Have a cup on Lord Grantham with Downton Abbey Tea Blends #RebpulicofTea

Grantham Breakfast Blend is one of the Downton Abbey themed teas from The Republic of Tea.  This blend is built from a strong assam base with added ginger, meant to be masculine and just a touch fiery.  The ginger came to life right as I poured hot water on the leaves, surprising me with an almost-chai smell for a moment.  As the tea steeped and cooled, the assam really took the lead, providing deep and malty black tea tones.

This tea echoes Lord Grantham, pictured on the tin, clad in upper-class white-tie attire.  Both the man and the tea are strong enough to help you power through an early morning of managing accounts, spicy enough to manage bold daughters, and warm enough to provide comfort during a family tragedy.  
After trying this flavor, I had to take a look at the other Downton Abbey blends on Republic of Tea.  They have several options, a few of which include Miss Patmore’s Pudding, black tea with vanilla sponge cake flavors, English Rose hibiscus tea for the lady-like sisters, and Downton Abbey Estate Earl Grey, for your more traditional tea outings.  

These teas would be great for a Downton-themed tea party of your own!  


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea
Description:

Full-bodied, malty, organic Assam black tea is infused with the spicy flavor of organic ginger root. Try with a splash of warm milk and sweetener for a flavor reminiscent of sticky ginger pudding. This energizing tea is perfect for an early morning foxhunt or preparing for the dramas of the day.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Downton Christmas Black Tea from Republic of Tea. . . .

I swear one of these days I will FINALLY start Downton Abbey…really I will! Until then…I have a nice selection of Downton Abbey themed teas from various companies to review…including this one from Republic of Tea. It’s called Downton Abbey Christmas Black Tea.

So what is this bagged tea made up of? Mulling spices including cinnamon, cloves, allspice and other fragrant herbs. Many of these spices have been infused into wine and cider since Victorian England and it’s what inspired this blend. Of course it also contains premium black tea and paired with the warmth of traditional mulling spices it offers a truly festive cup that will fill your manor with an aroma of the holidays, according to The Republic of Tea and it’s paraphrased description of this tea.

Personally, I first sampled this tea post-Christmas. I found it to be lovely, warming, of medium strength, and ending more spicy than when it first started. It was a decent cuppa. A good option for small groups of friends.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black Tea
Where to Buy:  Republic of Tea
Description

Mulling spices – featuring cinnamon, cloves, allspice and other fragrant herbs – have been infused into wine and cider since Victorian England. Here we blend premium black tea with the warmth of traditional mulling spices for a truly festive cup that will fill your manor with an aroma of the holidays.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Downton Abbey English Rose Herbal from The Republic of Tea

I sipped this last night as an accompaniment to this dessert . The flavor is a vivid magenta berry-rose-hibiscus blend. Its sweetness complimented the chocolate nicely.

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.

And that pile is daunting. I miss the days when people would say things like “Have you read [book x] or seen [movie z]? YOU SHOULD.” Now it’s TV shows. Entire series of TV shows. “You should watch the 8 seasons of Once Upon A Time!” or “Have you seen Doctor Who? YOU. WOULD. LOVE. IT.”

I could easily chug through a book or dedicate an evening to a movie. But shows are a challenge. They’re easily 10 hours per season. And, of course, most shows get more than a season.* So you’re in it for 20-100 hours of your life.

*(Note: this does not include Firefly. Firefly’s short life is both wonderful and manageable. I would recommend Firefly to you, except I don’t want to burden YOUR TV list. That would fly in the face of this entire digression).

I’m just going to recommend this tea to you on its own merits. It’s tasty. It does exactly the job you want it to. A cup will take 5-10 minutes to consume. This will not burden your time in any way.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Description

This vibrant, ruby-red infusion of rose, raspberry and hibiscus has fruity, floral notes and a touch of sweetness. Inspired by traditional British desserts, this caffeine-free, luscious tea is perfect as an afternoon treat. Enjoy hot or cooled over a tall glass of ice.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Bates’ Brambleberry Black Tea from The Republic of Tea

In addition to being a fandom tea that I’m sure everyone who watches Downton Abbey will love, this tea has a wonderful flavor and is an awesome eco-friendly offering from the Republic of Tea. It comes in a round unbleached tea bag with no strings, staples or tags, and can be composted after you use it. It looks insubstantial enough that you could even throw it in your own non-industrial-strength compost pile (I understand some municipalities have compost pickup along with trash and recycling pickup, but mine is not that lucky so I do my own composting).

It smells excellently of berry, so I greatly enjoyed the fragrance as it steeped. I steeped it about five minutes using boiling water and it turned out reddish-brown with that very pleasing fragrance and a wonderful refreshing berry taste. It does, as advertised, remind me of summer and berry-picking. It’s called “brambleberry” so I would have expected mostly blackberry flavor (because those are the type of berry that people call brambles in England, right?), but there’s definitely a serendipitous raspberry tinge in there as well. The tea information says that it also has strawberry and blueberry flavors, but I found those to be less obvious than the raspberry and blackberry flavors.

considered adding milk but then decided against it. I don’t think this tea is acidic enough to actually curdle the milk (although I could be wrong), but it’s definitely acidic enough to be interesting and I don’t want to dull that edge, which milk is likely to do.

 I only had one teabag in my sample, so I was unable to try it both hot and iced, but I’m convinced that it would be really great iced as well. In fact, icing it would probably bring out the summery berry flavors even more. And cold steeping is another great idea, one I also didn’t try but do encourage others to experiment with.

 

Overall I really enjoyed this tea and wished I had more of it! I’ll definitely consider purchasing it if I ever get around to ordering from The Republic of Tea while they still carry it. (So many tea companies, so little time!)


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea

rtea-logo-hdDescription

This bold yet smooth premium black tea is perfectly coupled with a handful of summer fruit – blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. A touch of sweetness to this cup will bring out the full, ripe flavor. A casual refreshment served hot or over ice with biscuits or sandwiches.

The award-winning TV series, Downton Abbey® has entranced millions of viewers and become a modern media sensation. Every episode is an explosion of drama, relationships and intrigue. Downton Abbey is home to the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. From the pen of Academy Award® winner Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey is the most watched drama ever on PBS!

This tea is an online exclusive

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Lady Mary’s Reserve Tea from Tea For All Reasons

00397_thumbTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black Tea

Where to Buy: Tea For All Reasons

Tea Description:

Downton Abbey has inspired so many things, especially a taste for some of the old-fashioned rituals such as taking tea in the afternoon. We imagine Lady Mary would have had her own favorite; something strong, high spirited and unique in flavoring and character. We’ve named this unique blend, Lady Mary’s Reserve, as it is like no other ~ a rich black tea with almond flavoring, rose petals, cardamom and vanilla pieces. Just like the series that has captured our hearts, this blend will be enjoyed over and over again!

Learn more about this tea here. <– Update this link to the vendor’s product page. Don’t forget to remove this instructional text!

Taster’s Review:

Downton Abbey has inspired so many things especially a taste for some of the old-fashioned rituals such as taking tea in the afternoon and with that I introduce you to Lady Mary’s Reserve Tea from Tea For All Reasons.  This flavored black tea is of medium strength when it comes to the black tea base itself.  The flavors paired along side with it mesh very well and are not overdone in the slightest.  Lady Mary’s Reserve Tea from Tea For All Reasons showcase almond, rose, cardamom, and vanilla flavors.  First – I pick up on the rose, then the cardamom, and the almost and vanilla jump into play, too!  Lady Mary’s Reserve Tea from Tea For All Reasons is unique and tasty.  I also find it to be a fairly calming tea for a black tea based tea that is.