Guest Review: Republic of Tea Downton Abbey Estate blend

A guest review from Erika M.!  Many thanks to her for this!

With the release of the movie in 2019 came a new round of Downton Abbey teas from Republic of Tea, now famous among Downton fans for their character based blends.  (Note from Alys -  I love their English Rose blend and reviewed it here: https://alysteaparty.blogspot.com/2014/03/tea-tasting-republic-of-teas-downton.html)

Downtown Abbey Estate Blend features the Dowager Countess taking tea on the lawn on the label and names itself for the great estate itself. 

My usual method for drinking Earl Grey is with a little sugar and milk. This holds up beautifully to that treatment. The tea brews nicely from its signature round stringless teabag. It is light for an Earl Grey, and lighter on the bergamot than some in favor of a strong warm vanilla, but the bergamot is there, don’t worry. 

My first exposure to Earl Grey (that I liked) was in Ireland- drinking a cuppa very quickly as we got ready to leave each day on an outing. It was wonderful, and this tea brought me directly back across the pond. 

I would absolutely recommend this blend to all lovers of Earl Grey! I was afraid it was only available during the days of the traveling exhibit, but I am thrilled to find it is available on their website. 

For Alys's opinion of the same tea (albeit from 2016) see https://alysteaparty.blogspot.com/2016/03/tea-tasting-republic-of-teas-downton.html

Harney & Sons' Bangkok Tea

Harney & Sons' Bangkok tea was previously sold under the name "Green Tea with Coconut, Ginger & Vanilla."  I'm not sure why they went with the less descriptive name except to save ink.  As it used to say on the tin, it's green tea with flavors of coconut, ginger and vanilla.  Coconut is the most prominent flavor and aroma, so if you are anti-coconut, this tea is not for you.

I happen to be pro-coconut, so this tea works for me on multiple levels.  The vanilla and the coconut work nicely together, without taking on an artificial "creamy" mouth feel (I'm looking at you, David's Teas).  The ginger is very much in the background.   Apparently there's lemongrass in here somewhere, but I didn't taste it.

I like this tea a great deal.  It's tasty and warm and pairs great with Chinese or Thai food (no surprise, since that's the cuisine that inspired the tea).

Republic of Tea Cinnamon Plum

Today I'm drinking Republic of Tea's Cinnamon Plum black tea, which bills itself as a combo of black tea, cinnamon, natural plum flavor, sloeberries and elderberries.  The aroma isn't incredibly strong.  The flavor isn't particularly strong either.  The cinnamon is soft, warm, and cozy, not the blow-your-doors-off of, say, Harney & Sons' Cinnamon Spice.  The plum note is very very faint, just a quality of sweetness that offsets the natural flavor of the tea.   In short, this is a black tea for people who like tea that tastes primarily like tea.   I myself would like a stronger sweet fruit note.

It's not bad, it's just not that interesting.  Likely will not buy again.

Guest Review: O-Organics Sparkling Green Tea

From my friend Lilli Haicken:

Usually I am a roasted bean person, but there are times I want tea, and its generally something unusual I go for.

I was browsing in the local ACME store aisles, and came across something that looked interesting - an O-Organics Sparkling Green Tea. Sparkling? As in fizzy? I picked up the fairly heavy glass bottle, noting that the liquid inside bubbled as I did. It was a shade of soft green-gold, with lots of bubbles. The bottle's label had a stamp that said 'Product of Italy' as well. I decided to give it a try.

It sat in my refrigerator for a few weeks. Like I said earlier, I'm a roasted bean person mostly. Then I caught the flu that got through this year's flu shot. Argh. Between bouts of coughing, I reached for tea. Hot to start, to soothe the sore throat, but once that calmed down enough, I wanted something else. And the bottle of fizzy tea leaped out at me when I opened the fridge.

It pours nicely, like a fizzy drink should. Lots of small bubbles and soft hissing as the bubbles churn. On first whiff it smelled gently citrusy. When I looked further at the label, the ingredients listed include organic lemon juice. A first sip was startling. It tasted a lot like a lighter, more green ginger ale. The notes of green tea are there, very gentle. The fizz makes it feel quite nice going down a still slightly sore throat. Over all, it's a delightful surprise. Fizzy, bright and lightly sweet (yes, the label lists cane sugar as one of the ingredients, something I only discovered after drinking it).

I suspect it would go quite nicely with a warm pastrami sandwich.