the rest of the tin, but I don’t think I’ll buy it again.

Best part is the hibiscus and the pomegranate. The green tea goes well with it, but the green tea quality is better in some of their other bagged teas.

I have a love hate relationship with Yerbe Mate. I either think that it tastes literal butter mashed with land grass and perhaps some cannabis on the side (I hate the smell of it), or buttery greenness that can go with almost anything. They are good as chais. They are good with flavors and cream. They are also good with chocolate, which is what this is, and it is one of the closest teas that you can get to a mocha, yet not the first nor the best example to do so.

How they are near to accomplishing this task is by using a roasted mate and chicory for the base, which provides the coffee like aroma and taste. The cocoa umphs up the mocha parallel. So, what you get is a roasted, light herbal cocoa with an extra kick of caffeine.

Cream, sugar, and honey can work with this, but more so with the sugar. I personally think that it doesn’t need anything. Honestly, this is best as an alternative to coffee for those who want something different, want a light hot cocoa, or trying to give up their coffee. This is one of the tea drinker’s mochas, but one of many others nonetheless.

This is a cool idea for bagging a matcha. Sencha is the leaf base of this tea, with the powder diffusing in the smaller pores of the biodegradable bag. I really don’t need to describe this tea in detail if you know what a Sencha and a Matcha taste like. If you don’t, it’s clean, green, grassy, and sea mist goodness. Matcha is probably one of the healthiest drinks out there without sugar and cream added, and you can definitely drink this one without those additives. It comes very close to Aiya’s ceremonial matcha in terms of taste, but only lighter and not quite as fresh though still good quality matcha.

I’d highly recommend this tea if you want to try Matcha, Sencha, or are looking to budget for a matcha if you can’t find a close, cheaper Asian market. Though 13 bucks may seem hefty, you are getting 50 tea bags out of it-A LOT OF TEA.

I have to say, I didn’t think that I would like Rooibos plain, but I did. I especially wonder what it tastes like as a pure matcha now. This is the closest that I can get to it then, I really like it. If you know what a rooibos tastes like, then there’s really nothing further to add then citrusy, sweet yet partially creamy candy. With the added powder, the enhanced profile almost reminds me of the smell and taste of dates. I may buy it again, but otherwise I’ll be saving my money for other teas.

I actually got this as a loose leaf at Schuler’s Books in a french press. I really enjoyed it (and need to find better verbs than “enjoyed”). The day was frigid in East Lansing, and I was hanging out with one of my friends in desperate need of warmth and conversation. I got both while drinking this tea.

Rooibos is an interesting one, being an herbal, but also being naturally sweet and almost citrusy, yet oddly smooth and maybe creamy like a candy. The vanilla adds more cream to it, and while Vanilla is either overused as a flavor or just the right accent, it was a good pick for the rooibos. It’s vanilla profile was also enhanced by having actual vanilla beans with the flavor.

I would be willing to buy this if I was looking for a good Rooibos that I could afford, but I wouldn’t immediately go to this one. I linger back and forth from this to an Early Grey version if I could find it. There might be other vanilla rooibos that are better, but this one is still pretty good.

I got this one at a Schuler Books and Music store in the form of an iced tea, and it was exactly what I needed at that moment. This tea is naturally sweet, and tart making sugar unnecessary. I primarily tasted the black tea body which was smooth and slightly astringent, but complimented nicely with the black berry and accented by the sage. Very refreshing. Also, I got both the loose leaf version and this one, which are pretty similar…they must have pre-brewed it and then put it in the fridge.

I wonder how it would have tasted hot, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy my own tin of it. Still, I was amazed that a chain bookstore coffee shop offered this quality of tea, and I would definitely buy it again as an individual option.

Tasting #1 – Steep Time 2 Minutes
Strong floral aroma, very light flavor.

Tasting #2 – Steep Time 4 Minutes
Strong floral aroma, and the taste of the jasmine is coming through quite strong.

Tasting #3 – Steep Time 6 Minutes
Strong floral aroma, the tea is finally starting to balance the flavor of the jasmine so it isn’t so overpowering.

Overall, I do prefer jasmine pearls rather than this because I get more tea flavor over the jasmine. But, if green tea is something that intimidates you because of the grassy flavor or bitterness, this would be a good way to get into green tea since the jasmine will mask those flavors.

Cold Brew (PREFERRED)
1TBSP + 1TSP Tea, 32oz Water
I am changing my recommendation from “no” to “YES” after tasting this cold brew. I’m not a fan of the floral or any other additional flavors in tea. I much prefer my tea to be grassy and earthy. But when cold brewed, I think this tea in particular has the perfect balance. I can still taste the green tea underneath the brightness of jasmine, which adds some complexity to this tea for me. Absolutely delicious and refreshing!

A delightful creamy earl grey. Soothing and smooth.

I love Downton Abbey and will probably collect all the teas.

Bought a sample of this and had to get more. Absolutely delicious. Hits that sweet tooth spot.

This really does taste like peppermint bark. The aftertaste is amazing! I don’t mind the stevia! I just finished my first cup but can see this becoming a favorite.

Got this as a free sample with my latest RoT catalog and tried it iced yesterday. I was surprised by how delicious this was! Spot-on pineapple and guava scent and flavor against a smooth, refreshing green base. I’m not really picking up on the orange, but I also don’t miss it. If I didn’t already have WAY too much tea in my cupboard right now, I would definitely consider purchasing a whole tin of this for the summer.

Happy Iced Tea Day!!! I brewed this up to sit outside and enjoy the last rays of sunshine. This was delicious! The coconut goes well with the woody chocolate tones of the puerh. It almost brings out a vanilla flavor to it. I’m not sure how well this would be hot. Im really not a hot flavored tea kind of guy. This was amazing iced though. It hit the spot for an outside sweet brew. I may have been late to celebrating today, but I made it just in time!

https://instagram.com/p/3xHwdtTGZn/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Very comforting warm spice blend, not overpowering, great for a sick day or to beat the afternoon blahs. Love it in fall on cold Fall evenings outside on the patio.

I apologize in advance for the brief and sub -par review.

An enjoyable rooibos blend. Doesn’t taste like the most natural of banana flavours but still enjoyable nonetheless. According to the ingredients though there are no artificial flavourings in this tea. Surprisingly. The chocolate plays second fiddle to the banana, but works very well as a supporting flavour. I would drink this again if offered, but I would not purchase it. I steeped this for 10 minutes using 2 bags for 12 ounces.

I’m liking this one for a quick on the go kind of cup.
Toasted green with a hint of sweetness to it.
Simple and refreshing. What I wanted this morning.

Anybody have any recommendations on flavored genmaicha or a really good genmaicha?

This was a nice and flavorful, even strong, rooibos. The scent was pleasantly herbal but also sharp and slightly tart. As with other teabags from The Republic of Tea, they cut portion size down to the bare minimum for a single steep, but it’s a good steep for an inexpensive rooibos, and I’d recommend this. My only reservations are that this is a bit too average, too one-note, and if I’m going to drink a rooibos, i’d rather taste some earthy, caramel undercurrents. However, that’s just personal preference.

As with others from Republic of Tea, this comes as a Pringles-like stack of small, round pouches. There’s just enough dusty fannings in there to make it through one steep, but I suppose that’s the idea.

I was altogether unimpressed. There’s little aroma and the flavor is extremely flat, just a vaguely green tea taste with a hint of umami. I got this as part of a 3 tea sampler and don’t plan to purchase any more.