Comfort and Joy

Hard to say what the ideal temp is; I use the hot water machine at work, which is less than boiling but hot enough to burn.

This is backlogged from a couple days ago. It was a free sample I got with the catalogue so I am definitely glad I didn’t spend money on this one. This one is ok. I have to say it smells better dry then it does brewed. It is sadly really bland brewed. If it tasted the way it smelled out of the package it would’ve been delicious. Oh well it was free so I can’t really complain too much…

I am really surprised at all the other reviewers who didn’t like this too much. I wonder if those who tried the “free samples” somehow got stock that wasn’t very good? I suppose a promotion could do that whereby RoT put out a poor batch…

Anyhow, RoT isn’t really the kind of company I usually go to for tea: they’re just too industrial, run-of-the-mill–ish, pedestrian for my usual taste.

However, I love this tea. I’ve been drinking it for a couple of years now in loose leaf. I do make it pretty strong (an overstuffed ball infuser for 10+ minutes)

I find the flavor rich and complex with a satisfying spice. It has a natural sweetness and doesn’t overpower with cinnamon. Instead, it has cardamom, clove, and bergamot flavors that enhance the straight forward black tea.

I got this as part of a stackable set of three tea canisters as a gift. The canisters are lovely. Rich colors, foil-like shine… beautiful. Comfort and Joy was the first tea I tried in the trio.

When I opened the container, the first thing I got was a very strong aroma of a spice I couldn’t recognize. Licorice root is listed as an ingredient, but I’ve had licorice root before and this was not it. Maybe it was one of the other “natural flavors” the RoT uses. Just because I didn’t recognize it didn’t make it off-putting, however, and so I brewed it up following the instructions on the container. As it brews, it smells marvelous. I could hardly wait for it to be done, it smelled so good and produced such an attractive clear amber liquor. When it was time, I sipped. But wait, had I missed the cup? ? I sipped again. Oh, oh… wait a minute, no, there was definitely something like a hot tea in my mouth, but it had no flavor. I held it in my mouth for a minute, and began to taste a… little… bit… of… apple—not much, but a little bit, then I got a little bite from one of the spices in there, but not much else. It was very weak, very watery, and as it sat, increasingly bitter even though the bag had been removed long before. RoT says on the canister for this product that “black tea leaves create a substantial base for this holiday infusion,” but I don’t see it that way. If there is black tea in there, it’s such inferior tea that it can’t stand up to brewing. The other ingredients, actual as well as “natural” don’t seem to survive brewing either. It’s not bad, it’s just blehhh. Yeah, okay, that’s bad. Anyway. Each of the canisters in this holiday sampler boasts, “Steeping is easy,” and it is. Getting a good infusion out of it with this product, however, seems to be difficult.

FINALLY got my catalog so I’m drinking and logging this as I page thru it. Based on the reviews I’m not expecting much, but a free sample that’s easy for me to make when I’m sick is always good. And I’m hoping at least the name of it will give me some comfort and joy.

Observations: FREE +, convenience for 1st infusion +, convenience for multiple infusions -, bagged (not my personal preference -, environmentally friendly bag +, bag that’s difficult to fish out w/o an aid -, comes w/ a catalog +, tempts me to buy things I shouldn’t -, weight – (way too light for a 6oz cup especially considering spices take up some of the weight), contains licorice -.

Serving: in 6oz water. Hot and clean.

I’m absolutely SHOCKED at how dark the liquor is based on the weight. It looks just like black coffee. Maybe this won’t be bad after all- considering I’ve already had 1 tisane today that had licorice in it and wasn’t bad.

As for the aroma, I smell the black tea, the spices, and the apple. This smells more like an apple chai than Adagio’s apple chai does.

Hmmm… interesting… It’s not nearly as weak as I expected it to be based on the weight and the flavor is definitely in good proportion to the liquor. I taste all 3 components: the black tea, the spice (but no licorice thank GOD!), and the fruityness you’d expect from a chai w/ apple in it… if someone had given this to me w/o telling me what it was I’d swear it was MarketSpice chai because the fruityness is citrus- orange. Not what I expected, but good!

Conclusions: Good free tea. Nice to have around for when you aren’t up to making loose tea. Full of surprises in strength of flavor and in what flavors you get. If you don’t mind that it’s an orangy and not an appley chai, you’ll really like this one. Not sure how it’ll taste w/ milk because MarketSpice chai tastes like a hot dreamscicle when I add milk.

This has a nice strong orange flavor with some spices. I drank it sweetened without milk. It tastes nice, though not super special or anything. I’ve been drinking a lot of teas with this flavor profile lately, and this one wasn’t very memorable. It gets terrible reviews, which it doesn’t deserve. Thanks tea-and-cats!

Got two sachets of this in RoT’s 2020 12 Days of Sipping thing. I had one plain and one with oat creamer and stevia. Both were nice, although the flavour was a bit too muted by the creamer. The tea’s fragrance is better than the flavour. I tend to like really bold flavours, so I had high expectations upon sticking my nose in my steaming mug. Ah, well. It’s nice, especially for a bagged tea, but not much better than nice. The spices do make it warm and comforting, though, so it lives up to at least half its name.

It’s cold up here in North Dakota now, so I decided to have hot tea after my coffee. I decided on this one because it seemed like a Christmas tea would go well with my Christmas music and the sound of snow plows beeping and scraping over the parking lot. The first snow fall of the season makes me want tea!

I seem to remember liking this one, if not loving it. This morning it was just bitter. The can of bags is a little old, about 3 years old, actually. Maybe that has faded the cinnamon and other flavors, because I get nothing from this. Too bad.

Well, lots more tea drinking weather ahead now. I need to re-organize my tea drawer and re-discover some favorites.

I don’t drink many bagged teas anymore but The Republic of Tea’s products were among my favorites when I did. Two aspects of this tea enticed me to try it:

1. It was a free sample that came in the mail
2. I enjoy drinking Christmas teas during the festive season

When I opened the sturdy envelope to expose The Republic of Tea’s signature tea “disc,” an inviting spicy cinnamon aroma spewed out. I steeped the disc for five minutes at 212 degrees. The color was a light gold/orange. The aroma was…like…Christmas!

The brewed liquor had a sweet and spicy flavor that was reminiscent of hot apple cider at Christmas time. I could taste the cloves underneath the dominant flavors but this taste was positioned perfectly without bullying the other great attributes. The overall flavors of this bagged blend were surprisingly robust and quite smooth. The after taste was gentle and delicate. I didn’t detect even a trace of astringency.

This delicious tea really did spread Christmas cheer on my morning. If you find yourself without your loose leaf infuser during the holiday season, this bagged selection just might bring you some comfort and joy.

Another disappointing catalog sample from Republic of Tea. This one smells lovely, like mulled apple cider! But the flavor is weak and watery licorice with the barest hint of cinnamon.