The Republic of Tea

A good way to make this seem much better than it is (to me) is to make it my first cup of real tea in a full week.

I still don’t like drinking flowers, though.

This is better on the second steeping. Those sharp, bright green notes soften up quite a bit, and the resulting cup is mellow, round and not at all floral. I’m still not getting this sense of Earth that so many others have, but given how much Yunnan golden and pu-erh I drink, my idea of “earthy” may simply be a lot further down the spectrum than others’.

I think if my leaves were fresher, or this were a higher quality tea over all, this would have that slightly thick, sticky, brothy kind of mouth feel that marks truly excellent lighter teas such as this one, but because of where and how my leaves were sourced I cannot make any statement about whether this tea was one that good or no.

I’m not getting the earthy notes other reviewers got. Maybe I need to use cooler water.

I am getting bright, sharp green and just a hint of hay. There is more than a bit of a floral bouquet to this, as well.

This tea was okay, and certainly worse than I remember, but part of the reason for that is because I have a cold right now. Regardless, this is green tea. There is nothing else to be said about it. It has no distinguishing features, no interesting flavors, and no unique aroma. It is a tea marketed to the masses, and it has a taste that, while not offensive by any stretch, is lacking.

For a green tea, this is really solid. This tea is extremely consistent, and you can expect the exact same experience again and again. The tea is also rather good, with only a hint of vegetation, and it holds it’s taste for several infusions.

The only downside is that it is the exact same experience. There is no variation, no unexpected flavors, no suspense. The hardiness of this tea makes it virtually impossible to

Love it with drop of stevia & milk!! Smells so good too! Like a good dessert without the claories!

My past experience with green rooibos hasn’t been so good. I adore red rooibos, but the green…well, the green never tasted nearly as good. In spite of all that, I have been wanting to try this tea fora long while, mostly because it has gotten such good reviews and after all, it IS still rooibos.
I admit I expected not to like this, as I have not liked the other green rooibos teas I’ve tried in the past.

I was not prepared to LOVE this tea. Wow this is good! I have no idea what plantain tastes like, but this tea has a banana flavor that is noticeable but gentle. The coconut is not so prominent, but a hint of flavor mixed with the green rooibos base.

Green rooibos has been redeemed :)

OK, a little experimenting.

If you radically shorten the steep time and try not to breathe in while pouring the tea off the leaves, the floral bouquet is actually not all that strong. Most of it seems to end up as odor during the steeping procedure, after which point it becomes fairly subtle.

The second steeping, with just a bit more time, is even less offensive.

Maybe I need to take a whole second look at hand rolled, green, scented oolongs.

Nah.

Oh dear.

Rolled oolongs, you torture me.

You never smell floral when you’re being all coy, dry, rolled up and green.

But the minute hot water hits you, and enormous bouquets of flowery evil assault me.

What am I going to do with all this tea, now?

I bought this tea because wanted a lighter, calorie-free alternative to real hot apple cider. I steep it for longer than the recommended 5-7 minutes and I usually get a stronger, more enjoyable infusion. The spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc.) are the dominant flavors while the fruity flavors from the apples and oranges are in the background.

I really wish the people here wouldn’t leave the tea bag just floating in my ice tea. Gyarr. Cafe fail.

When in Panera, you do what you gotta do… sigh ;)

Good default when nothing better can be had. Local cafe only serves Republic of Tea and this is my favorite of theirs. It’s really great iced, actually.

Had some of this at my @Cantowrimo meeting today. Solid flavored tea, at least for a bagged tea. :) This is my default hot beverage when I visit Panera Bread since their selection isn’t fantastic. It’s not bad, like the peach flavor, and I prefer my fruity teas with a black tea base, so this is the best fit when I’m in a pinch and only have Republic of Tea available. ;)

I thought t was ok; definitely drinkable, but not one I’d buy again. I could taste peach, but this tea gets unpleasantly bitter for me, not matter how I changed the preparation. I’ve tried 190-boiling, 6oz to 8oz per serving (bag), 1.5-5 min, and even tried to add honey and lemon. The lemon did make it a bit more pleasant, which is normally what use with a typical astringent black tea, but I was hoping for something sweeter. After trying different combinations, I settled on the noted steep time and temp, with 8 oz water.

the fruity flavor overpowers the green tea, i cant really taste anything but the acai, if thats what it is.

Hot or Cold I find this tea to be very tasty! I love açaí fruit and its flavor and this tea does a pretty good mix of açaí and green tea.

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: fabulous! juicy strawberries and milk chocolate
Steeped Tea Smell: strawberry, hints of milk chocolate
Flavor: rooibos, a small hint of chocolate
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: chocolate
Liquor: opaque dark red-brown

I am always disheartened when the teas smell so scrumptious and taste so ordinary.

It’s a nice rooibos with hints of sweet fruit and chocolate.

Post-Steep Additives: German rock sugar – brings out the flavors a bit

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/09/republic-of-tea-teabag-rooibos-tisane.html

Erin! Wow! Thank you for sending this to me, I can’t believe I haven’t logged it yet. It’s so perfectly melon. SO fresh and full of flavour!
I need to stock up on this.

It calms me down, it settles my tummy, it tastes delicious and it’s an our of this world awesome bagged white tea. THANK YOU!

mmmore tasting notes to come, I’m sure.

So, my sleep schedule’s been a little off these past few months. Instead of falling asleep around 12 or 1am (like I have most of my life), I’ve been falling asleep closer to 3 or 4am, which puts me behind on waking up, which throws my day off and I’m over it. Unfortunately, the only solution I can come up with is cutting back, ever so slightly, on my caffeine-intake. Cue the herbal, caffeine-free teas.

I did, of course, make coffee this morning (I didn’t want to DIE), but I decided to brew a tea that promoted “energy and focus” but didn’t O.D. me on caffeine. To my surprise, I found one in my cabinet (it’s like a tea shop up in there). The Republic of Tea has a line of red teas, and I happen to own one called “Get Charged: Herb Tea For Energy”. Yes, please.

It has a very strong smell, which is fine with me, and the taste is pretty strong as well. This is an “organic rooibos-based blend”, which is also paired with herbs like Chinese ginseng and peppermint, stevia, hibiscus, and a few things I’ve never heard of, honestly, like Ashwagandha, and Gotu kola leaf, which purportedly grants you focus and boosts circulation. (They do point out that the FDA hasn’t evaluated their statements, so don’t rely on their teas to treat diseases and whatnot.)

I can’t swear to anything, but I have noticed that since I finished my cup about an hour ago, I’ve stopped yawning, and I’ve gotten quite a few things done, including some writing that I’ve been putting off forever. The tea tastes pretty good – the only thing I don’t really love is the intense aftertaste. I’m all for a tea tasting vivid in my mouth while I’m drinking it, I just prefer not to still be tasting it several minutes after swallowing. But that’s not every person’s opinion, obviously – some people out there are crazy about aftertastes, God love ‘em.

Final verdict? I’ll be brewing this tea quite often as an assistant to my morning coffee – the java wakes me up, while the tea keeps me focused. It’s so cute how they work together. :)

Review from my tea blog: http://www.crazyteachick.com – Crazy Tea Chick :)

I have always been drawn to tea with rose petals in it. Frequently, I’ve been disappointed – the rose petals were too cloying and destroyed the taste of the tea. This, however, was the perfect blend of tea and roses. The hints of rose petals were just enough to balance the heaviness of the black tea. Perfect with a scone!