The Republic of Tea

Despite the fact that I have a lot of ROT canisters that I badly need to sip down, I bought 2 more when I was at Whole Foods 2 weeks ago.

Obviously this is one of them.

I am not a huge coconut fan, but I have a mild like for them and have really gotten into putting lime juice in with it. (Though this seems to work better with colder teas.) This time around I put in some salt as well, meh that made it taste weird. (Sometimes it works, other times…not so much.) I think I also put to much lime juice.

Despite both of those though, I am enjoying my cup.

I do wish however….that ROT wasn’t quite so expensive. Though at least they are alittle bit more accessible (At the moment. Where I’m moving this summer, the nearest tea places at all are in Ann Arbor, which about half hour-45 min from where I will be living. Though bonus is that I’ll be nearer to The British Pantry in Tecumseh.)

If your obsessed with coconut, then this tea is worth a try.

Would I buy this again? It depends on how it does as a iced tea.

My stomach has been giving me grief for a week now and I have been on a road trip AND I just started a new semester at school AND I’m stressed about having everything together to do my first show in June…. it has all left me with little time for tea and an even smaller amount of time to write about tea. I’m using stolen time here.

This tea has really grown on me and I have even longed for it’s strange flavor combo at times. I have been double bagging the Republic teas lately and it works out well for a stronger flavor. A little soy creamer to round it out and this is making for a nice evening cup. I’m still not convinced that this is one I need to buy again (especially since I am curious about other flavors in the Cocoa line), but I’m going to enjoy it down to the last bag.

I think I’m liking this better than the last time I had it. It has a strange taste which I’m guessing is the malted barley. I added a bit of sugar and cream. The coconut is pretty creamy and there is just a tiny bit of cocoa. It is a nice evening cup, but I don’t think it is a rebuy.

This tea is… weird. I had it hot the other night and I’m having it iced today and there is something that was really strange both times. I was really wanting a chocolate coconut combination and liked ROT’s Banana Chocolate fairly well, so I thought this was a safe bet. I like that it is low in caffeine, since I need more evening options. Maybe it is the chicory root that is making this strange for me? I don’t hate it, but I’m not sure that I’m liking it either.

A nice, light apricot flavor. Despite brewing this for a long time, it hasn’t gotten bitter. Kinda weak, but it’d probably be stronger if I didn’t have only 1 bag in 12 oz.

Saturday Sample Sipdown #4!

I’m halfway towards my sipdown goal for Easter weekend. Go me!

As with my first attempt at this tea, this is heavily honey-flavoured, with a bit of the ginseng in the background. There’s not much else going on. However, this was soothing to my stomach, which is digesting a very large evening snack of crusty bread, brie, and caramelized onions. Mmmm.

Thanks again to darby for the swap!

Another swap from darby. Thanks!

I’ve been having a bit of heartburn lately, so I’m going to avoid drinking black tea today and see if that helps. First on the docket was this tea.

When dry, you can really smell the honey in the teabag. When brewed, I didn’t really smell or taste anything besides honey. There was perhaps a bit of fruitiness in the background which could have been the ginseng, but I doubt it. This tea was pretty one-note for me.

Ah well. I have only 1 teabag left, so now it’s in the sipdown pile.

Sipdown #2 of the day.

I think I let this one oversteep slightly, or used water that was too hot. The green tea had a bit of a “curl” in the taste that reminded me more of oolong than I would have liked. Also, I tasted a lot of honey/sweetness in the background, but not enough of that tart sea buckthorn note that I was expecting.

Thanks again to Darby for the sample.

Wow, this definitely wasn’t something I was expecting.

The dry teabag smelled sweet and slightly tart. I’ve never had sea buckthorn before, but I think that was where the tartness came from. However, brewed up, I’m getting a sense of honey or vanilla, with only the barest hint of tartness on the back of the tongue at the end of the sip. There’s a slightly medicinal aftertaste that I’m having a hard time putting my finger on.

This is interesting, but I’ve found that I’m not a fan of vanilla in green teas. But I have only one more teabag left from darby to finish off, so at least I got to try it.

I feel obligated to start by saying that I am not a big fan of mint flavored teas. That being said I was not put off my the mintiness of this tea. I’ve had this in my collection for awhile and have not given it a try until now.

The scent is all mint, which worried me a bit at first.

The taste is predominately mint, but I definitely think the hint of chamomile mellows the mint out enough that it is not overpowering. I do wish the stevia wasn’t I there though, as I do not sweeten my teas as a general rule and find the stevia has a very noticeable aftertaste, which I detected in this tea.

I definitely slept well after drinking this, but I wouldn’t say solidly as I did get up a few times during the night… probably because of all that tea I drank right before bed! o.O But it definitely relaxed me and made it easier to fall asleep. I would definitely drink this the next time I feel like I need a little push getting to sleep at night.

From the Caffeine-Free/Decaf Traveling Tea Box.

I was excited to try this one because Republic of Tea’s more favorable blends, and blackberry and sage combination intrigued me. A delicious fruity tea – the blackberry does so well in both the aroma and the taste of the liquor. (It does come off as artificial, but I was fine with this). The malty black tea base is subtle but comes through enough. It’s paired well with the blackberry. I don’t I think that I could taste any sage, though.

Not much to say… not much taste or aroma. Won’t buy again. I actually e-mailed Republic of Tea to ask for a refund.

Added ginger syrup for an extra dimension.

Maybe it was the cute packaging, or the whole idea of it, or something. But for some reason I picked this up at the mall yesterday.

It’s not terrible, let me start there. I read the reviews here and had expected a bad tea. It’s not bad. It’s also not a tea that I am anxious to drink again. It’s just…ok. I get a very strong coffee taste from it, and I’m not a fan of coffee. A bit of caramel, a bit of vanilla.

I drink my tea in an 11 oz mug, so I used two tea bags. The canister recommended a bag to 6 oz. I added a bit of sweetener. Meh.

It’s kinda weak, but it does have a good cinnamon aftertaste. Before getting the aftertaste. I only get a teeny-tiny bit of the citrus taste at first, it’s just barely there.

I think I might double the bags next time. I do like the taste, it’s just that it’s not strong enough. Plus it has good bacteria for my tummy so I give it free brownie points for that.

Wow. This is basically green tea without the risk of it getting bitter. I usually love the grassy profile of green tea but I too often than not end up having a bitter brew. This green rooibos tea basically guarantees that it’s not bitter, getting just the full grassy taste that I love from green tea. It’s also caffeine free so that’s always a plus for anyone.

I’d say that this is a good green tea alternative if you don’t like the bitterness or if you just don’t want the caffeine from green tea without having to get a decaf version.

Next time I have this I’ll make it stronger, since right now it’s very weak being only one bag in 12oz. of water.

I love apples. They’ve always been my favorite fruit. Unfortunately, my favorite fruit more often that not gets presented badly in tea. Usually the apple is barely there, or it’s a very bad artificial apple taste. I’m so glad I tried this tea because it has the crisp taste of apples spot-on. It is especially amplified since the tea has stevia in it, giving it a natural sweetness. The vanilla helps to balance the apple and make it an overall smooth taste.

I would say, however, that this tea may be too sweet for some palettes. If you’re not big on sweet teas, you probably won’t like this. Especially since stevia itself can be iffy for some people. I’d totally drink more of this as a dessert tea, as it has a sweet enough profile to drink it as such.

Hm. This is what I have, but in loose leaf format, purchased at Acquired Taste in Edmonton, AB. Well.. it’s okay. I’m finding something really acidic/drying in each of The Republic of Tea’s chai blends, something that I find really offputting because it lingers, and lingers,and lingers. It’s just…. ruining the enjoyment of my other teas, because of course I have another three on the go at the same time.

This is one of the teas I grabbed from Acquired Taste in Edmonton, AB. Huge dried blackberries litter the blend, and I both smell and taste very little sage, but it’s in there. It’s primarily a juicy, fully flavored blackberry tea, and I’m quite happy with that. Will have to try it iced, and send some off to OMGsrsly and Suziquer to try out.

Bleh. Why did I make this for myself last night? Oh yes, because my house sitter moved all my teas, including the ones in the swap box — so I forgot this was a “someone else will enjoy this much more than I ever will” kind of tea.

It smells very strongly of coconut, both brewed and in the tin. It tastes more like coconut than anything else – which is lovely, if you like coconut. In fairness, this is truly very, very coconutty… a honest to goodness coconut, as opposed to artificial. I drink and eat a lot of coconut products though these days, so perhaps that’s my bias…. I just want the real thing.

Surprisingly thick and rich, this really does taste strongly like a coconut cocoa, although more coconut than chocolate. I used two sachets for 12oz, and I think this is the perfect amount.

I liked this tea. Both steeps tasted surprisingly similar—grassy, buttery, and a bit nutty. Good tea, but I wouldn’t buy it again. It reminds me of Tazo’s China Green Tips, my favorite Tazo tea (usually I stay away from Tazo). Since I work at Starbucks, I can get CGT for free. But for those who can’t do the same, I’d recommend this over CGT. Again, very good, just not enough to make me want to buy a tin.

As far as what I’ve tried, I seem to enjoy Republic of Tea’s black teas much better than their greens. My wife and I had this today, and we both loved it! I was a little worried, because I was keeping the leaves in an old tin that used to house Australian Outback tea (I made some, but the pieces were so small that many passed through the strainer, and the smell of the brewed liquid was terrible—enough to convince me not to even sip it. ). Fortunately, it appears that I had washed it thoroughly enough to remove all traces of the previous tea.
Anyway, on to the tea. The leaves looked wonderful, all golden and tippy. They produced a nice dark liquid. Although the Republic of Tea recommends drinking it with a bit of milk and sugar, I tried it plain first. It was nice and smooth—more like a Ceylon than an Assam (I’ve never had a black Yunnan before, so I didn’t know what it would be like). Slightly malty and astringent, but not overpoweringly so, with mild citrus hints. After the first few sips, I added milk and sugar. I can see why they recommend it—it really brings out new flavors! The citrus notes became more noticeable; it felt almost like I was drinking a subtle Earl Grey. This makes sense, as Earl Grey was supposedly first produced in an attempt to imitate the taste of more expensive Chinese teas (making it, I suppose, the genmaicha of England). I was very pleased, and will probably buy a tin of this, if Rishi’s 2nd Flush Darjeeling doesn’t impress me more.