Name: Royal Air Force Tea
Brand: Rare Tea Co
Type: Black tea
Form: Loose leaf
Review: Royal Air Force Tea was originally a custom blend prepared by Rare Tea Company owner, Henrietta Lovell for Royal Air Force veteran Terry Clark. Eventually, Ms Lovell was contacted by the RAF about making the tea part of her regular range.
(This is a very fine thing. Particularly since 10% of this tea’s sale price is donated to RAF Association Wings Appeal.)
Lovell describes Royal Air Force Tea as a “very traditional British tea”, which is quite apt. A blend of Darjeeling and Malawian teas, it produces a robust, deep red-brown cup that can take milk and sugar quite well. While I detected some very nice fruit (stewed apple?) and tobacco notes in this tea, its main feature is its overwhelming freshness. This tea is alive.
A couple of preparation notes: If you are fond of milk/sugar, you can probably get away with steeping this tea for 3-4 minutes. It does become very strong, and may be too much without an additive. I did find that steeping for about 2 minutes produces a lovely, balanced tea that can be drunk on its own. Royal Air Force Tea is also good for a second steeping, which is arguably more interesting than the first.
Special Promotion: A golden ticket is hidden in one of the packages of this tea. If you find it, you win a lovely prize package that includes a ride in a Spitfire and a year’s supply of tea!
Affiliate Links in this Post?: No
Sample Provided by Retailer?: Yes
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Dear Lainie,
thanks so much for this lovely review- so glad you enjoyed the RAF brew.
Its a tea I’m really proud of. Calming in times of national peril, fortifying when courage is required.
RAF tea is orthadox, hand crafted tea I buy directly from two tea-farms. By buying the good stuff, and by buying it direct, the farmers get a much better deal and I hope you’ll agree the consumer does too.
I’ve done blind tastings with big-brand tea-bag teas and people can’t get over the difference. The only problem is- when you’ve tasted the good stuff there is no going back.
thanks again,
Henrietta
rare-tea-lady