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This came to me through my son via an exchange student. Very little English on the envelope. A quick web search of the company name led me to believe this was a whole leaf tea. Alas it is definitely not whole leaf. It is a 2g bag of tiny pieces. It is at least a fair amount of tea. Directions say to use boiling water and steep 3 minutes.

I got distracted at work and the first bag steeped more like 12 minutes. It was very strong and astringent. My main oolong is Yamamotoyama (YMY) it doesn’t care how long it is steeped. Obviously Ten Ren is a different animal.

The second bag was carefully timed at 3 minutes with boiling water. It was much improved and just a little harsh. I don’t drink coffee but that is what the flavor brought to mind. The aroma of the Ten Ren is very similar to YMY in that it smells, as one reviewer described it, like bad pot. Neither admitting nor denying a misspent youth, I must say that description amused me enough that oolong has become one of my favorite unflavored type teas. The two teas taste quite a bit different. YMY is smooth. Ten Ren had a breakfast tea bite and attitude about it. Knowing what I like but not having the tea expertise to back it up, this could be an Assam based oolong.

The bag of tiny pieces plumped up so nicely I decided to attempt a second cup. The brew remained dark but the taste was slightly weak and lacking in the full depth of flavor. It was much smoother. If I had more of this I know I could find the sweet spot where this teas shines. I believe if on the first steep the water was cooled and the steep reduced to no more than 2 minutes, it would allow a second cup of equal taste and depth from one bag. A worthy, not too shabby tea. I need some munchies.

2 grams of leaf and 5 fresh chocolate mint leaves steeped 3 minutes. Added sweetener (Splenda). OMG! This is really good. The stink is gone. The hint of chocolate in the mint really comes through. Tea and herb both are up to a second steep. The mint would not go a third, though the puerh was still ok but getting weak. I could drink this every day. Don’t throw away bad tea. Experiment with it. It might surprise you.

I added a sprig of fresh French Terragon. This helped a lot. It still smells bad but was easily drinkable. The tea is more than up to a second steep but the terragon was not up to the task.

Bagged tea. Smells nice. Wrapper says for best flavor add milk and sugar. I added only Splenda. Normally wouldn’t grab this on a 90 degree day but it was decaf so… I should have rinsed the oolong out of my mug before steeping this tea but I was lazy. The blend of spices in this are nice. Adding milk might really have helped. It seems to me all the flavor is on top of the sip and then there is this big drop into nothingness. What I mean is the black tea does not grab hold and support the spices. Maybe because it is decaf, maybe because of the oolong taste remaining in the cup. I did notice the cooler the cup got the more balanced it seemed. That leads me to imagine this would make a really great frappachino on this steamy hot day.

I bought this because it was $2 a box. It is bagged tea. I also bought it because it claims on the box it can be steeped 2 – 3 times, something very few bag teas would even attempt to claim. The bags are sealed in paper envelopes :( The bag smells of generic black tea. Steeped for 3 minutes. The brew is very dark. I like the aroma but my friends who hate all oolongs tell me it stinks. First sip is similar to Yamamotoyama Oolong but has a more earthy quality. It won’t blow your socks off, still this isn’t bad. I use a 10-12 oz mug and I did get a second cup out of the bag. It was lighter in flavor but it was possible. That pretty much makes this tea a bargain at a nickel a cup.

A filterbag tea. Smells wonderfully fruity and candylike in the envelope. The brew is a light golden color. The aroma of the cup is much more subdued than the bag suggests. Tazo says this is a delicate tea with hints of blueberry and white cranberry. My initial reaction is it reminds me of Hawaiian shaved ice only hot. You can taste the white tea and it is ok, nothing special. I think all the flavors improve as the cup cools. It will get bitter if you steep too long and it does leave a bit of an aftertaste. I usually don’t care for Tazo teas, except Lotus which I drink often. Most seem to be way overdone. This tea I kind of like simply because it is light and understated.

The 6th and final of my RoT fruit frenzy. I like that after the intial fruitiness, the black tea flavor comes through. I liked this it was tasty. But honestly Republic of Tea is simply too expensive for a fairly weak tea mixed with Kool-Aid. I really like Kool-Aid but I can buy it much cheaper and mix it myself. Your mileage may vary.

The smell of the leaf is really good. I can smell the tea for once. Brewed, the blueberry dominates but wonderfully so. The tea (which I can actually taste for once) blends well and changes the flavor to more blackberryish. It isn’t an in your face flavor, just pleasant. I would not want this every day but it is something I would enjoy on a regular basis. I know many of you won’t sweeten a green but I think you should try it once with this tea. Yum.

Very similar experience as one of the other reviews. Smells very peachy. So yummy. The color is a beautiful amber. The peach taste is way more subdued than the smell would have you expect. After the peach fades you are left with this cardboardy taste. This has been my experience with the three most recent RoT’s I have tried. I am not experiencing the tea. Maybe it isn’t cardboard so much as the taste of tea that has been steeped too many times, yet I only did each of these once. If you are going to use underfilled bags I would suggest Stash instead. I much preferred Hedley’s Peach Apricot.

First the bad news – I could barely detect the green tea. Now the good news – this is a very pleasant drink. Hot it was soothing and fruity. Smells nice and looks pretty. I imagine this would make a great iced drink.