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__Morgana__ drank Ancient Yellow Buds by Rishi Tea

2037 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 26 of 2018 (no. 382 total).

Sigh. I really wanted to like this. And yet, I’m an outlier in the community when it comes to this tea.

I tried it a number of different ways — hotter water, cooler water, more leaf (including double by weight what I’d ordinarily use), longer steep time, shorter steep time. And I couldn’t get much flavor out of it.

Perhaps I’m just not able to appreciate the subtlety of this. It’s not like there’s no flavor at all. I can smell a definite smell in my empty Timolino when I rinse it out at night. But it doesn’t do anything for me.

So I fear I must own up to my outlier status and lower the rating.

Why do I feel bad about this? Really, do I owe this tea anything? Geez, it’s like that commercial where the person feels sorry for the lamp that’s left out in the rain…

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Bluegreen
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It is posts like that that make me hesitant to try offerings by Rishi Teas despite being prominently represented in my favorite supermarket (Wegmans). There seem to be just so many other more interesting companies to try first…

__Morgana__
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There are some Rishi tea’s I’ve quite liked. I remember liking their chai in particular. This one, however, I expected to love because so many other people did, but I just couldn’t taste the love.

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Bluegreen
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__Morgana__
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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes