Rare Tea Republic

ooh, this one is really nice. It has nice large fluffy leaves and smells very flowery in the bag.

According to my little pouch this tea was picked on Nov 11, 2011. I steeped it at 5 minutes at around 195 F.

Yum! I happen to really like this flavor profile. It has a sweet malty aroma and also seems like it has a lightly toasted or baked quality. Biscuits anyone? I am also picking up the sandalwood aroma and the tea after drinking just gently coats your palette with no real astringency that I can detect. Slightly buttery but this is not one of the main flavors I’m picking up. At times this reminds me of an oolong and at others times it reminds me of a darjeeling but it’s really pretty unique which seems to part of the Himalayan terroir…

Slightly brisk and lingering according to the RTR website. Yes this does seem like an apt description. I do like tea companies that can really sum up the essence of the tea in a brief paragragh.

Very well done, all around. Also very pricey so would have to decide if I really need this in my stash or no…

Post infusion this is one of the lightest black tea color liquored teas I have come across. The aroma is amazing and so is the taste, tho! Slightly floral, nutty, bakey, crusty-even…the flavor on the tongue is sweet nutty with hints of woodsy and a bit floral. I’m picking up on something that resembles the slightest hint of sweet corn, too! It’s unique but terrific! There is a nice about of buttery-goodness happening here, too! This is really special! I LOVE this!