Rishi Tea

Like a lighter version of genmaicha. I’m a big genmaicha fan, but I might even like this a bit more. It has the same toasty, nutty flavor without being overpowering like some genmaichas can be. Yum!

Of the powdered green teas I’ve had, this one is great – not too strong, and a great grassy taste. That said, I rather prefer full-leaf genmai cha to this powdered tea.

It’s definitely better as an iced tea (brewed hot, sweetened, then iced and refridgerated).

The scent and first taste are of a mild black tea, but the lychee flavor is there in the aftertaste. It’s good and a nice variety from the sweet tea blend that my husband makes (which has a lemon flavor).

Taken hot, with rock sugar crystals

I’m not sure why it’s called Lychee Red Tea, when it’s a black tea…

Fixed this way, the lychee flavor is very subtle, so mostly I’m getting the mild black tea flavor. I’ll have to try my next cup iced and see if I get more lychee that way.

I’m not really sure what lychee tastes like, anyway… I’ve only ever had it as a flavor in things (like sake!). I’ve never had a lychee fruit.

I mentioned in a past tasting note that this tea reminds me of tasting honeysuckle with my Grandfather. It’s a really great memory…one of the countless memories I have of him. I lost him this Saturday, so I’m drinking this tea and thinking of him.

Have I ruined my palette by drinking black teas and chais for the last month or so?

I’m having a little trouble adjusting to the MUCH lighter tastes of this tea. It’s good. It’s very good. But subtle. I even steeped it a bit longer than the recommended 2 minutes because the liquor was almost totally clear. The smell is that of a lightly floral green tea. I do not taste the apple notes, but the honeysuckle is there…and proud. I love the smell of honeysuckle. It flashes me back to when my Pop (grandfather) taught me how to extract that one magical drop of honey from the flower. It’s a good memory. Maybe that’s why I keep honeysuckle on my back yard’s fence line. If a tea can help envoke a happy memory like that, then I’m all for it.

I love love love Adagio’s Silver Needle, so I was excited to try this. Turns out, I like Adagio’s better. This has the same very silky mouthfeel, but it’s a lot lighter, crisper, and less sweet. Most importantly, it really lacks the buttery flavor of Adagio’s, which is my favorite part about it. It’s good of its own accord, but in Battle Silver Needle, Adagio’s wins for me.

It’s still a favorite, could hold it’s own against Jakee Muntz.

Really nice (especially during the holidays/winter). The cinnamon comes through nicely and the mint is balanced. Not getting much of the vanilla. Second steeping does not hold up so well as it loses quite a bit of the cinnamon and vanilla flavor.

Nothing I write about this chai right now will be anything approaching objective, since I’m overwhelmed with both guilt and pleasure. I’m breaking my no-black-tea rule this morning.

THIS IS SO DELICIOUS! So yummy that right now I don’t even care that I and my nursling will be paying the price for the caffeine I’m consuming.

I am going to re-steep this until there’s nothing left.

Hello! Welcome to a tea that Auggy sent me!

Right, so if you take Rishi’s Citron Oolong, and you take away the hint of lime that you get in that, and you replace it with a hint of orange, you would have this tea.

They’re cousins! Identical cousins!

I’m not going to copy the entire review I wrote on Citron Oolong, but to summarize – light, refreshing, citrusy, with a hint of Fruity Pebbles/Froot Loops. The flavor comes through more at the back of my tongue, and if I can suck in air over the liquid. Very similar to Adagio’s Citron Green, but not nearly as mouth drying, so I like it better for it.

I had been thinking about ordering some Citron Oolong, but I held off this time and I’m glad I did, because this tea also runs quite a bit cheaper [$14.75 for 4 oz. of Orange Blossom vs. $19.50]. Any differences between the two are so negligible to me that it can’t justify the near $5 difference. Bumping Citron Oolong down and having this one take its place.

The leaves are beautiful with black and gold interspersed. The tea itself is black as coffee but smells like resin and what I have come to identify as the elusive malty fragrance and something else. It tastes marvelous with notes of caramel, cocoa, malt, and sweet tea. It is what I need this morning before my run.

I cold brewed this in the fridge, and… WOW, the ginger was strong. It was like GINGER and hibiscus. Theoretically there are other flavors in there, but prepared that way, that’s all I could taste. I couldn’t finish the glass. Yuck.

Drinkable when hot, so I’m only sliding the rating a touch. Still… I’m kinda glad that I finished the package of this one.

The combination of ginger and orange is very… interesting. There are other ingredients/flavors listed (like hibiscus, which is definitely showing up in the color) but they aren’t coming out in the taste.

I’ll probably try this one cold before making my final decision on it. The ginger could make it very refreshing… but right now it’s a “will not purchase”.

Amazing Chai. I prepared this the “traditional” way according to the instructions Rishi gave. I put 2 tablespoons of tea in a pot and then put 1.5 cups water and then 1 cup of whole milk. I put the heat on low and let it come to a small boil.
Last time I used sweetened condensed milk for a sweetener but thought I’d try something different this time. I used German rock cane sugar which I thought was significantly better than using sweetened condensed milk. It didn’t taint the flavor as the SCM did. From now on I won’t use SCM in this tea ever again, unless that’s all I have.
Note to make it better next time: Keep the heat low (about 2) and let it boil at that heat to be steep it longer for a more full chai flavor.

I don’t like most chai teas I drink, but this one was superb. I followed the “traditional” method of brewing this tea. I put 3 tablespoons of tea into tea bags (leaving it loose gave me a hassle) and then put the tea into a small pot and boiled water (1.5 cups) and milk (1 cup). It gave me two servings. After it reached a boil the milk started to foam I let it simmer for a few minutes. It was bitter, probably from sitting in the water and milk for so long, so I added sweetened condensed milk as a sweetener and really enjoyed it. It was better than any other chai latte I’ve ever had. I’m yet to try it as a plain tea. But I’ll try it and log that next.

Grassier than I remembered, but just what I need.

I do like this. It’s not bitter at all; very mellow, as the description says, and I’m getting more of the toasty undertones this time. I’m just having a tough time with green teas lately. I really, really want to love them, but I haven’t found one that’s blown me away yet (other than my beloved Stash Mangosteen Green with Matcha).

Very sweet, basic green.

Ever since I read Rishi’s description of this, which includes the phrase “raisin sugar,” that’s all I can think of when I drink this tea. Which works, because that’s exactly what this tastes like to me. Bumping the rating a bit.