Over the Christmas break, I took some vacation time. I ended up still working a good chunk of the time but I was able to at least binge watch a few shows that I had been wanting to. Downton Abbey was on the list of shows I wanted to start so I was saving this tea until I had a few episodes watched. Unfortunately, the flashy ads for The Crown (staring Matt Smith, one of my favorite doctors from Doctor Who) caught my eye and I ended watching that series and not watching Downton Abbey. Shame on me. This is one show that I know I need to watch so hopefully I’ll be able to soon.
Since I wasn’t able to watch the show, I thought I’d go ahead and drink this tea. I honestly can’t believe how much I love this tea.
This tea is a bagged tea from The Republic of Tea. I’ve found that I either really love their tea or am just not a fan of it. Their green pear tea is one I find myself craving and the fact it is a bagged tea adds a nice convenience factor for me. 99% of the tea I drink every day is loose leaf but I do find myself running out the door quite often without the foresight of getting my morning tea ready to go for the commute. That is when this tea works perfectly in my busy life, plus it tastes amazing!
Mrs. Patmore’s Pudding Black Tea is a flavored black tea with notes of a dessert quality. The description is spot on with this one. You really don’t know this is a black tea because the flavoring does take over but in a good way. There is a vanilla cake like feel through each sip with a rich and lush caramel throughout. Absolutely delicious and one that I am considering getting a whole tin of.
Definitely a perfect tea to curb those sweet tooth cravings that hit me in the afternoon but also a great tea to enjoy on my morning commutes.
A dessert tea at its finest in a convenient tea bag form. Not sure if this is a dutiful tribute to Mrs Patmore’s Pudding but I’m quite tickled with this one!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Description
This decadent dessert tea has the homemade flavors of vanilla sponge cake drizzled with rich caramel sauce. The full-bodied base of premium black tea lends itself well to a splash of milk, making it a perfect afternoon tea to partner with puddings, scones and shortbread.
The award-winning TV series, Downton Abbey® has entranced millions of viewers and become a modern media sensation. Every episode is an explosion of drama, relationships and intrigue. Downton Abbey is home to the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. From the pen of Academy Award® winner Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey is the most watched drama ever on PBS!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Downton Abbey English Rose Herbal from The Republic of Tea
I sipped this last night as an accompaniment to this dessert . The flavor is a vivid magenta berry-rose-hibiscus blend. Its sweetness complimented the chocolate nicely.
This tea packed a ton of flavor without requiring a black tea base. A lot of herbal teas seem to be lacking something to me, like they’re watery or sad somehow. They’re like children, floating around Disney World, looking for their parents. Incomplete; a little desperate.
Not here, though. This is a very robust little number. It Keeps Calm And Carries On, undaunted by the challenges facing herbals.
The flavor is part of a Downton Abbey collection, and I wish I could say something intelligent about the show here to tie in the tea. But alas, I’ve never seen this British mega-hit. It’s on my huge pile of TV Shows To Maybe See Someday.
And that pile is daunting. I miss the days when people would say things like “Have you read [book x] or seen [movie z]? YOU SHOULD.” Now it’s TV shows. Entire series of TV shows. “You should watch the 8 seasons of Once Upon A Time!” or “Have you seen Doctor Who? YOU. WOULD. LOVE. IT.”
I could easily chug through a book or dedicate an evening to a movie. But shows are a challenge. They’re easily 10 hours per season. And, of course, most shows get more than a season.* So you’re in it for 20-100 hours of your life.
*(Note: this does not include Firefly. Firefly’s short life is both wonderful and manageable. I would recommend Firefly to you, except I don’t want to burden YOUR TV list. That would fly in the face of this entire digression).
I’m just going to recommend this tea to you on its own merits. It’s tasty. It does exactly the job you want it to. A cup will take 5-10 minutes to consume. This will not burden your time in any way.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Description
This vibrant, ruby-red infusion of rose, raspberry and hibiscus has fruity, floral notes and a touch of sweetness. Inspired by traditional British desserts, this caffeine-free, luscious tea is perfect as an afternoon treat. Enjoy hot or cooled over a tall glass of ice.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bates’ Brambleberry Black Tea from The Republic of Tea
In addition to being a fandom tea that I’m sure everyone who watches Downton Abbey will love, this tea has a wonderful flavor and is an awesome eco-friendly offering from the Republic of Tea. It comes in a round unbleached tea bag with no strings, staples or tags, and can be composted after you use it. It looks insubstantial enough that you could even throw it in your own non-industrial-strength compost pile (I understand some municipalities have compost pickup along with trash and recycling pickup, but mine is not that lucky so I do my own composting).
It smells excellently of berry, so I greatly enjoyed the fragrance as it steeped. I steeped it about five minutes using boiling water and it turned out reddish-brown with that very pleasing fragrance and a wonderful refreshing berry taste. It does, as advertised, remind me of summer and berry-picking. It’s called “brambleberry” so I would have expected mostly blackberry flavor (because those are the type of berry that people call brambles in England, right?), but there’s definitely a serendipitous raspberry tinge in there as well. The tea information says that it also has strawberry and blueberry flavors, but I found those to be less obvious than the raspberry and blackberry flavors.
I considered adding milk but then decided against it. I don’t think this tea is acidic enough to actually curdle the milk (although I could be wrong), but it’s definitely acidic enough to be interesting and I don’t want to dull that edge, which milk is likely to do.
Overall I really enjoyed this tea and wished I had more of it! I’ll definitely consider purchasing it if I ever get around to ordering from The Republic of Tea while they still carry it. (So many tea companies, so little time!)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea
Description
This bold yet smooth premium black tea is perfectly coupled with a handful of summer fruit – blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. A touch of sweetness to this cup will bring out the full, ripe flavor. A casual refreshment served hot or over ice with biscuits or sandwiches.
The award-winning TV series, Downton Abbey® has entranced millions of viewers and become a modern media sensation. Every episode is an explosion of drama, relationships and intrigue. Downton Abbey is home to the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. From the pen of Academy Award® winner Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey is the most watched drama ever on PBS!
This tea is an online exclusive
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Raspberry Rose Hibiscus from The Republic of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Tea Description:
Herb Tea for Sweethearts – Every day should be a celebration of love. Raise a cup of this romantic blend with a base of flavorful, healthy Nigerian hibiscus. Sweet, ripe raspberries and delicate rose petals add fruity and floral notes. Enjoy this caffeine-free blend with the ones you cherish.
Raspberry Rose Hibiscus is a limited-edition, seasonal blend. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh my! Can you say raspberry candy aroma?!? I think you can.
This tea bag smells just like raspberry candy. Incredibly fruity and very sweet smelling. This is another tea bag that I found in a box that I have sorely neglected. I thought I’d try this one as a nice after lunch sort of treat. Typically right after lunch, I crave something sweet. I’m hoping this herbal will do the trick!
I threw this tea bag in a cuppa water that was boiling for about 5 minutes. Since there is hibiscus in this, I didn’t want to let it steep for too long. First sip and I really am not getting any true flavors except just for a hot beverage. So I decided to let this steep just a bit longer.
Took another sip and while this smells so sweet and candy like, the flavor is more mild and subtle. The raspberry and rose are gentle but bring a nice quiet flavor. There is a sweetness there but I can’t really put my finger on what is bringing the sweetness out. I see that in the ingredients listed there is vanilla, but I don’t think that is it.
I’m quite surprised with this tea. With the fragrance that is coming from my tea cup, you’d think I was drinking the sweetest sugary raspberry tea that there ever was. Instead I am greeted with this relaxed slightly raspberry slightly floral herbal tea. I can barely even taste the hibiscus. This might be one I need to experiment and play with more. Maybe even try this one as a cold brew or iced tea. I’m quite content with this one.
Usually I feel that The Republic of Tea has either hit or miss teas. . This one just might be a hit.
Organic Assam Breakfast from The Republic of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Tea Description:
Back In The Body Tea – The robust, malty character of this tea comes from pure, unblended Assam leaves grown in Northern India. Plentiful golden tips on leaves & hearty body qualify this tea at the top of its class.
Winner in the North American Tea Championship Assam Tea category.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried several RoT blends before, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had them in loose leaf form. I just always seem to associate RoT with tea bags, something that I shouldn’t do now that I’ve tried this blend.
After having a few herbals and green teas today, I thought I would pull out this one to try it. I needed a good pick me up after my lunch. Around 2pm seems to be when my body says “Hey, silly head. It is nap time”. Unfortunately my office would frown upon me pulling out a nap mat and taking a snooze so I have to find something to perk me up.
I brewed this up with boiling water and let it steep for about 3 minutes. Took a sip and I’m sad. This didn’t have a nice black tea flavor to it. More of a muted flavor, so I put the tea back in my cup to steep just a bit longer. Unfortunately I think I oversteeped trying to bring out the flavor. Now I have a tea cup filled with an astringent bitter brew. Sad. I probably left it in just a bit too long. This is not a forgiving tea.
This tea really didn’t have anything that made me go WOW I’m loving this. More or less, this tea had me wishing for something else. Something with that “Wow” factor. I’m glad I was able to try it, but I don’t think this will be a re-order.