The Republic of Tea

Hmm, not too much dancing going on for me. It’s got a hint of sweetness and chlorophyll as it cools, but mostly it is a bit of a flat, woody and somewhat boring taste. The saltiness I tend to get from Chinese greens isn’t overwhelming, but overall, I’m just not in love with this tea. It’s drinkable, but not necessarily desirable.

This isn’t my favorite tea; I guess I prefer blends over straight Assam. It does have body, though, which I like, and it holds its own in milk. The wet leaves have a rich, earthy smell; I would describe the brewed tea’s flavor as malty.

Unfortunately, I didn’t reach the kettle in time to pour the water into the tea maker as it was boiling. I’ll try to be quicker next time so that my next cup will hopefully grow on me a bit more.

Drank this last night prior to falling asleep. As before, I used two teabags in my mug. It did not taste EXACTLY like apple cider, but it was close enough, sweet, apple-y and full of fall goodness. If you like apple cider and fall flavors and want a caffeine free herbal I really recommend this tea!

I purchased this tea this afternoon at Whole foods as I needed an additional caffeine free cup for the evenings. I agree with some of the previous tasters who stated that the flavor is delicate. However, after reading the notes I used two teabags instead of one in my mug. This helped the flavor be more robust. I really liked this as an evening sip. The apple flavor is subtle. It does NOT taste like apple cider exactly…but more like an apple wine? Not sure. I really like it though.

I bought this on a whim, wanting a decaffeinated tea with flavor before bedtime. The aroma is fantastic, although the flavor isn’t incredibly strong. Nevertheless, I enjoy this tea; I just can’t drink it with milk because I think that milk overpowers the delicate tea.

When brewed, it smells strongly of honey with a hint of ginseng, which is pleasant enough. However, it’s almost impossible to taste the green tea, and it’s overwhelmed by a mild honey flavor.

I like peach tea on general principles. Sometimes I buy it bottled or canned to drink on the go and I found that the plain peach fruit tea from Celestial Seasonings goes great with black tea, so I used them in combination for some time. Then I ran out and kept forgetting to replace it, so when I saw Republic of Tea’s Ginger peach tea, I decided I might as well commit and buy the combination rather than the separate elements.

Upon opening the tin, I breathed in the lovely scent and thought I’d made a good decision. I brewed it up hot and took that first sip thinking, ‘Ginger and peach…what’s not to like?’ By the second sip, I was thinking this was neither as peachy nor as tea-y as it ought to be. And where was the ginger?

Over all, it seemed kind of watered down. To my surprise, sweetening this didn’t help a bit. Perhaps a longer steeping or an additional teabag might do the trick but perhaps not…it left an odd, astringent aftertaste in my mouth.

I’m really very disappointed and am glad I only bought the sampler size rather than hocking my valuables to invest in a full sized tin.

While at a coffee/tea house Saturday night I decided to check out the Red Velvet Chocolate they had on the menu. I loved the chocolate and vanilla flavors and the color was almost spot on with the slice of cake I had for comparison. I will have to get some of this to make at home though as I don’t think I had a long enough steep and therefore don’t want to judge completely on the one experience

I had this tea after dinner with some key lime pie this evening…

Eh, it’s okay. I was not blown away by it, it had a slight orange blossom flavor but was also a bit on the bitter side somehow and really needed sugar. Of course the water may have been too hot, and if I was at home I might have prepared it with cooler water. Definitely not destined to be a favorite of mine.

I bought a tin of this at the same time I bought the Numi Chocolate Pu-Erh. I’ve been sampling it ever since, wanting to love it and just not managing. Too floral for me, no peachy flavor at all. I know, I just said almost the same thing about another tea from a different seller. Maybe it’s just me. But it is what it is. I think there are better oolongs out there, probably even some available at a lower cost.

I bought a tasting tin of this loose leaf milk Oolong on a whim. The price was right and I can always use more tea tins (my cupboard is a mess).

The aroma of the dried leaves was very interesting, as was the aroma of the tea once steeped. The flavor however I found to be a little too astringent and not nearly as milky as the aroma had implied. Still a very nice cup of tea, and maybe I will appreciate its notes more on my next cup now that I know what to expect.

I must say that this tea was expertly rolled. Once steeped the one teaspoon of dried leaves had expanded to fill my fairly large infuser. The leaves seemed to be of great quality and were very much full leaf.

I’ve been bringing bags of this to school so I can drop a couple in my to go mug at lunch and fill it with (free) hot water. I like this – it doesn’t wow me and I still think the flavor is a bit on the weak side, but I like the coconut and banana flavors, they are not at all artificial-tasting. It’s a nice middle of the day tea when I don’t need caffeine!

I like bananas, and I like coconut, so after reading about this tea on Steepster and magically finding it in the grocery store, I had to get it!
I double tea-bagged my cup because I like strong tea. I have a feeling I will be drinking a lot of this – I love the flavors even though I wish it was a little stronger. It reminds me of eating banana chips.

Extremely delicate, silky smooth and sweet. Brew refined, throw out the first cup

A lovely Chinese aroma, with a gooey texture. Strangely subtle for a pu-erh. Next time I’ll try doubling the recipe.

Supposed to be a black but it was burnt when brewed that way.

Every time I’ve considered getting something from The Republic of Tea I’ve looked at the price then recoiled from sticker shock. The only reason this tea made it into my cupboard at all was that I saw it while on vacation and shopping with my sister. For some reason, my usual penny pinching instincts went out the window and I started spending like a sailor.
This variety is only so so when served hot but I love it cold brewed. I like it straight with nothing added to sully it’s clean, refreshing, summery goodness.

I drink the majority of my tea cold brewed. Method: pretend you’re making sun tea, but instead of placing the jar in the sun, place it in the refrigerator instead. It diffuses nicely over the next hour or ten (depending on how strong you like it) and doesn’t get that nasty rancid taste that so often happens when the sun tea sits out in the heat.

I love Blackberry sage brewed this way. I like the scent, the way the sage keeps the blackberry from becoming too cloying or koolaid-y. I especially like that it’s an unusual combination and different from anything else in my cupboard, so it’s a great change of pace.

There’s a jar in my fridge and I’ve looked forward to it all morning. I finally poured myself some just before writing this. Ah, good things come to those who wait…

This is my go-to busy morning tea, that makes rather nice iced tea as well. I drink it without milk. It has a very nice slightly spicy aroma, and it does a sufficient job of waking me up at 5:30 am.

Gosh, I’m so behind on comment replies it’s not even funny! I’ll get to it eventually! I promise! I’ll try and get it done at some point this week. I’ll be home alone for the rest of the week, as Husband is on his way to the UK right now, so suddenly I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. (He’s going to the funeral of the friend whom we lost recently. Unfortunately there wasn’t time enough for me to get my new passport in time that I could go too. Yeah, in theory I could have got one of those temporary emergency ones that you can use for just the one trip, but you know what they cost? The same as a normal passport! Which is none too cheap to begin with. I’m not made of money! O.O So I’m staying home.)

This one also came from Auggy and that alone makes me very excited to try it. Apart from being my taste twin, Auggy is, in my opinion, the Keemun Expert, just like JacquelineM is the Vanilla Expert. I don’t know if either of them will agree with that label, but that’s one of the major things I associate the both of them with tea-wise and I consider them more experienced than me in these fields. So when Auggy shares a Keemun with me, I stand up straight and pay attention! (Or sit and learn at the feet of the master. Which ever you prefer.)

The aroma of the leaves seems fairly strong. It’s smoky, which is a good sign, and has something to it that reminds me of leather and tobacco. I don’t like tobacco or anything to do with it. I think it’s a filthy disgusting habit which makes the smoker reek to high heaven, and at work I’ve seen lungs blackened and with tumors the size of my fist, but the smell of the actual tobacco leaf when it is pure and not mixed with a myriad of other chemicals, that is nice. When I was little, my grandfather smoked a pipe, and I suppose the smell of the tobacco leaf reminds of that. So it’s more of an association thing, I suppose. It still reminds me of him even though I haven’t seen him with a pipe for 25 years.

After brewing isn’t the strongest I’ve ever met, but I am catching a whiff of grain down there as well as something both slightly smoky and slightly floral in just the right balance. Nice! Hold this thought!

The flavour makes up for the fact that the aroma isn’t very assertive. It’s got a lot of grainy body and there is also a pretty good caramel-y note to it, which is running through and under the entire flavour. It’s just there and I can’t really tell where it starts or ends, permeating everything with carameliness. I think this is the first time I’ve had a Keemun giving me that caramel note for absolutely sure and certain. I have heard tales of this beast, and I’ve had a tentative brush with it before, but it’s definitely here in this cup. Towards the bottom of the cup it’s a really strong note and the last, lukewarm mouthful is very sweet.

The whole thing is topped with that note again of slightly smoky and floral, although instead of being exactly balanced, it’s leaning more towards the smoky side of things. Getting this bit right is for me probably what makes or breaks a Keemun more than the body of the tea. There has to be some, obviously, but smoky versus floral is really the very most important thing for me to REALLY enjoy a Keemun.

All in all, this was a very smooth experience. Not a hint of anything rough or prickly about it. Not even the smoky note, which frankly seems a little bizarre, but is true all the same. I should have thought the very definition of smoky would include pricklyness in some form or another, but even so this does have a clear smoky note, and it isn’t prickly. I can’t puzzle that one out. It just is that way.

I think I like it.

I should have liked the aroma to be a little bit more assertive, and I’m thinking that’s probably something I can adjust with temperature and leaf measurements, so it’s a very small beauty flaw. Probably especially the former, I think. I wasn’t too quick about getting the kettle after it finished, see.

So is it the Perfect Keemun? No. And no amount of adjusting in brewing can make it so. Why not? Because I can’t go out and buy it!

And so, the hunt continues.

ETA: Turns out the aforementioned beauty flaw was definitely something to do with temperature. The kettle was only set to 70°C. DUH! Second steep, at proper temperature, went down a treat. :D

I used to go through tons of this tea, in the summer especially! I loved this iced forever, but I’m not as into it as I used to be. I don’t know if the tea changed somehow, or if it is me, but I’m no longer enamored. However, it does still make a decent iced tea, & was the perfect refreshment this afternoon while toiling in the garden.
AND it’s a sipdown! 394 :)

Just finishing my lunch before my next student arrives. With lunch I’m having my current favorite iced tea. Actually it’s been my favorite for years, it’s just the tastiest! Unsweet!

Another sipdown of a tea that has graced my shelves for far too long.
Farewell.
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My green tea of the day. I used to drink a lot of this one, & actually I still like it. It’s the best tasting cherry tea that I know of, as most of them tend to taste like cough syrup.
My cherry tree is blooming, but in reality most of that tree is dead, & I plan to have it cut down, probably this weekend. It’s a very tall & old tree, & when I first bought this house I had no idea that I had fruit trees in the yard. When that first spring came, I looked out my kitchen window, & saw red cherries on the tree! I ran out there & picked a bunch of them, brought them in & was SO excited, until I started cutting them open & realized that there was a worm in every one :p

The following spring was the beginning of one of my gardening rituals (yes I am a weirdo). When the tree bloomed, I had a picnic under it with a plate of sushi & a pot of this this tea. Afterwards, I made a declaration to the tree, the local bugs, & birds, expressing my gratitude & good wishes for a bountiful harvest, welcoming all to enjoy the wondrous fruit, & a request that the lower branches of fruit be reserved for myself & my family.
I swear to you that this actually worked, & we were able to harvest fruits that were mostly free of worms for several years. Then the tree started dying. This year there is only one flowering branch, the lowest one, & the rest of the tree is dead, with branches falling off.
I may plant a couple of dwarf cherries in the next week. I just have to figure out where.