The Republic of Tea

This tea has a very nostalgic place in my heart. When I first moved into my current house, I had barely any tea to my name. One thing I had was a tin of this, which I would sip on every evening, as I settled into my new home.
So the flavor knocks me right back to that time, which was exhilarating and new. And I do find it a pleasant flavor!
But my devotion to it may be more sentimental than flavorful, and I wonder, after I finish this tin, if I’ll be in any hurry to bring it back. Aging has not been kind here, either, as the red tea base has come out much stronger than the almond flavor.
I’ll have to consider how much space I’m willing to let nostalgia take in my cupboard, in future.

I’ve been pulling out bagged teas in my home cupboard, and considering them for work. They get rather ignored around here, as I prefer a loose leaf in the morning. The organization has reminded me of several teas I’ve got that I like, and have not had in ages.
Why didn’t I drink more of this last year? Its not an exceptional tea, but its a very nice and calming cup. I should try to bring it into the evening rotation more often.

Man, its been a long day. I had lots of things go wrong, which is very frustrating. But! After work my lovely boyfriend called and said he was in a nearby tea shop, and could he order me a pot of tea? Love.
So I drank a pot of tea (a vanilla black, unknown, and now I don’t know which one), and decompressed. And it was wonderful. Tea is so fantastic.
Home, post workout, and I have youtube videos to catch up with, and my knitting to work on, and also, this tea.
I haven’t had this for a long time, and now I’m not sure why. Its really good! Almondy, sweet without making cavities appear, and I’m loving it. Perfect, comforting cup.

Ahh, a long day, and a rewarding cup of tea.
This tea has got a really strong memory for me. When I was first moving into my house, before everything got set up properly, and I was without internet, this was one of the teas I had. I’d drink a cup every night, listening to my new house, and imagining my pictures on the wall, and making lists of the stuff I’d need.
So the cup of this is taking me back to that quiet time.

Ah, a nice relaxing cup. Just the right thing.
Boy, its been a hectic day, breakneck speed the whole way, and a number of hurdles in the path.
Blergh.
Nothing that a good cup of tea cant help, though. Thank goodness for tea!

This I like. Its a soft and warm cup, and I shall sip.
This is a very exciting review, isnt it? Ha. Well, this is a prefect tea to accompany my evening of doing absolutly nothing.

My last backlog from yesterday. A nice cup of almondy tea. A good finish to my tea drinking day.

Finishing up the Thanksgiving cards with this mellow almond cup of tea. I love sending cards, I can hardly wait until its time for the winter holiday cards as well!
Not a complicated tea, but sweet and gentle and nice.

Ah, when I saw this in the grocery store I could not resist its call. I got this last year, when I had first moved into my house, and its smell brought me right back to those days of the house with too little furniture and nothing on the walls.
I like it. I get almond, not coconut out of it, and almond is one of my favorites.
I have a soft spot for this.

I do seem to pick up a lot of tea on a whim. This was a post holiday clearance find, and I figured “hey, why not?”
Oooooh. It smells like an almond croissant, which is something that is absolutely scrumptious to me. I don’t get a lot of the coconut at all, just a lungful of pastry like almond, and a hint of vanilla. So far so good.
It tastes, I don’t know, redder then it smells, but its very nice. I like this tea. Only one more baggie, until my tin is all gone. Then I guess I will wait for December to roll around again!

I like the idea of all these Wellness teas. Just do. Looking out for my health lately and it gives me an excuse to drink more tea. And I like that they’re caffeine free and herbal.

This has to be my favorite of the line. I drink this nightly…and I even got my husband hooked on it too. He’s asleep within minutes of drinking this tea. I usually am too. It’s light and yes there’s rooibos but I find it delightful in this blend. Right off my husband was like “lemon…and mint?” I didn’t even notice it till he said it but yes…there’s a little touch of mint that’s so delicate. It makes the tea seem crisp. I love the chamomile. It’s just pretty well blended and I think I’ll have to order another tin pretty soon

Got a few of these packets in a sample box from the Republic. Seems like a good way to go if you wanna taste some of their newer bagged teas. Tho I prefer loose leaf, sometimes a bag is nice and convenient…especially at 2:30 in the morning when you want a little cup of something hot and kinda sweet.

Anyway, sipping on this one now. I dunno what it is with the cuppa line here. I think it’s the rooibos.

Anyway, dry it smells like artificial chocolate and mint. Sweet mint and not grassy which is nice. and of course the rooibos.

Steeped tho, all I can really smell is the rooibos with a hint of chocolate….artificial chocolate I might add.

Sipping, the rooibos is center, then chocolate. The mint is almost like an after taste. Which is sad because it’s a lovely delicate mint. It isn’t grassy or pungent. It’s like a lovely vanilla mint. And that’s the best part of this blend….and it’s more like an after thought.

It could have been better.

I added a little milk to cream it up which helps it feel more substantial. But I’ll be looking for a different chocolate mint tea. I’m expecting one from Butiki Monday. Can’t wait.

I don’t mind rooibos,in fact I think it’s quite delightful in a few of my favorite herbals, but I think it isn’t the best base for a chocolate tea.

I love the smell of this tea. It smells so good.

However after brewing it it was so bitter…I think it’s a common issue with the Republic teas with me. Their black teas can easily get borderline bitter if your not careful. So I did another steep for less time…took the edge off the bitter, but the fruit just doesn’t come through with this one for me. It smells so much better than it sips sad to say.

Tried it on ice. Better but I think this really requires some sweetener if your going to get past the black and sage to get the fruit to stand out more. Otherwise it’s a little overpowered. Would have been lovely if the Blackberry was just a little more pronounced.

Dry, it smells like chocolate…but not decadent chocolate…kinda like cheapy milk chocolate…but still chocolate…and to a woman on a diet I’ll give it a go. It’s the closest to dessert I’m gonna get.

Well, disappointed. It tastes like chocolate…but still kinda weak chocolate. And I can taste the beetroot. I mean seriously. It’s kinda funky. Thought maybe I could rich it up with a little milk or cream. Perhaps a bit of sugar. But it just isn’t doing it for me. I think it’s the beet. It’s too prevalent. So it tastes like chocolate covered beets. haha! Perhaps it would have done well with a different tea base instead of the rooibos.

Anyway, nothing like red velvet cake…and I know red velvet cake. I’m a baker from the south after all.

I’m hopeful for some of their other cuppa chocolate blends. I would really like to find an excellent chocolate tea.

Got a couple little sample bags of this in a 25 pack singles thing on the Republic’s website.

Well, when you open the package and smell it dry, it does smell a heck of a lot like fresh chocolate covered strawberries. So I was pretty hopeful.

Once brewed tho, it kind of took on a strange artificial aroma…it was hard to place. I likened it to the strawberry fluffy cream that you find in a box of chocolates. Husband said it reminded him of those little chocolate strawberry “straws” you get at a restaurant after dinner.

Anyway, it was pretty flavorful and nice…you could taste the rooibos. And it still kept that “artificial” strawberry flavor. Like a candy more than a fresh juicy strawberry which I was hoping for. But not bad if you want something to curb a sweet tooth. Still on the lookout for a successful strawberry chocolate tea tho that will make me feel like Valentine’s Day every day.

Well I purchased this tea to help me Relax…just like it claims. I have a gerneral anxiety dosorder that keeps me up sometimes. Lately lot’s of things going on. New baby, 3 weeks later husband had to check in to a treatment center for illness for 2 months, then 2 weeks after that my father passed suddenly. Just a lot on the plate. So anxiety went up up up and I was looking for something to take it down a tad. Hence the purchase of the tea.
Well, It smells floral that’s for sure. As I read somewhere else, it’s a bit potpouri which I’m not crazy about.
After a steeping and a little time to cool …. it pretty much tastes like hot potpouri for me. I think I steeped it too long because it was almost overwhelming. So I tried it another day steeping it at the minimum time required by the instructions on the tin….a lot better. It’s nice….not my favorite. I am picky about my floral teas…and this one was just a bit too perfume for my taste. And then after reading the lovely disclaimer on Steepster, I think I’ll retire it. I never really felt any real relaxing effect from it. And apparently I could be damaging my liver?? So I think I’ll shelve this one. I have had much more luck relaxing with the Get Some Zzz’s blend.

I love hibiscus teas, and this is a favorite of mine. I don’t care for the natural stevia in it, but the other flavors still come through and are very fruity and floral.

got this as a Christmas gift last year, I due not like it, but if your into peppermint it’s okay

Not sure that drinking two pots of this after midnight was a great idea, but the taste was smooth and smokey and enjoyed it more than the Adagio one I bought, whose flavor was stronger. I recommend drinking a responsible amount of this tea. Only then can cha qi be attempted.

So my cupboard is absolutely minuscule, which is mind boggling. I’m part proud, and part frantic.
I was trying to get my cupboard into better shape, and am rather proud of myself for doing so, but I think I’ve hit the opposite end, and that it’s time to go tea shopping!
The good news about the smaller cupboard means that I feel the freedom to bring in some new to me companies, and that would be good! Try all the new teas!

Suddenly it’s summer again. The temperature has, almost over night, vaulted into the upper 90’s, and my season of despair has begun.
Its so tricky to drink tea in this weather! I don’t like it, Sam I Am.
I picked up a new tin of this on a whim. It had been years since I last had it, and, you know what? I still like it! It fills a solid, basic part of the cupboard, which is great.

Its the weekend! And my lovely boyfriend made me toast and tea, and I slept in, and it was glorious.
And I need this weekend! I had a very tricky week, but I’m mostly feeling good about where I left it. So I’m just going to relax and have fun.
This cup is from my lovely boyfriend, and I’m going to enjoy it thoroughly.

Happy Valentines day!
I’m spending it with my significant other, drinking tea and eating chocolate and generally doing nothing. Its glorious.

Cup of the morning, as I was away from home this morning.
I keep trying this and expecting to have cooled on this- that it wont be as good as I remember, and that never happens. I like this just as much each time I try it.
Smooth, with the vanilla and almond dancing around each other in a subtle little dance. I like it! And its so easy, with its bagged formula. So drattedly easy!
When I’ve achieved some more sipdowns, I may bring this one right back into the cupboard.