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So, I have had this particular canister of tea in my stash for over a year… and it is still going strong (thanks to the air tight canister it is in).

It is a bold tea, just under an Irish breakfast blend I would say. It has notes of caramel and almonds with a bit of a smokey aroma/flavor, as well.

I have been drinking this hearty brew in the morning as a pick-me-up. Good stuff.

It has a mellow flavor for being a black tea… light color… intoxicating aroma, fruity and woody, that comes from both the bag of tea and the cup. So good.

An absolutely horrible name for a tea… but it tastes great!

I say horrible name because it gives the assumption that oolongs are used for weight loss. Simply put, there is no proof of this. End of discussion.

However, the tea itself tastes quite smooth. There is just enough orange flavor and it isn’t overpowering. My 2oz. sample is almost gone. The leaves are large and open up a lot, so make sure to give them a lot of room

I have been taking this to work with me for the last week and a half. It’s a great “wake the heck up and be productive” tea.

As far as taste, it is smokier and more astringent than a Ceylon tea, but it is not too bold. It’s fine with nothing added to it. I’m sure it could stand up to milk, but why bother?

I have had this tea a few times now and I still can’t figure it out. The tea has a flavor, but tastes nothing like mandarin or any type of citrus and only slightly like white tea. What’s more, I can’t really discribe the flavor beyond what it isn’t.

It’s weird, but it’s drinkable on the days in which I can tolerate flavored teas and tea bags.

The dry leaves smell a lot like Dragon Well. The color of the tea is an extremely light yellow.

Wow! I know you are not supposed to base the taste of the tea on it’s color… but because it was so light, I thought it was going to be rather mellow… it was not. It has an intense fresh, grassy taste with a nutty and buttery background. Even with the astringency, the tea was a pleasure to drink.

Basically, it reminded me a lot of Dragon Well… only ten times smoother and fresher.

The steeped tea was fun to pour out of the teapot. When I started to pour the tea into the pitcher it was a light yellowish orange color, then all of a sudden a blood red color comes out of the spout of the teapot. This gave the tea a dark red hue. The aroma of the tea is a mix of vanilla and mint with a licorice aroma in the background.

Wow, what an interesting combination of flavors and sensations. At first I taste the sweet vanilla, and then I feel the coolness of the mint. I few seconds later I feel the heat from the cinnamon in the back of my throat.

The tea isn’t has heavy or bold as I thought it would be. Steeping pu erh for five minutes scared me because I know how bold they can be. However, this one tastes more like an herbal tea. The only thing I’m getting from the pu erh is some astringency. It isn’t bitter at all. In fact, the sweetness from the vanilla and the coolness from the mint make it rather refreshing.

The taste is… unlike other green teas. It tastes nutty and buttery. It also has a sweet, honey-like flavor to it. There isn’t much of a grassy or vegetal taste to this green tea. The boldness of this tea matches that of oolong tea – roasted notes that linger for quite some time.

This should not be an intro tea to those trying greens for the first time as it is rather bold and astringent. The tea isn’t bitter, but the intensity of the roasted flavor can be a surprise. Although, if you want to drink green tea and you don’t particularly like the grassy taste, this would be a good one to try as it has darker qualities similar to oolong and black tea.

With that said, this is a great tea for those who are tired of the same old stuff. This Houjicha is a rather complex tea and it surprises me every time I take another sip. I have to remind myself that this is a green tea even though the taste is unlike anything else.

Christmas in July? Nope, just going through my boyfriend’s tea stash.

I gave him this tea last holiday. In fact, I gave away several of these tins to people as stocking stuffers.

I didn’t save any of this particular tea for myself, so when I saw it in his cabinet I made me a cup. It was meh. It’s a hearty black tea full of chestnut flavor. The tea definitely delivered what it said it would, it just seemed to be missing something. I wonder how this tea blended with cranberries would taste. I know this is weird for me to say, but I think this tea would taste better with milk/cream.

So so sooo good!

This is a green tea that didn’t have that punch-you-in-the-face grassy taste… it tasted more like buttered toast. It still had a nice, crisp, fresh taste though. It was oh so smooth; no bitterness or astringency.

Full review with pictures here – http://mysteepedidentitea.blogspot.com/2010/07/rishi-teas-dragon-well-review.html