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!)
