The Republic of Tea

The last bag! I really enjoyed this tisane — as long as you used the specified bag per 6 oz of water, you got a chocolatey, minty, creamy delight that is very nice in the evening. That being said, I don’t think I’m going to repurchase. My local tea store has a rooibos concoction which contains mint, chocolate, and vanilla which I’m curious to try.

Lisbet’s tasting note on this one intrigued me, and when I found myself in Wegman’s with their extensive Republic of Tea selection, I couldn’t NOT pick it up :) Oh boy, she is so right. Good, good, good, good! It really tastes like the most decadent peppermint hot chocolate imaginable!

Part of the reason I think this tastes so delightful is that I read, and followed (!) the directions on the tin. 6 oz of water per bag! Yes, the tin is expensive, and yes, I have to use 3 bags to get a nice 18 oz teapot full of Minty Cocoa Goodness, but it’s worth it! 88 cents for a pot, or 44 cents a cup for a healthy and delicious holiday treat like this isn’t the worst I can do!

Love, love, love it! I’m so glad you posted about this, Lisbet!

Backlog…
I had 3 cups of this tea last night and then was up 1/2 the night with terrible indigestion. I don’t think this was a coincidence, some of the herbs in this blend are pretty bitter so I would recommend using this sparingly if you’re going to drink it . bleah. Might need to avoid this herbal blend for a while!

I’ve had this tea for a while now, actually this is my second tin of it.

I’ve discovered it does work pretty well after those evenings where you feel like you ate/drank too much. I think the herbs in the formula are mildly diuretic and supposed to have some impact on your liver.

As far as the flavor is concerned, it mostly tastes like rooibos with a bit of vanilla/almond flavor thrown in. It isn’t something I would drink primarily for the flavor, however. When you drink it hot, the herbs have a tendency to become slightly bitter.

I put some of this in the fridge last night and cold brewed it, it tastes pretty good that way. I put 4 teabags into a quart container. I wonder if you get the full benefit of the herbs that way, who knows. Anyway I was pleased to find that it makes a decent cold brew tisane because maybe I will finish it off sooner now.

Funny how tea tastes evolve…time was, I would’ve posted that this was the cat’s pajamas and the kitten’s mittens. Now, while I can still say it’s a nice smooth blend, it’s not nearly as purr-worthy.

Pooh. It went bitter on me and I can’t figure out why. Couldn’t possibly be my disposition. (Spent a one-step-forward, two-steps-back morning trying to comprehend real estate paperwork with federal strings attached plus a run to the county courthouse to do whatever mysterious recording of said paperwork is needed go eventually get a roof over our heads. And that was all before reporting for the day job :) Our work microwave is actually strong enough to get water to a good rolling boil, so … oh, well.

An absolute screamer day at work (clock ticking, school starts, post-tornado, in less … than … one … week … and … everything’s … an … emergency) so to be honest, I’m not sure I could taste any of the tea I could find time to swig in between crises. But I found a corner to crouch in during lunch and enjoyed this one. A nice balance of the two flavors that tipped a little more heavily toward the Ceylon, which was fine with me. Would be great iced, I think.

Smooth, buttery, floral. But no discernible cherry taste, despite the description. This is probably because the rose petals overpower it. Blegh. They aren’t terrible, but I’d prefer ti without them. Why did I order this? (It was a very long time ago, to be fair.) I should’ve given this tea away to someone it would suit better, but instead I horded it and finally opened it and drank it and am underwhelmed.

My iced tea of the afternoon. This time I cold brewed overnight in my Fiestaware Disc pitcher. About 60 oz water, and 6 teabags, at least 8 hours. Perfect with no additions. I don’t ever plan to hot brew this tea again!

Made this iced for the afternoon. I got an early birthday present from my MIL today. It is a Fiestaware disc pitcher in scarlet. I just brewed my tea in it, and then added ice. It is so nice to finally have a container for iced that I can brew in as well as serve from. My glass pitcher is a little too delicate for hot water.

The tea was pretty good. I like the Goji Raspberry version of this tea better.

Backlogging: I picked up a tin of this a couple of weeks ago from Cardullo’s, being too overwhelmed by the awesomeness to decide on anything else. (They carry Golden Moon! And Kusmi! I have never seen so many great teas in one store O_O)

I’ll add a rating later, since the slider doesn’t want to cooperate with my phone. This was a little too tart/rooibos-y plain, but tasty with a bit of sugar. Also good chilled! I haven’t decided yet whether it’s better with or without milk.

I have this on hand for my tiniest tea guests. I tried it for the first time today. They love it! I think it tastes like a Cherry Luden’s cough drop melted in hot water! Or maybe cough syrup. It isn’t BAD, I suppose, but I wouldn’t choose it myself. I didn’t even realize it was a rooibus base until I checked the tin today, AFTER I had sipped it. I thought it was their usual decaf black tea base. I tried it with a little sugar the way my friend’s children drink it, and it didn’t taste quite as much like medicine to me. It seemed to neutralize some of the apple flavor.

I steep this tea in my car with my travel mug that plugs into my lighter socket. It’s calming but has a bit of sharpness to it which makes it perfect for transitioning from a sleepy head to a wide-eyed state (lol). I love cinnamon and wished there was more of it in the tea. Sometimes I steep up to three bags at a time in 12oz water to get the cinnamon fix I j’adore.