We were walking the aisles at the Fancy Food Show recently in New York City and came upon The Republic of Tea’s large booth. Always debuting new products, our eyes caught a line they referred to as Cuppa Cake Teas. After sampling everything from kimchi to chocolate and Lord knows what else all day, a cup of tea sounded nice, but considering that our palates were dead, we asked them to send some product for sampling later.
The packaging is pretty – like a Victorian tea parlor – with round tea bags that fit nicely in your cup. Quite suitable for gift baskets, but of course we wanted to taste what was inside. There are three teas in this line-up: Caramel Vanilla, which is based on black tea; Blueberry Bundt, based on caffeine-free rooibos; and the Lemon Pound, based on caffeine-free green rooibos. The idea is that you a can have a dessert-like experience without the calories.
We brewed up the Lemon Pound, which the company describes as “the decadent flavor of rich pound cake speckled with sweet coconut and topped with a creamy lemon glaze.” We really liked the exacting directions, which call for 6 ounces of water and 5 to 7 minutes steeping time. So often we find that tea labels leave you to your own devices and it is common for people to think “a cup” of tea is 8 ounces and they end up watering down their brew. As for brewing times, under or over brewing doesn’t give your tea its best shot either, so we give kudos to the packaging.
Did we think we were eating a lemon pound cake? No, not really, but the blend is a nice addition to your collection of flavored teas. The fact that the two based on rooibos are caffeine- and calorie-free means that you can indulge without guilt or jitters.
The Caramel Vanilla tea is bold and rich with caffeine, and we liked this one with milk added. If you are a flavored tea lover and/or looking for a way to treat yourself without added calories, why not pick up a can? They can be found online at republicoftea.com and at most Whole Foods stores.
If you would like to try the cookies in the picture, check out our Gluten-Free Nut and Seed Butter Cookies.
Bakepedia received this product as a gift for review. All opinions are the reviewer’s own.
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