Rare Tea Republic

I’m just finishing off this sample today, I’ve definitely enjoyed this green darjeeling (see previous notes for more details).

Yet another sample from Rare Tea Republic that I am attempting to purge from my cupboard… like Azzrian at first I was under the impression that this was a black tea and I also had to look up where Bihar is (Northern India – it borders on Nepal).

I tried to follow the RtR steeping parameters which said 5 minutes at 205 F.

I definitely am getting a butternut squash/pumpkin sort of flavor here in the aroma as well as the flavor of this tea, which is a clear light orange. This is a nice mellow brew, pleasantly sweet, and yes I’m getting some apricot as well.

Very enjoyable although it wouldn’t be a “must have” item for me, which is probably just as well since RTR is no longer around.

Another sample gone…

I won’t miss this too much. It’s pretty good for a second flush darjeeling which do not tend to be my favorites. This does have a very nice grape flavor and aroma and a very “soft” flavor. See previous notes for more details.

R.I.P. Rare Tea Republic…

I brought a bunch of their samples from last year to work to see if I could focus on finishing them off this week. I really don’t think I can justify buying any more FF darjeeling until I finish off last year’s supply, of which I have PLENTY. Well, maybe just a few samples when Upton Tea comes out with theirs. :)

This tea steeps up to be a light amber/yellowish color and has an intense floral/nutty aroma. It still seems wonderful to me – the plucking date was April 11, 2012 according to the bag they gave me. I am picking up notes of tropical fruit with a slight palette cleansing astringency in the finish. Still seems really fresh and flavorful, just like springtime. These ff darjeelings can be a total sensory experience!

Awesome thanks to moraiwe for sending me this sample!

This is a really good green tea. The sort of green that reminds me why green tea is the one that led me into the tea world. I have had one other Nepal green that I found to be too citrusy. This one smells of citrus just after brewing, but the dominant flavor is definitely asparagus. yummy!

Tea of the afternoon here — it’s a bummer that Rare Tea Republic is no longer in business but I can get Mist Valley teas elsewhere. This is a beautiful reddish-brown cuppa that is extra tasty with about 1/2 tsp of turbinado sugar.

Dear Evergreen,

I am falling in love with you. Each sip of delicious buttery asparagus brings me closer to you. Your lemony finish makes my heart beat a little faster and my tongue dance in ecstasy. Your delicious creamy, smooth mouthfeel makes me feel like a teenager in lust and I get all twitterpatted when I think about it. My tastebuds adore you and I think this is really meant to be. So please, please never leave me.

This tea was okay. It lacks that refreshing, almost minty quality of a Darjeeling, has none of those thicker muscatel notes, nor strong savoriness in the finish. The woodsy tannins were also pretty weak. (Unfortunately, these are all the things I love in a Darjeeling!)

It absolutely did have the light floral scent of Lily of the Valley and an amazing sweet lemon meringue note. This might be a good tea to have with some lemon butter cookies, but I don’t think I like it enough to want to drink it alone.

EDIT: I tried another steeping with slightly more leaf this time, and now I am picking up a buttered spinach vegetal note and a lemon flavor. I don’t know what to think of this tea. I don’t really like the taste of it as I am drinking it, but both the aroma and aftertaste are wonderful. Yuck…Also getting a grassiness now.

This is pretty good. It is smooth and very sweet- highly drinkable. It is kind of malty, muscatel, and a bit musky. It isn’t a super-crisp and refreshing Darjeeling. I keep hoping to find another Darjeeling that will stand up to the super-spicy food that I like to eat. This is good, but this isn’t it.

I think I am reviewing the same tea as the others. This is from the 2012 harvest, and was purchased from the Republic of Tea website, as the Rare Tea Republic site no longer exists.

I wrote a nice long review of this, and then Steepster had one of its issues. I’m not going to rewrite it all. I will say that this is a good tea for sitting back and watching the wheels…

Hmm
It’s a sipdown for me and this tea. I guess I will need to start getting my Temi teas from Upton Tea Imports in the future. I have enjoyed this a lot!

I found a tin of this tea in the back of my tea cabinet and thought I’d drink it for a mid-afternoon tea boost. Evidently I’ve never reviewed this before. It is a bummer that RtR has folded their business already.

Anyway, I find this to be a delightful brew. I steeped mine for 4 minutes and it is definitely darjeeling-esque. I am picking up the walnut notes with a tiny bit of bitterness. There’s a slght fruitiness but I don’t know that I’d call it muscatel. Might have to steep this at a slightly lower temp. to see if I can bring out those grape notes. This was really good with some coconut sugar which made the flavors pop a bit.

TGIF Steepster! :D

I am finishing off the last of this sample tea today…

I’ve said it before but it’s too bad that Rare Tea Republic has gone away. I especially liked their white tea selections – now what ever shall I do? This tea is custard-y and pudding like It reminds me a bit of rice pudding. I like it!

Finishing off this sample pack today… I purchased way too much darjeeling last year and still have a massive amount of samples so that’s one thing I do NOT need this coming spring. I do admit it was fun to try all the FF darjeelings but I still have so many. Blah!

This oolong is floral and fruity, I did a tasting note on it months ago so you can check that out if you’re interested.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this tea. I went to the RTR website and it seems it has been assimilated into the “Parent” company of The Republic of Tea, and this tea does not appear to be available.

This is a pleasant tea, quite good actually. I find that I enjoy it more as it cools, when it is hot, it has a stronger, slightly bitter vegetative tone and as it cools these flavors tend to subside and I notice sweeter, fruitier notes, as well as the sweeter notes of the vegetal notes.

It’s a good tea, but I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed it enough to want more of it, and I guess that it’s a good thing that I don’t since it’s not available on the website anyway!

Tea of the morning here… I see tasting notes are back to being functional.

In other news, it seems that Rare Tea Republic has shut down their website and I guess the teas will be going back to their parent company, Republic of Tea. I wonder if they will keep the line or get rid of it when the current supplies are gone. It’s too bad because I really liked a few of their offerings!

See previous notes for more info. on this.

Wow what a surprise! I grabbed this thinking it was a black tea. It was so delicious I decided to do a review on it for http://sororiteasisters.com/
As I looked into this tea further I realized its an OOLONG!
I never would have thought that!
It has such a black tea flavor!
Perfect notes such as ripe juicy apricot, butternut squash, syrup, malt, omgoodness.
What a wonderful way to wake up on this cool crisp leafy autumn day!
Full review on November 4th on http://sororiteasisters.com/
What a treat! Going on my shopping list as I unfortunately only got a sample size when I ordered.

No notes yet.

This is the tea that I have been searching for. I think I’m in love.

I ordered a smaller size bag of this about a month ago but am just getting around to trying it now.

I have loved all my white teas from RtR so I had really high hopes for this one. The leaves smell so sweet and fresh in the bag and are long, fluffy and slightly fuzzy.

This is a lovely white tea, it’s slighly vegetal with flavors of freshly shucked corn and cream. There’s a slight fruity sweetness in the finish reminiscent of nectarines. I’m not surprised this tea was a North American champion, it’s really nice!

Sipdown!
This was my tea of the morning and I am officially out of Assam in my tea cupboard which gives me an great excuse to buy more tea. :)

This came as a free sample from RtR & I’ve had it for a while but just got around to trying it today.

I like this okay, it’s very vegetal and slightly pungent, it reminds me a bit of a gunpowder tea. Yes, I am picking up on a bit of smoke but also a trace of bitterness which is not exactly to my liking this morning. I will finish the sample off but probably won’t need to buy anymore. If you like very assertive green teas, this could be for you.

Enjoying one more cup of this before passing the last cup on to someone else.

This one was alright – sorry for short note – just want to be sure to note it so I know for my own reference that I tried it.
I have had my RTR samples around since I began drinking loose leaf and most have been tasted while a few had not even been opened yet. I got SO SO MANY of them back then!
This one is good but I would not miss it when gone – oh wait it IS gone now.
It had a nice bite to it but nothing remarkable. Slightly bitter but I kind of enjoy that now and again.
Sorry this is not very constructive. One of those days – mind fray.