The Forest and the Outlaw

Before the review, a caveat: I bought this tea so that I wouldn’t feel guilty for using my credit card for a $2 loaf of french bread, which means I purchased it from a grocery store where I would never usually buy tea, on account of I don’t believe their merchandise turnover is very high. Possibly, this tea would be better if it were fresher, though just as likely not.

It’s a little dangerous talking smack about a tea that’s setting out to cure cancer. What if this review dissuades someone from buying a tin, and that $0.75 would have paid for the pipette in which the cancer-curing agent would have been created? Would I feel like a jerk then.

But then I got to thinking, why should I blame myself for telling it like it is? Why shouldn’t I push the blame back to the source? Republic of Tea, doesn’t breast cancer deserve better than this? Better than flavorless, stale, dry tea that’s only available in bags? Tea that claims to be “premium quality” but is obviously average quality at best?

Why do you hate breast cancer research, Republic of Tea?

Let’s look at some facts.

Fact 1: I enjoy grapefruit tea. Several people I’ve talked to have responded negatively to the very concept, but not me. Since my only experience was positive, I had high hopes when I bought this. In fact, it’s one of those things I thought about every time I was at the store. “Should I try the pink grapefruit tea? No, I already have lots of tea.” (this is always the case)

Fact 2: I am not a teabag snob. I have yet to write my big long post on this, but I mainly use leaf tea for better control and variety, not because I’m convinced that tea can only be enjoyed when it’s brewed loose in a pot.

Fact 3: I don’t like cancer. I’m a hypochondriac; with better treatment options, maybe I could spend less time worrying about having it. Go cancer research!

So there is nothing about this tea that made me predisposed to dislike it. It did that all on it’s own.

Final verdict: I’ll give it a star. Fewer than that is reserved for teas with an unpleasant taste, and this doesn’t have enough taste for that.