Melissa McEwen

I guess I’m the only one around here who likes this? I enjoy drinking it after workouts and I find it zesty and refreshing. The anti-inflammatory effects of tumeric and the other herbs are a nice bonus. I actually make an ice cream with this by steeping it in milk and it is delicious.

A truly magical tea and my new favorite. For those of us who love rice as a culinary ingredient in its own right, rather than just a bland starch, this evokes some of the best heritage rice varieties and hand-crafted mochi. I don’t know how, but the puerh doesn’t overpower this at all, but blends seamlessly to make a soothing and evocative cup of tea.

Relatively mild pu-erh, but has a distinctive marine quality that reminds me a bit of seaweed.

One of my favorites because it works so well even without milk. It is hearty and richly spiced enough to stand on its own, particularly with a long steep. The chocolate flavor is balanced by the earthiness of the pu-erh and yerba mate, with wonderful cinnamon and coconut undertones.

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Absolutely delightful and refreshing, particularly when cold-brewed overnight. Naturally sweet, but with a great balancing tartness and spice.

A pu-erh tea that’s great for beginners. Rich and slightly earthy, but not too strong, it has smooth honey and floral undertones and almost no bitterness, even when over-steeped.

I’ve eaten a lot of chestnuts from all over the world and this does not taste like chestnuts to me. It tastes cloying and artificial. I’ll probably be giving this away.

Definitely one of my favorites. Refreshing and richly spiced without any “natural flavorings” just spices and herbs. It makes an absolutely delicious minty latte with honey and cream.

Since quitting coffee I’ve been looking for nice rich teas with strong flavors. I really think this tea fits the bill. The tea part is very high quality and distinctly a puerh. The cinnamon adds a bit of a pep, but doesn’t overpower the actual tea. This is exactly what a flavored tea should be.

Smells like a sweet breakfast pastry or apple crisp. Brews up a lovely red. This one really needs a long steep to bring out all the nutty flavors. I think you need 2 teaspoons to get the best flavor.

Deep dark and rich, with undertones of marine flavors. A nice strong brew that makes a perfect alternative to coffee. I like blending it with some Tisano for a chocolate flavor.

I love the bright refreshing sour taste of sea buckthorn berries. So I had high hopes for this tea, but it tastes rather bland and mild.

This is pretty refreshing. Supposedly the herbs make the caffeine effect more balanced. Tastes overwhelmingly like a zesty mint.

Tastes like a weak version of Tazo Apple Red + candle wax. Not my thing. The licorice overwhelms everything and overall it’s pretty bland.

Nice apple flavor, but somewhat weak in the cinnamon department. I sometimes double bag this with Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice for a zestier cinnamon flavor.

No notes yet.

One of my favorites. Has a floral quality that goes perfect with a little half and half and a dash of honey. Smells rich and wholesome, with an old-world aromatic quality.

Quite nice with cream and honey. Not a lot of cheese flavor, but tastes rich and coconutty.

I wasn’t such a huge fan of this. It’s a little cloying and doesn’t taste very much like sweet potato pie. It’s decent with honey and cream, but I like their other sweet honeybush blends much better.

Bleh. I was expecting something spicy and warm. Instead it’s bland and insipid, which is hugely disappointing considering the price.

Ever buy a chocolate tea that smells soooooooooooo delicious? And then when you make tea the tea tastes like…tea? It’s pretty disappointing. This tea is magic! It smells like chocolate and the resulting brew tastes like a really expensive dark chocolate bar. Sweet! The only complaint I have is that you have to use a lot of it per cup, which means you’ll run out of it quickly…

I love this flavor concept, there are clearly some creative folks at Republic of Tea. Lots of orange flavor with a dash of carrot. No rooibos flavor and I’d be curious to try the raw bush tea by itself. Overall an extremely refreshing drink. If you make iced tea, I recommend doubling up bags for a stronger flavor.

Hmm, smells a little like apples. Unfortunately tastes a lot like heavily diluted apple juice. Blergh.