Rare Tea Republic

Tea of the morning here… I see tasting notes are back to being functional.

In other news, it seems that Rare Tea Republic has shut down their website and I guess the teas will be going back to their parent company, Republic of Tea. I wonder if they will keep the line or get rid of it when the current supplies are gone. It’s too bad because I really liked a few of their offerings!

See previous notes for more info. on this.

Monday morning? Is that you? How did you get here so soon?

I chose this to drink this morning, was somehow in the mood for it and not exactly sure why. Today I added a smidge of raw cane sugar. I like this tea! (see previous notes). Today it seems softer and even fruitier than I remember — I might have steeped it for longer before. See previous notes if interested.

The morning cuppa. I certainly do love this! Today I am again getting a dark bunch of cocoa and caramel hit in the back end by delicious sweet plums. Rich and soothing! See previous notes… :)

My morning cuppa – highly recommended (to darjeeling lovers especially) for the delicious and unusual flavors – see my previous notes.

This is so good it’s actually a little scary! eeeek!

So I guess this tea isn’t exactly a darjeeling because it came from Sikkim according to the website Sikkim is in India’s northeast corner between Nepal and Bhutan. My second Nepalese tea of the day and I think I’m in love… la la la

I steeped this for around 3 minutes @ 200F. This is my after lunch afternoon tea and it is quite a stunner. This black tea is intensely rich with plum and cherry flavors, caramel sweetness and cocoa. The only reason I’m not rating it higher is because it has some astringency in the finish which might make it a bit difficult on my sensitive tummy. But the flavors are wonderful in every way. I highly recommend you give this one a go. I may need to up my rating soon. It’s delicious! I think I’ve found a good seller here with these Rare Tea Republic people! :)

A tea from the now defunct Rare Tea Republic. I forgot I had this, it was lurking in the back of my tea cabinet. As you can see, it was/is one of my more positive experiences with white tea. I enjoyed this today with a touch of ginger root, which was nice. I won’t forget about it anymore, I hope!

Shangri La, Shangri La…. I am loving your deliciousness today.

The Grateful Dead is on the radio right now, it all seems to work somehow… Hippie Heaven!

Boy, do I love the white teas that RtR has selected. This one still impresses me every time I have it and I just noticed they have a new Sandapku Spring tea. :)

It’s been a day of good tea but otherwise another boring day in the life. I am having serious fantasies about packing it all in to go to darjeeling or nepal. In any event, this is a delicious white tea. Very sweet and fruity, nice way to wind down the day. A little slice of heaven. :)

Nom. This is an amazing white tea (see previous notes). I’m getting tea drunk today just from being near it…

I am having one of those days where I just want to drink everything I love….well, every day should be like that! =)

Hello! Shangri-La White Organic you are fabulous.

I’ve never ordered anything from Rare Tea Republic and I was very impressed with how they labeled each bag with the name, origin and steeping instructions right on the front. A nice touch, to be sure.

When I opened the bag and smelled this I knew I was in for a real tea drinking treat! The leaves are thin and curly with a nice array of gray, black and white shades (the photo does not do it justice).

I steeped this for 2-3 minutes at around 190F in the infuser mug at work. It really smells like rosebuds, I kid you not. It had some sweetness with an apricot/peachy flavor and roses. A teeny bit of astringency at the end. This may be my favorite new white tea although I still have some others from RTR to try as well. I need to try cold brewing this. Simply wonderful. You must try this if you like white tea. Yes, you must…. Intense serenity and joy!

I need to try this in the gaiwans at home but it’s hard to imagine it could get any better.

Amazing! This tea really does taste like lemon-infused asparagus! I can even taste a hint of butter in there. It is soft and sweet and very fresh. It’s an exhilarating tea to sip, very uplifting.

This tea is an absolute pleasure to sip … more on this when I write my full-length review for the SororiTea Sisters!

This is pretty awesome! I must say! It’s silver needle – but – milkier! If that makes sense! It’s quite creamy! A bit sweet! I can pick out the apricot notes they speak of and I LOVE that! It’s very delicate and pretty. The peach notes are picked up on the end sip and on to the aftertaste.

I really think this is one of my fave silver needles to date! Spectacular!

AWESOME! A totally excellent Darjeeling. One of the very best I’ve ever tried.

This has a fantastic fruit tone (yes, I taste the pineapple). There is a lovely muscatel to this tea as well. Nice floral tones. Notes of warm earth and wood too. Sweet and very pleasant. Very VERY pleasant.

If you love Darjeeling, you should try this one. Even if you’ve tried Darjeeling in the past and decided it wasn’t for you, you should try this, because it could just change your mind. Everyone should just TRY THIS DARJEELING.

This reminds me of a cross between a green and a white tea. Slightly vegetal but more like fresh peas than a leafy green type vegetal taste. This is a really nice tea! High quality leaf, aroma, and taste! I like this very much!