The Republic of Tea – review
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I am a tea snob. I freely admit it. My snobbery dates back over ten years ago when I was still in college. I was never much of a tea drinker until the fateful afternoon that I sampled a tea from The Republic of Tea. After one sip of their Ginger Peach full-leaf black tea, I was hooked. I’m talking, buying tea over groceries or booze hooked; a big commitment for a college student. Over the years, I’ve tried other brands, but it only takes me one sip to know they just aren’t the same quality I’ve grown accustomed to. The Republic of Tea is simply the best tea I’ve ever had.
One of the things I love about The Republic of Tea is that they are very serious about their teas. I mean, they literally created an entire republic around it. In a message from their Minister of Teas (These folks mean business!), it states “When we set out to form our small republic, our not so covert mission was to create a Tea Revolution. Our purpose is to enrich people’s lives through the experience of fine tea and the Sip by Sip life – a life of health, balance, and well-being”.
The Republic of Tea offers a tea for everybody. I don’t know of any other brand that offers the vast selection this company does. Their offerings include a variety of Chai, Red, Black, Oolong, Green, White, and Herbal teas. You can find full-leaf or bagged teas and you can even find iced teas on their site. They have comprehensive tea collections, such as their Little Citizens’ line of caffeine-free herbal tea for children, perfect for your little one’s tea parties. They even offer small traveler’s tins so you can take their teas wherever you go.
On top of partnering with more than just a few charities, The Republic of Tea is also a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership, which is an alliance of tea packers which “aims to improve the lives of tea workers and to ensure that tea drinkers can be confident that the tea in their cup has been produced under good social and environmental conditions.” Not only are you getting personal enjoyment from their tea, but you’re helping your fellow man! How much more persuasion do you need?
Thanks to Marideth Post, their Minister of Enlightenment, we received some of their newer teas to sample. I was lucky enough to try their Double Dark Chocolate Mate’, which is a roasted organic Yerba Mate’, an herbal tea from South America, blended with organic, dark cocoa powder. The tea is packaged in their standard recyclable, airtight tin which keeps the contents fresh for what seems like forever. Best of all, the tin is refillable, a must for those of you who have gone green. Once brewed, the tea this creates is dark and slightly sweet and almost sinful. I haven’t been able to start my mornings without a cup of this caffeinated herbal tea. It’s both soothing and energizing at the same time and I am almost too distracted by how amazing it smells to drink it. Almost. If you love tea and you love chocolate, this tea is a must-have.
Cori will be by in the comments to tell you about the joys of Caramel Apple Red Tea, which I would imagine is as delicious as it sounds.
Is anybody else out there a Citizen of the Republic?
I’m still loving my Dark Chocolate Mate’, but I have to also spread the word on their Ginger Peach black tea and Wild Blueberry Fair Trade black tea. Those are probably my top two favorites. Their Sip for the Cure Pomegranate Vanilla Red Tea and Hot Apple Cider herbal tea are also divine. Heck, anything from this brand is ridiculously good. These are teas you’ll want to savor. I’d give this brand more than 5 stars if I could!
DARK CHOCOLATE MATE’?!? How did this pass me by?! I’m a HUGE Republic of Tea fan, especially their Yerba Mate Latte. I had to get off caffeine a couple of years back, and the Yerba Mate Latte was the perfect step down. It still gave me the pep I needed, but without the crazy caffeine crash. And now they have a chocolate mate?? And it’s not even my birthday….
I really love their Be Well teas also. Not only is the packaging cute, but they really do work. Their Get Relief tea with its peppermint and cinnamon is perfect for when your tummy is giving you trouble (I used to call it my Hangover Tea) and its Get Lost tea for weight control does help when you need a little something to get you over that afternoon snacking hump. Some may argue that it’s just the placebo effect, but if it is, they sure are tasty placebos…
Oh, Alyssa, you need to try the Dark Chocolate Mate…it’s like just when you think their tea can’t get any better, they make one with dark chocolate. HELLO!
I’ve been meaning to try their Be Well teas for a while, so I’ll have to check them out the next time I’m at Wegman’s (they carry this brand, which is another reason why Wegman’s is awesome). They’re Get Gorgeous tea, which is supposed to help your skin, is the one I’m most intrigued by. Rooibos, or red tea, is loaded with antioxidants and is supposed to be really great for your skin.
That Get Lost tea sounds like it would be perfect to drink during the holidays :)
I’ve been looking to tea lately to help with afternoon and evening boredom munchies. It really does help to satisfy you! Especially with all the really amazing flavors that are around. I’ll have to check out The Republic of Tea. A cup of Chocolate tea sounds delish! And seems like the Get Lost is exactly what I’m looking for.
.-= stef´s last blog ..Honey Apple Martini – Cocktail flashback =-.
I need the Dark Chocolate Mate… wow it sounds delicious! So does the Earl Greyer Tea. I’m getting impulse buy overload looking at their site! I want so many of them! I love that they offer the flowering teas too.. those are soooo good and so pretty! I am also loving their tea cups!! Especially these!!
http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=2172
so cute!
Sorry it has taken me so long to post my comments. I have been on a plane making my way to New York. This is the soonest I found a computer!
Let me start out by reminding you that I’m very much a coffee snob. If you read my post on the Bean and Body you will see just how long I have been that way.
However when I looked at the Caramel Apple Red Tea I was interested to see what it was like, but kept putting it off. One night I was studying for the GRE and was out of coffee. So, I reached for the tea. I took a timid sip, and then another and before I knew it the cup was empty. It was delish!
I was so impressed with it that I took it to work with me the next day and had more than a normal person would. I think I may have had 3 or 4 cups that day! But I wasn’t worried…it’s caffeine free!
The taste is a great blend of sweet caramel and fresh apple. Not overly sweet, but sweet enough that I didn’t feel like I needed to add sugar to it. It’s really good with milk added in too. I was really impressed with how much I liked it. I still drink my coffee, but I will definitely keep this around to change it up a bit.
Now I’m off to enjoy New York! Have a great Thanksgiving!
I’m not a tea snob, but I do love a good cup of tea. I gotta try this brand out. I’ve seen it before, but never partook. Thanks for the review.
I have been climbing the tea ladder lateley, and my other tea snob friends turn up their noses at TRoT.. I just don’t understand it. Tea is such a personal experience, and nothing replaces the satisfaction of a good cup. TroT do this over and over, with pretty darn consistent quality. Mango Ceylon has tasted the same for at least the last 13 years. This started in 7th grade for me, so old childhood favorites die hard. I will say that I’m on a mission to keep the milk oolong in their line forever, so I will urge you to try it. It’s a baked vanilla-pineapple turnover, sweet cuppa fresh cocaine for your 8 senses. No bitterness, steep over and over, or just chase the leaves to the bottom of your cup. Gong-fu brew the liquor or any other method you want to, you can’t mess it up. Enjoy!
I have been a Republic of Tea customer for a couple of years now. I have been very satisfied with all the teas I have tried. My favorites are the Decaf Ginger Peach Green Tea, Hibiscus Coconut Herbal Tea, Decaf Apricot black tea (my personal favorite along with the Decaf Mango tea), Get Lost and Get Clean which I drink every night before bedtime. I buy whatever I can in the “bulk” bags, 250 count. Lately I have been very unhappy because 3 different bags did not contain 250 bags. In fact, I was shorted a total of 93 tea bags from 3 of the bags. I contacted the company and they sent me a replacement bag of 50 Decaf Ginger Peach Green Tea to make up for the shortage. When I received the shipment I counted them out 10 at a time, into my reusable tin and there were only 49 tea bags. So I carefully counted them out again and there were only 49 again. Has anyone else had a problem with their bulk orders. I always count out 50 at a time into their respective containers and then deduct the 50 from the 250 count each time I take out 50 and date it so that I know how long it lasts me. I’m wondering if I’m the only one that has noticed that their bulk bags are not accurate?