The Republic of Tea

This was another sample I got from BrewTEAlly Sweet (thanks!)

I think they must have changed this one since the extremely negative reviews, as they all seem to be 3-4 years ago. I had still braced myself for the worst, though.

This was a clove heavy cup with the subtle sweetness of licorice and a very slight watery apple/orange flavor. It’s not really anything outstanding (but actually fairly decent for a tea bag) but I don’t see anything here really to hate either.

Fiancé liked this quite a good deal more than me, so he’ll be finishing the last couple bags :)

another tea ….. from the back ack ack of the closet et et et…
i drink it cuz it’s there.
i log it cuz i drink it.

I am one of those people who routinely oversteep my tea, especially the first steeping in the morning. I put the leaves into my travel mug and then add hot water. I sip a little during breakfast and then throughout the morning. So, the first steeping of this, made in this style, was a bit strong and astringent for me. But, the second and third steepings were awesome! I could really taste the pineapple in this tea! Not a lot of milk flavor, but still really nice.
This morning I had this tea in a small tea pot and was able to drink the first brewing more quickly, and it was really smooth and not at all astringent. I added just a tiny bit of sugar to bring out the sweetness of the tea.
The only negative is that some of the leaves are broken. I prefer completely intact leaves.

glad to be finished up with this one….needed a break from caffeine teas before we do some running around tonight for house things. I’ve got 15 more teas to try and get through tonight and let me tell you….holy it’s a long road haha. this is nice enough, but given the choice, i would of course always reach for THE pumpkin ginger tea…

mmmmmmm wheee! tasty cup while looking at vacation spots for april

a couple more cups of tea tonight before i get to bed early. Likely going in to work tomorrow as i can’t really miss multiple days blech Still enjoying this one, though i like the apple cider one a little more :)

last tea of the evening today…our trip back to the craft fair so i could pick up a couple more samples of the teas from the interesting tea company there were unsuccessful. Oh well..not like i need more tea, but it would have been nice. I had a cup of this when i got home while i did some urgent troublshooting for work to fix some things and then it was on to clean up a few things before i get some sleep tonight. Day at home tomorrow because of work so you can bet i’ll be drinking tea, reading books and watching tv while i wait on things haha

Still enjoy this tea and i’m loving the additional options for caffeine free teas to choose from :)

This was my evening cup of tea because i’m exausted. I had this while watching an episode of dr who. Likely going to just try and get to sleep early tonight because tomorrow is date night!

I’m taking my other half out for dinner at La Societe (think fancy but not stuffy, french cuisine) followed by Aladdin (the musical) just because we haven’t been to the theatre in a long time. Plus i’m a big kid. so there lol

I picked this up when I was in Hilton head because my experience with the republic of tea through variouss trade has been that their bagged teas are decent enough when i need things for travelling or i’m too lazy to brew things properly. Kittenna borrowed a few of these for her travel to New Zealand and said it was a pretty good tea. This one isn’t available on the republic’s website since it appears to be made exclusively for the fresh market.

Overall, from what i recall last night, it was a pretty decent tea. I let it steep forever and it just enhanced the flavours. I won’t cry when i finish it, but i will enjoy drinking this tea when i need a caffeine free, tea bag option :)

Am I alone in thinking this tastes like licorish? Hmmm.
A little weak to be a chai. Oh well, it was a free sample, and it was tasty, if weak.

I’m a fan of rooibos, mostly I get rooibos teas that are already flavored, but this one is pure – and love!

The rooibos taste is really strong which makes a very strong flavorful tea on its own. I like adding milk with my teas, and this tea compliments perfectly.

This tea is very aromatic. One opened it really smells like dark chocolate. But, I found the flavor weak though. I enjoyed Republic of Tea’s Red Velvet Chocolate tea better.

Taste greatly enhanced when added with milk.

I love this tea, currently down to the last few bags. Adding milk greatly enhances this tea.

This is by far my favorite chai. I’ve only tried a few, but this one is particularly spicy and soothing at the same time. It was the first loose-leaf tea I ever tried years ago, and got me hooked on the idea! Now, a whole world is open to me.
I steep it for at least 5 minutes and then mix in honey and almond milk. Yum! I wish I had some in the house….

Today, as you might know, is the day before Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve…Eve. It has been a perfectly stormy day complete with hail and a nicely flooded basement, a great sign for a good Halloween. I do have a special tea that I am reviewing tomorrow that is on theme, but I wanted to start off the festivities with a bit of pumpkin goodness (I did not carve one this year, tragic).

Presenting Pumpkin Pie Spice Black Tea by Republic of Tea, an Autumn themed tea made from a blend of Black teas, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves. They advice adding a splash of cream but I am a completely out and there is no way I am using the much maligned skim milk that is in the fridge. The aroma is very spiced, and very evocative of pumpkin pie spice. There is of course absolutely no pumpkin and just spice, but the it said that on the tin so you won’t get me raging about being misled with squash. There is also a touch of buttered rum aroma which I always enjoy. The most prominent spice aroma is clove, definitely lots of clove!

Time to dunk the teabag! The aroma is super sweet and pie like, I can even detect a bit of crust but I am willing to chock that up to ghosts. The spices are well balanced after being steeped, no one spice sticks out unlike the un-drenched bag. The aroma is practically crying out ‘drink me on a chilly day! Enjoy me with mounds of Autumnal foods’ not to mention the desire for cream.

Drinking the tea the first thing I notice is the sweetness and balanced spices. I do love a spiced tea that is well balanced and nuanced, having one spice drown out all the others is sad. The taste is very much so pumpkin pie spice with a delightful mouth tingling from the cloves. As per my usual gripe, the tea tastes nothing like actual pumpkins, one day I will find a pumpkin spice tea that tastes like pumpkins, but as just spiced teas go this one is pretty good for a tea bag! Not that there is anything wrong with teabags, I just have gotten very spoiled with all my loose leaf. So far this has been my favorite bagged pumpkin themed tea that I have yet tried, so give it a try if you are part of the pumpkin craze!

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/10/republic-of-tea-pumpkin-spice-black-tea.html

Got this sample in the mail today with the RoT catalog. It’s my first taste of any kind of “pumpkin/pumpkin spice” tea. It’s different than I expected. I thought it would be overly spicy. But it’s very mild, pumpkiny, and creamy. The spices are soft. Actually, the whole flavor of the tea is very soft. Soft and creamy. Like a pumpkin pie! I like it!

And it arrived just in time to warm me up! The heat in our house isn’t working, and it’s 55 degrees (F) inside!

I usually prefer my teas in loose leaf form but for those times when I need portable tea in a bag this is perfect. Not very strong on the green tea side, it’s fairly forgiving with water temperature. I love the honey taste and smell, that’s what brings me back to it again and again.

Traveling Tea Box C #21
Oh man where has this been all my life! This tastes EXACTLY like those caramel apple lollipops that I love so much. The ones you have to eat all the caramel off of before you get to the yummy sour apple middle! This like that! Liquid candy in a cup! Outstanding! I need some of this (actually a lot of this) in my life!! Now I need to find it! I’m hoping world market has it here! Wish me luck!

Work friend gave me a bag to try, which I took politely and expected it to be so tart it made my eyes water. Not so. It is juiciliciously fruity; nicely robustly orangey without causing pain. Here’s to pleasant surprises.

Backlog:

I discovered this tea at my local produce market earlier in the summer. I decided to pick up a tin because I love cold-brewing teas … and it’s so easy with these big pouches of tea. I’m not usually all excited about bagged tea, but, for cold-brewing … it’s so convenient that I think that convenience wins out over the mess of cold-brewing loose leaf tea.

A really tasty iced tea. A nice watermelon-y flavor, a little on the sweet side, yes … this does have that jolly rancher watermelon stix flavor to it, but, hey … I loved those things when I was a kid so I’m not complaining … it’s still really tasty. The mint is a delicate flavor and I like that. Mint can sometimes really overpower a tea, I’m glad that it didn’t here. It comes out just enough to add some complimentary flavor without getting out of hand.

A really tasty tea. I might buy another tin of this tea next year when summer arrives.

Today involved all kinds of chores for me, so I’ve decided the end of the day is reserved for hot tea and ’80s movies. Few things are more comforting to me than dessert, so here we are.

Made this a little hotter than usual, and what a difference! Much more pronounced chocolate taste than before. A delicious way to calm down after a stressful day and probably better for me than actual red velvet cake.

Another sipdown! (132) Now that I know a little more about tea I smell mostly Ceylon in this. I like the smell of Ceylon, so it’s not a bad thing.

This one is pretty boring. I think I’ve said this about every breakfast blend I’ve tried. They’re just not for me, but unfortunately I have two more “breakfast” samples in my Golden Moon box. Black tea alone is more interesting than black tea blended with other black tea, in my opinion, and for the most part I wouldn’t choose these teas. Maybe I should just find a good Darjeeling for mornings, since that and EG are the only “breakfast” types I seem to want on a regular basis.

I feel I should preface this by saying breakfast tea is usually not my thing. It was one of the first teas I tried as a child, and I absolutely hated it! Too bitter, too sharp, and too malty. Yuck.

This one, though, is much more pleasant than I expected. Light, refreshing, and not even the tiniest bit bitter. Perfect amount of caffeine, too. My only complaint is that it’s a little boring. I doubt I would drink this every day but for when I want something basic it would be a good option.

This was my first time trying this one. I’m always on the hunt for good vanilla teas, and this one was pretty good. The taste and smell of vanilla are about equal in this one, which I’ve found to be rare in vanilla tea. Definitely tasted like rooibos, but not too sharp or grassy like it can get sometimes. Very nice for bagged tea!