Downton Abbey® English Rose Tea

This was a sample with the RoT catalog. I maybe overstepped it, but that really can’t explain away how bad this tasted. Hibiscus and rosehip are both kind of sour/tangy and did not go well together in my opinion. The raspberry flavoring was very strong, but the rose was almost undetectable. I only took two sips, however, before pouring it down the drain. Maybe it was the stevia in this that really turned me off, because I really didn’t like that this was both strongly sweet and strongly sour.

First to review this, eh? Well, tall-ho!
First observation is that, when hot water first hit the tea bag, the water turned purple! It has turned, upon further steeping, into a rich magenta color. Woah.
I cannot say that I get any rose flavor out of this at all. I get a tart sweetness, which could be the infamous hibiscus (never before has a flower had so polarizing an effect as it does here on Steepster). I cant say I’ve had enough hibiscus to really form a strong opinion, but I’m dissapointed in this.
I was expecting something more… English. The idea of a decaf rose tea was very appealing, but all in all I’m glad this was just a sample.

Sipdown. I’m not sure how much this resembles “English Rose” anything—I had rose tea many times this summer when I went to England, and I can say with confidence that none of the blends contained hibiscus. Surprisingly, though, this doesn’t smell all that bad. It’s like freeze-dried raspberries or candy. Not what I expected when I read that I was getting a rose tea, but still not terrible.

I can’t help but like RoT, because they were the first real tea I drank. They’re also the only brand I can find in stores anywhere near me. I will admit, though, when they’re good they’re good and when they’re bad they’re awful. I got this with their catalog and won’t be buying any more because despite the nice smell the hibiscus in this completely takes over. I think I’ll ice it to see how it does and then rate it.

ETA: This is not bad iced—it tastes like the freeze-dried raspberries I get in the smell. Decent as an iced tea but I taste zero rose whatsoever.

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.

Full review, including a HUGE rant about “you should watch this!” TV obligations, is here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/12/12/downton-abbey-english-rose-herbal-from-the-republic-of-tea/

I’m a huge fan of the DA show so it was bound to happen that I pick up at least one of their marketed teas. A lot of rose in the ingredients, but I mostly pick up a raspberry flavor. Tastes very sweet to me unless you steep it too long and then you get more of the tart flavors, which is way too much for me. This is definitely a stand-alone dessert kind of tea perfect for after dinner.

I like this better iced than I do hot: the roses and raspberry give it a lovely sweet, thick, syrupy fruit punch.

Got this in a sample packet from a PBS purchase. Liked it, yet found it disappointing. Glad it’s still summer, as this tea has a Kool-Aid kind of flavor, which at least goes with the season. However, it’s got an artificial quality to the flavor, which I would attribute to the stevia in it. I dislike artificial sweeteners, even those of the so-called ‘natural’ variety. One can definitely taste that in here—more so than most other flavors. I didn’t taste any rose, but for me that was a plus, since I’m not too crazy for flowery teas. I couldn’t really taste the hibiscus either, which was disappointing, as I do like that. I liked it, but not enough to want to buy it again.

Herbal TTB.

Does this have an artificial sweetener? I did add some sweetener, but it shouldn’t taste so cloyingly sweet. I don’t taste the rose at all either, which is unfortunate. I’ve been looking for a good Hibiscus-Rose tea, but this is not it.

Got an amazing swap package from*Darby* yesterday, which was filled with tons of these Downton Abbey teas. I don’t even like that show, but if it’s a RoT tea, I need to try! :P
Decided to start with this one since it’s an herbal, and I really need to relax after my trip to Vegas.
The dry leaf smell made the ideas of this tea being mainly rose confirmed in my mind. But while it steeped, the rose aroma was totally replaced by raspberries.
I thought maybe it would still taste like roses, but maybe intertwined with raspberries.
And I was totally wrong.xD
There was no flavor of rose at all. I actually found myself a little disappointed. It seriously just tastes like raspberries. Maybe a hint of something flowery, but definitely not roses. Apparently this has hibiscus in it, but I didn’t taste any of that either!
Oy.
This is not a tea for me! >< This was my first tea of the day too, and since I didn’t drink anything yesterday, I was excited to be home again and drink a crap load of tea. Hopefully the next ones won’t be nearly as bad!
Never been into raspberries. I imagine if you love those, this would be a great tea for you. But just not for me. Thanks for the sample, Darby!