Comfort and Joy

Tea type
Black Fruit Blend
Ingredients
Apple Pieces, Black Tea, Cinnamon, Cloves, Licorice Root, Natural Flavours
Flavors
Cinnamon, Spices, Spicy, Cloves, Sweet, Licorice, Apple
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Tea Bag
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by CHAroma
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 30 sec 2 g 9 oz / 256 ml

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69 Tasting Notes View all

From The Republic of Tea

The Warmth of the Season.

Cinnamon and cloves are the shining stars of this blend. Wrap your hands around a cup that will surely put you in the mood for celebration. Fine black tea leaves create a substantial base for this spicy infusion, while apples and just a hint of licorice sweeten each sip.

A spicy holiday blend available in natural, round, unbleached tea bags.

About The Republic of Tea View company

The Republic of Tea is a progressive and socially conscious business recognized for being the leading purveyor of more than 200 premium teas and herbs, ready-to-drink iced teas and more. Founded in 1992, The Republic of Tea sparked a tea revolution in America with the purpose of enriching people’s lives through the experience of premium teas and a Sip by Sip Rather Than Gulp by Gulp lifestyle.

69 Tasting Notes

64
615 tasting notes

This was another sample I got from BrewTEAlly Sweet (thanks!)

I think they must have changed this one since the extremely negative reviews, as they all seem to be 3-4 years ago. I had still braced myself for the worst, though.

This was a clove heavy cup with the subtle sweetness of licorice and a very slight watery apple/orange flavor. It’s not really anything outstanding (but actually fairly decent for a tea bag) but I don’t see anything here really to hate either.

Fiancé liked this quite a good deal more than me, so he’ll be finishing the last couple bags :)

Dkcox50

Just bought a tin of this on an impulse buy at Whole Foods andi would agree with you that it’s not a bad cup of tea. I was surprised to see all the older negative posts just now. I thought it was rather pleasant but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it again. Of course I now have nearly 50 bags to use up!

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94
158 tasting notes

Ohhh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy! Just like yesterday this tea title really fits the moment.

My first appointment went great! I love my doctor and everyone at the office. And most importantly my doctor said everything looks great! I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time today! Man that was surreal. I teared up immediately. Tomorrow I have my first ultrasound!
What an exciting time. I’m so relieved to finally get to the doctor and hear that everything’s great.

Judging by the reviews I have a good feeling this tea’s recipe has been changed. I found it quite enjoyable, as did the hubby. Definitely not watery and actually quite packed with flavor. It tastes like RoT read their old not so good reviews and majorly oomphed up the volume. To me the old reviews sound like they’re describing Constant Comment from Bigelow. This tea is definitely far from that. It smells and tastes quite complex, with a good black tea base. There’s all sorts of spices going on in the cup with a nice citrus note and some things I can’t quite put my finger on! I’ve got another sample bag left so I’ll go another round with it soon. It’s definitely a cup full of holiday cheer!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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60
902 tasting notes

Sample from the RoT catalog. I had a full tin of this last year, and nearly grabbed another last night, but decided to hold off.

It’s not as good as I remember it being. I don’t know if it’s because it’s a new batch blend, and they’ve changed something, or if my taste buds have changed. I remember savoring this tea last year and being upset when the tin was empty, but now…well, Twining’s Christmas Spice is very much better. And it’s leaving a kind of gritty texture in my mouth.

RoT, if you changed the formula, you need to change it back. Stat.

Preparation
5 min, 0 sec

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38
377 tasting notes

I’m glad I’m not the only one who did not quite enjoy this one. It was given to me when I visited the newly reopened coffee shop in town. Smelled good. Then I added water. It kinda reminds me of the friendship tea that I think all of us despise that you usually get at church Christmas bazaars. I tried to like it but it’s weak in flavor and black tea base. Tastes more like tang with cloves. I try not to be overly critical when given a tea, and tasting tea. I can stand most teas like most coffees even if they are not high quality, but this doesn’t quite reach the bar.

gmathis

If I remember correctly, I thought this one (sample bag that came from a catalog) tasted like furniture polish.

TeaBrat

I don’t have much luck with Republic of tea…

The DJBooth

I’ve had some other decent ones but it kinda seems like it’s about mass production bags. I haven’t had much of their loose leaf offerings….so I’m not sure if those are better.

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1
2977 tasting notes

I thought this would go perfectly with some leftover spiced apples and sweet potato casserole.

However, after two sips (one naked, one with half&half), I dumped it out. Something about this blend just doesn’t work. It tastes watery, papery and stale to me (ad I steeped it 5 min not the 2-4 suggested!). I’m a licorice hater, so maybe a licorice lover would find some redeeming value. However, I think this blends problems go beyond licorice preference.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Janefan

My mother bought me a whole tin of this for Christmas. :( I don’t know what I’m going to do…

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3294 tasting notes

The Republic of tea and I go way back. All the way back to the year my son Leif was born (1992). Back then I was just drinking herbal blends & medicinal brews. Furthermore, I’d been free of caffeine, chocolate, sugar, and a melange of (mostly illegal) substances for about 12 years.

I saw their display and was hooked. I stood there (with my children complaining), reading the canisters, and went home with “Tea of Inquiry”, & thus began the reintroduction of caffeine into my life. (You don’t want to know how much coffee I used to drink, and it was so long ago anyway). For a number of years ROT was the company I loved, the only company I knew about (not counting lipton), and I gradually built a collection of quite a few of their green teas, and a few black ones, and even some oolongs. I didn’t care much for their blends, but they were my tea education, and I even dedicated my song, TeaMind (Zen Breakfast CD) to them. (you can hear it at www.harpsinger.net).

Then I discovered on the internet that they weren’t the only company around, and started expanding my horizons, something I continue to do to this day. I love tea and the exploration of it all!!

I received this sample with a their catalog yesterday, and it was my ‘bubble bath’ cup of the day. Opening the package, the aroma is intense! It took me a few minutes to place it, and then there it was: it smells like mincemeat pie! I brewed as directed, and of course plain…so-so. I added stevia and it wasn’t bad! A little heavy on the cloves, in my opinion, but off to the bubble bath we went. Not something I’ll probably purchase, but I’ve been thinking I need some holiday varieties to get me in the mood for all the xmas gigs & concerts I have coming up. I’m open to suggestions.

Speaking of which (shameless self-promotion blurb), if you like xmas music & you’re looking for an inexpensive gift, my xmas CD, “MidWinter’s Canon” is available on my website www.harpsinger.net. It’s an hour of holiday medleys with influences of jazz, folk, classical, and new age stylings. (And any CDs you purchase contribute to my PlayPal account, so that I can buy more tea!)

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64
82 tasting notes

I’m not sure if my taste buds are broken, or if I just got a different batch than the hated one, but I actually rather enjoy this tea.

It does smell amazingly like apple cider, but doesn’t really taste anything like it, so I can’t help but feel a little disappointment on first sip. And the tea part of this mixture is just not present; a stronger tea would make this a lot tastier.

That said, the spices are there and quite pleasant, it has a nice hint of apple despite the lack of cideryness (it’s a word now), the licorice adds a bit of flavor, and it’s smooth and pretty tasty. Plus it just smells fantastic. It’s not among the best teas I’ve had, but I really like it anyway, if that makes any sense.

I did notice that, in a very bizarre twist, it actually becomes less pleasant and more papery tasting the longer it steeps, so maybe that’s part of the problem? Steeping longer seems to leech out the spices and especially the apple, leaving behind only the mediocre tea and a hint of licorice.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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45
2145 tasting notes

Teabag sipdown take 5, the last of my free RoT samples that have been sitting around.

Of all of my RoT samples I was most curious about this one, but it left me disappointed by not even tasting like a holiday tea. This actually tastes like orange spice, which is funny because orange isn’t even an ingredient. I wish I knew where the orange was coming from.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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65
523 tasting notes

I just got my mystery swap from BrewTEAlly Sweet today and this is the first sample I decided to brew. I looked it up on Steepster first and gee are you lot hard on this one or what?! I expect that I will need two bags of most bagged teas for a strong enough brew, so comments about weakness weren’t such a concern.

But really, I don’t see what the big deal is except that maybe we are all getting too spoiled with premium loose teas these days? It’s a bagged tea people, it’s not going to taste super gourmet. Now, this doesn’t mean that I’m cheering for it either, I used two bags and the clove and orange came through plenty strong (EDIT: heh, just saw that orange isn’t listed in the ingredients. I guess it’s the blend of apple and licorice that’s coming out orange-y). I think that it could use more cinnamon, but overall it’s a pleasant drink. There is a sweet aftertaste too that is not obnoxious as some can be. I probably won’t go out of my way to buy it and I won’t be recommending it to all my friends, but I reserve my ‘red- range’ ratings for the teas that are physically and mentally painful for me to drink. This is not one of them.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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42
558 tasting notes

Received a sample in this in a package from AmazonV today.

Steeped 2 bags in boiling water for about 6 minutes (MIL called while steeping and couldn’t get back to the tea).

Tried first few sips with out additives, tasted pretty watery with a slight note of spice and a bit of citrus tang at the end. I added a splash of cold cream which gave the tea more body and spice upfront, after notes of citrus. (Maybe the apple is the tarty citrus?) Not sure where it is from the ingredients, but definitely there.

This tea is alright, but I like something with more oomph.

Cofftea

I think you and I are the only 2 that got citrus from this! I thought it was good for a black bagged tea, neither of which I normally like.

AmazonV

i thought it might be orange? not sure where it’s coming from…..

Meghann M

It reminded me of an Orange Spice tea weaker on the orange then the spice. It’s definitely there…maybe they left out an ingredient?

Cofftea

Definitely orange. I don’t think it’s the apple as you were questioning.

AmazonV

perhaps it’s hiding in the “natural flavors”

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