Blackberry Sage

The Republic of Tea has done a nice job of packaging and marketing. I do wish they would do more with loose tea tho. I might consider adding them to the vendor list. I frequently have customers mentioning their teas.

For a bagged tea the aroma and flavor is quite nice. I do get the sage. It is definitely a good combo with the fruity blackberry.
The brewing instructions on the can recommend 3 to 5 mins.
I used 1.5 and got the best flavor. IMO. Bagged teas with the small pieces of leaves infuse so quickly it is practically instant tea.

I’m very familiar with The Republic of Tea tea bags, having tried a slew of different varieties last year before I entered the wonderful world of loose tea. I enjoyed all of the ones that I bought. I was anxious to see how the loose leaf versions compared.

I steeped the Blackberry Sage tea for five minutes at 212 degrees. The brewing aroma was incredible. It was very (or should I say, “berry”?) sweet and fruity. I couldn’t wait to see if it tasted as great as it smelled!

The brewed color of this tea is a golden amber. The flavor is fabulous! My first sip reminded me of Knott’s Berry Farm shortbread cookies. The taste is sweet and fruity without bitterness. The tea flavor undertones are subtle and supportive. A very nice aftertaste also lingers on my tongue. I imagine that this blend would also be terrific iced.

This is a very nice black tea. It isn’t the boldest black blend that I’ve tasted, but it really doesn’t need to be. The flavor is full and steady and delicious. That’s all I require for my afternoon black tea fix!

For once, a fruit tea that is not overwhelmed by hibiscus. I honestly like this. “Soft” is a good descriptor for the blackberry flavor. Its not biting me with berry flavor, but its there. This was better without sweetener. After adding agave nectar, it took on a fake candle wax kind of flavor.

“Teabags” you say? Yes, I thought I’d review a tea I had a couple years ago. “How can you remember what a tea was like two years ago?”. Well, I can’t remember every subtlety, but since I have purchased this tea several times (and don’t plan to purchase it anytime soon), I’ll give it my best shot.

The aroma of blackberries—and to a lesser extent sage—fills my sniffer with wonderful sensation. Even in the cup the aroma is very apparent. It is a good, decent cup of hot tea, with the flavors more pronounced as the tea cools. To my palate, the fruitiness of the blackberry is more noticeable, while the sage never lets you forget it is there. It’s kind of like the demure lady I notice at a party… me, trying not to stare, but at times unable to avert my eyes. It is a very compelling, delicious tea. I just wish there was a stronger sense of the base tea in this blend.

For hot tea I use one teabag per 8 oz cup, at 212 degrees for five minutes. Hot tea rating: 70. I use this tea mostly as a delicious iced tea using twice the amount of tea following the preparation below. As an iced tea I give this one a 75.

Smells very strong of blackberry. Much more mellow taste but still the main flavor. Initial blast of berry quickly gives way to a rather bland tea/sage combo – not sure how that is possible. Then the the syrupy berry aftertaste kicks in and lingers and lingers. Number 2 of 6 RoT’s to try. Hope they get better.

Stuck at work. Feeling pretty bleh about being at work and the long night of work ahead of me. Had a sample bag of this and gave it a whirl. It smelled great: strong blackberry fragrance with a touch of sage. Then, I got to tasting it….bleh. All of the flavors are very weak, including the underlying black tea. It isn’t offensive, but it has nothing to offer me either. I will not be buying this one. Alas, back to…you guessed it….work!

The aroma coming from the bag and the cup is great, but the flavor is disappointingly weak. I added cream, sugar and honey, which brought out the flavor some. It is especially disappointing because I like the idea od blackberry and sage together, and the what I can taste tastes natural. I just wish there was more of it. I don’t know if the problem is that they put too litlle tea in the bag, or too little flavoring, or if the tea base is inferior grade tea.

I’ve been drinking this tea for a few years now, I like it pretty well but I just finished the tin and I don’t intend to run out and buy any more soon. I am used to drinking my tea strong so I normally put two teabags in a cup. I like the balance of flavors here between the blackberry, the sage and the black tea. Not at all tart and also no hibiscus because it’s really not a favorite of mine. Sage is supposed to be good for people with asthma so I got it for drinking during the winter season.

If and when I am in precisely the right mood for this tea, it’s perfect. Unfortunately that moment comes across maybe once every couple/few months at best, and the rest of the time I really want something with more kick. The fragrance is amazing, truly lovely. Warm, earthy, summery, and sweet, it’d ROCK if only the flavor came across so well. I’m incredibly tempted to try this this in an ice tea blend with some lemonade. If I manage so and it’s any improvement I’ll have to update.

Lemonade update (random yes?): Flavor DOES seem improved upon with the addition of a lemonade. The tannins became more obvious, so used a higher ratio of lemonade to tea to compensate. Agave helped, but made it too sweet for me. Not so sure about the pairing, I think the lemonade trick probably works best with something like passion fruit. Worth a shot though.

It’s been a while since I’ve logged anything, but I have had some new teas!
Anyway, I was in a berry sort of mood this morning, so I had this tea with a little Splenda in it. I think it really brings out the fruit flavors.