Herbal Republic

I can’t quite decide if I like this tea or not. The peppermint flavor is strong, but the oregano is stronger in scent. It has my taste buds confused. There is a touch of milky-ness coming from this tea which clashes with the mint flavor, and leaves me a little queazy after taking a lot of sips.

I can imagine myself craving this while nursing a congested cold. I tried it hot but would like to try this as iced tea as well. Will update again in the future!

So I signed up for a subscription with Tea Sparrow today, and this was one of the first teas (I got to pick my first four teas when I signed up at the tea festival).
I really like this one. It is an all natural blend, which means there are no icky after-tastes :) The strawberry flavour is delicately sweet without being sugary. I can smell the mint, but it is not too overpowering against the strawberry. It adds a fresh taste to the tea. I think I will have to buy more of this tea when I finish my sample.

I’m drinking the last of my Holy Tulsi today as my throat has become slightly sore, and I want to drink something health-promoting to hopefully ward away sickness before anything gets too sickly. I am considering ordering more from Herbal Republic, but they do tag on a $7 shipping fee, and they are a bit too far from me to pick up locally (since I transit). Since I only want to get one tea, and the shipping would effectively double the tea’s price I will probably have to do without Tulsi for a while until I’m either in the area or can justify the price!
Tea is still yummy as ever, and has helped me (I’d like to think it was the tea, anyway) with sickness in the past.

I’m really liking this herbal tea. I’m surprised I haven’t reviewed it until now, I’ve had this tea from Tea Sparrow for a couple months now. I think I got in in the December box actually, but I’ve been drinking it here and there. More often recently because I’ve taken a real liking to it. My throat has been hurting recently even though I am not sick, and I’ve been turning to this tea for help. Apparently it’s full of antioxidants and good stuff for you health. But the taste is really soothing. It has a couple of my favourites (lemongrass and spearmint) but the combination of those two with the tulsi (sweet basil) makes it really smooth and pleasant. It really does smell like sweet basil by the way. I’ve never heard of tulsi before I drank this tea, but I can confirm that it’s nickname is true to its nature. I’ve decided that this is going to be one of my staple teas, and will be restocking.

I would give this a rating of 85, but I am typing currently on my iPad and can’t seem to select the little dragging thing. I’ve always found that weird, by the way; why can’t we just input a number as text? Seems like it’s too fancy for no reason. Oh well.

I began having chills. And sniffles. And cold feet. All a sure sign of something up and that it is time to take action before something even more unpleasant develops.

All this may have something to do with me sitting in a draughty place in front of the door to the outdoors repeatedly opening and closing.

So, clearly a moment for medicinal tea. Something powerful and effective for moments like these. Ginger sounded like a good idea.

I open the pouch. Peppermint. And that furniture polish lemongrass scent overpowering the ginger. Why does that lemongrass torment me so?

This tea reminds me of DT’s The Big Chill or Mother’s Little Helper— though I prefer MLH— or the sort of generic sleepy time teas: minty, green, medicinal, and somehow murky. With a bit of a bitter kick from the licorice.

The flavour is ok, I suppose. I don’t enjoy it particularly, but I am drinking this tea in hopes of getting the job done.

I will finish a cup or two of this tea while smothering myself in a fleecy blanket and hoping for warm feet and wellness.

Got this in a Tea Sparrow box today. I was really surprised and delighted with this tea. I am normally not a huge fan of mint in tea, I usually find it overpowering and gross. However, the balance in this tea was lovely. The strawberry taste did not seem artificial at all, it was delightfully sweet and refreshing – no need for sugar in this one! This mint was not at all overpowering, there was just enough of it in there to taste a nice twinge. The aroma is also lovely and fruity. This would also make a great iced tea.

Michael Menashy from Tea Sparrow says about this tea: “Wow, I’m impressed. I am not a fan of Cream Earl Grey, but this one is exceptional. Love it!” So, there you go, it’s recommended by at least one non-Earl Grey fan. I don’t hate Earl Greys, but I don’t often crave them, you know? And I think I usually like the “cream” addition in Cream Earl Greys. Mostly I’m steeping this right now because I have cold hands and want to wrap them around a hot mug. :)

The dry tea smells strongly of bergamot – I don’t detect much vanilla. Brewed, some more of the cream/vanilla aromas come out, though it’s still predominantly bergamot. Same with tasting, actually. The base tea is solid but fairly unremarkable. There is a very faint bitterness, but I think that’s mellowing out as it cools a bit.

Ok, I tried adding sugar, which made it… sweeter, obviously, but not really better. Then I added some milk, which helped quite a bit. I guess I just needed a wee bit of actual cream in order to appreciate the cream flavour in this tea. Pretty good, but it’s not changing my life or anything. Might have to try this head to head against another cream earl grey from my cupboard to appreciate the differences.

Edited to add:
I compared it with a regular earl grey, and another brand’s cream earl grey, and here’s what I’ve concluded: the cream/vanilla favour in this is so mild, it doesn’t really stand out as its own flavour (unless you stick your nose right in the cup). What it does is mellow out the bergamot into something smoother and less tart. So it’s like a regular earl grey, but… nicer! Unless a really bitey citrus is what you’re going for with your earl grey, in which case I guess this would be a downgrade. Anyway, the other cream earl grey I own has a much more distinct vanilla/cream flavour, it’s like BAM, right there alongside the bergamot. This one, not so much. :)

This one comes from Ms. OMGsrsly and I’m super stoked since I love cold brewing these kinds of blends. Thanks for the sample!

I cold brewed about three glasses worth, and already done one. I can totally taste the strawberries and blackberries separately. It’s blends like this that don’t make me miss juice at all. So thirst-quenching and popping with flavour.

If I had the opportunity to pick some of this up, I wouldn’t hesitate to stock up.

Tea to help me relax. :)

Lots of ginger, lots of tulsi, some lemon. Best with honey. And make sure you steep it with a lid on, or else the flavours tend to disappear.

Not bad, but I’ll be glad once I’ve use it up.

A mug of this to help me chill out after overcaffeinating with an oolong at 7:30pm. :)

Very herbal. Very tasty. Sadly not AS tasty as the delicious fruity tulsi I have, but still tasty.

Ooh. Maybe I’ll add some plain tulsi to Nana’s Fruit Garden. Hmm…

(A lot of tea in a big mug with hot water for the length of time it took to prep my pasta. So. This tea is pretty invincible.)

This one smells so so good, but I’m a little disappointed by the flavour. Might be the lemon myrtle. Hmm. And how many teas with lemon myrtle do I have now? 3? 4? Oops.

Anyways, it smells deliciously lemony and spicy and just yum. Taste-wise, the lemon falls apart a little bit. Ginger comes out, which is delicious, and it goes really well with the tulsi. I think I prefer a fruity tulsi blend, though. That one I had from Georgie’s on the island was just SO good. This one is good, but isn’t SO good. :)

I added a little honey to see if that rescued the flavour a bit, and it does. Yay! This one is also apparently good iced, so I’ll have to try that tomorrow afternoon.

My initial impression is that I probably won’t buy more, but that could change!

OMGsrsly brought me a sample of this when she came by to snag her H&S order and man, I am really enjoying this. Thanks for sharing!

It really tastes like fruit juice. Sweet, vibrant and just slightly tart but not unpleasantly so. I iced the entire sample in a pitcher and don’t expect it to last the weekend! This is one that you need to buy by the tin in the summer. Maybe I’ll snag more before I go East.

I iced this, but I didn’t have enough ice to cool it all so it’s actually a little lukewarm. Ahh well, it’s delicious anyways.

I made it in this jug (http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-makers-infusers/p/blue-infusion-tea-pitcher-large) which they erroneously list as being 1.9 litres. Umm. No. I used 1L hot tea, 1L cool water, and an ice cube tray of ice and it still wasn’t full. The strainer is nice, though, since it fits really well for a hot steep in a canning jar. I can then combine everything into the jug without steeping in the jug, mix, lid, and lay it on its side in the fridge if it’s room temperature or cooler. Pretty awesome, right? (PS. It’s a Takeya unit, with the Teavana name on the top.)

The tea is berry juice. It’s good on its own, or with a little sweetener. I’m almost out, too. Definitely something to restock when it gets warmer out!

(2 big tbsp tea, 1 litre hot water, 1 litre cool water, ice. Steeped 10 minutes at 195F.)

:( Now I’m sick! I could have sworn that people couldn’t be infected through the internet! (Actually, I’m blaming my brother.)

This is delightful, and my throat isn’t sore enough yet for the acid to hurt it yet. Yay! Next up I’m having a hot honey and lemon. When it hurts to breathe and swallow, the honey definitely makes its way back into my food repertoire.

Cold steeped over night. Brought to work in a travel mug. Mug just cracked open now.

So delicious. Sweet berry juice. Definitely need to stock up on more of this one for the summer, ESPECIALLY if I can find a nice cold brewing jug (with infuser. and lid.) at a reasonable price. :)

(1 tbsp per 1 litre water)

I just made up a litre of this iced, and I’ve chugged 3/4 of it. I think I was thirsty.

Nothing added this time. A slightly tart, delicious berry juice. I do like a little sweetener (honey!) in it, I was just lazy this time… didn’t want to deal with the 3kg bucket of honey sitting on my dining room sewing table. (I’m sharing the honey with my brother, so I have to weight out half for me. Too lazy right now.)

I’ve been out of this tea for a week, and I’ve really missed it. Yum, berry juice! I got a tin stuffed full, so hopefully this will last me a little longer…

(Hot brewed, poured over ice.)

2 tbsp in 2 cups water, then poured over ice, water added to make it 1 litre.

This is delicious berry juice when made this way. Add a little sugar or honey if you need to, but it is just so good. If you prefer to be stingy with your heavy fruit teas, 1 tbsp in 1 cup hot water done this way is also good. I just wanted the thick juice flavour and texture tonight.

I’m almost out, and I’ve had it 8 days. I think I need to bring my tin in and get more!

This is pretty good hot, but I prefer it over ice. Hot, I find it needs a bit of sugar for the flavours to come out. Cold, it’s just goodness all on its own.

I received a sample of this one in store, iced. I thought it tasted like berry juice, even unsweetened, so I bought a package.

So, so, so good. It’s sweet, a tiny bit tart (the hibiscus is OK for me in this one!), and thick and juicy and amazing.

I used 1 tbsp in 1 cup of boiling water, steeped 5 minutes, poured it over ice into my $1 sbux cup, then topped with cold water. OMG, amazing. I’m going to have to bring in a tin for filling, because this is an amazing summer tea for me.

Just too bad it has raspberries – my BFF can’t have it. :(

So, I got a “teazer” sampler pack of this, which I think is the only option for purchase at herbal republic other than buying a full tin/big bag (100 gram minimum? Unless you get the teazers, I think.) Not sure, as I only dashed in there on lunch break, not much time to chatter. It was about 5+ tablespoons in the sample teazer pack.

I think I have been using too little tea in my iced blends so I dumped the whole teazer into my takeya, steeped for about ?10 mins in boiling water then added cold water and ice to make about 1.5 – 1.75 litres, then chilled in the fridge. I even tossed in some frozen berries to the mix.

Having a big glass now over ice with a tiny bit of Sonoma simple syrup. It’s good. Very fruity, very berry, very juicey. The more I drink it the more I like it. I think I taste more sweet strawberry, than tart berry, but it is nice. Will definitely go back for a tin ( or bag, however they sell it ) and add this one to my summer iced tea rotation!

I’m not sure why I decided to get this particular tea, I think it just caught my eye when I was rambling through the Teaz Tea (Herbal Republic is their brand) shop on Granville St in Vancouver last year. Any how, I found it tucked away in the back of my cupboard today and decided to give it a try.

The dry tea smells quite spicy almost as if chili pepper had been added to it, though I guess that might be partly due to the ginger. Interestingly the flavour itself wasn’t spicy at all. Instead the tea tasted lightly sweet and herbal with a hay-like note – from the clover maybe? Not sure if it’ll cure all my ills but it’s a pleasant tisane to drink late at night.

Aaaaahhhhhhhh this stuff is to die for! My friend swapped this with me via snail mail with the instructions to boil with soymilk. What a treat! So creamy and rich and smooth and mmmmmm…

LOVE.

My favourite tea. It never disappoints! Lovely subtle creamy vanilla rooibos with floral notes and light fruit. Beautiful rose and cornflower petals make look delightful, light floral and warm vanilla aroma is always inviting.

This was the tea that inspired me to venture out and try new teas, but it still remains my go-to treat in the afternoon.