Rishi Tea

One of the best oolongs that I have ever had. This stuff is great—floral, creamy, fruity.

I think I prefer it Western, but I haven’t made the time to do it much gong fu.

Rishi is a brand I don’t recall having, but glad I gave them a shot.Their packaging was beautiful. There’s a deal for something like 20% off for first time orders and free shipping on $49+ orders for anyone interested.

I’ll try to get my other reviews of their teas up soon too.

The ginger smells amazing with the citrus, and the hibiscus is not overpowering but soft. I was concerned I wouldn’t like this tea, because I’m not real big on the flowery kind, but this surprised me! I also love how pretty it is in the cup— a deep pinky orange. I put in 1/2 teaspoon white sugar to give a little sweetness. 10/10

Honestly? Not bad but incredibly forgettable. The licorice and generic chai spices stand out, but this is not very minty and I don’t get vanilla. Glad I tried it, but considering a lot of the other Rishi teas I was looking at also had licorice, I’m almost glad I didn’t pick any others up.

Mushrooms and damp attics. Dark as coffee and similar strength, too. Taste is smoother than the scent but still extremely earthy. I couldn’t separate it from vegetation in my brain so though I finished the cup I don’t think it’s one I’ll drink often. It definitely fills all the check boxes for a standard Pu-erh though.

Belated posting of a tea I drank a few weeks ago.

Drinking this with cream and manuka honey. Really really good. The cream calms the bergamot down and the taste becomes a rich orange caramel. Beautiful, and without the harsh edge that sometimes bergamot delivers.

I don’t tend to drink Earl Grey all that often, but after my recent surprise delight with DT’s Cream of Earl Grey when I added milk or cream, I reached for this one as I have a bit of cream on hand—just briefly, before I go back to my usual non-dairy existence.

Now that I am back home again after my really lovely in-town vacation while staying at my friend’s place, my teas are once again in disarray. While staying at my friend’s place, I had a ridiculous number of teas with me, seriously ridiculous. Those teas are still in the bags I had transported them in, all a jumble of green, black, fruit, herbal, rooibos, honeybush, oolong. My home teas are in a different kind of chaos, what with packing and moving and prepping for a swap, so yeah. I discovered the box of generous samples from teabento waiting for me, but I am feeling a bit too pooped at the moment to evaluate and do the new teas justice.

So, a long-winded way to this tea now. It’s good. Plenty of bergamot. The base is ok. The cream I added buffered any rough edges that may have been here, though I have had this tea a number of times black and unsweetened and it was fine that way too. It’s a good Earl Grey. What else is there to add?

Recent lot/blend (9/2017). Short brews. Seems to brew dark, not opaque but 15 seconds was plenty of time to get good extraction for the first couple pours. Starts woody, flavors of potting soil, loam, fresh tree bark, with some sappyness, not sweet but rich, with a thick liquor. A lot of forest floor wo dui but not the smoke aspect that loose leaf commodity shu can have. Cert. Organic which is nice. Neither the best nor the worst, a totally acceptable, pleasant, prototypical tea. As others have noted, this is not the single best vintage stored in the absolute best conditions, that is out there if you want it, but if you are open to trying teas, learning brands, experiencing tea as it is, this is a good shu for the money. Great shu for meals.

Instant energy and obviously best ever tea I have ever dink.

Fruity, sweet, smooth and cheerful red color when brewed. I was so excited to find this tea, because my friend visited South Africa and came back raving about drinking rooibos tea with milk while she was over there. My only experiences with rooibos up to this point had been with heavily flavored fruity concoctions, which are usually not my cup of tea (groaaan, haha). But I resolved to give it a try and WOW, wow. This tea is great straight, with honey, or with milk. It plays well with other tisanes in blends that I improvise with lavender, mint, and chamomile. I like a pretty strong, long steep of it, and it does do well for a second (slightly longer) infusion. Plus, I feel so virtuous when I drink it, having read about all of its vitamins and health benefits. Bonus! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone, even if (maybe especially if?) you’ve never liked all the various fruity and very sweet rooibos blends out there.

Really wondrous smell and color, so smooth and warm tasting, not overly cinnamon-y

The packaging of the Rishi Pu-erh Ginger is absolutely beautiful. There’s no doubt that the natural brown and black ink print of a flower garden seems to reflect and project its degradable quality and eco-friendliness. The ingredients are also all organic, which just somehow feels good. The flavour… Despite boasting strong spiced ginger, which I find an absolute delight, this blend also contains quite a distinct lemon note, which becomes particularly strong when combined with honey. I’m really not a fan. On the upside, I can totally imagine this being perfect if you had a really snotty head cold. The ginger would open your sinuses, the lemon (and honey should you add it) would sooth your throat and the deep earthy tea serving to relax.

For more www.TastetheTea.co.uk

I expected a more pronounced seaweedy taste from Sencha, but this one was more on the mellow side. Quite pleasant aroma and smooth buttery taste

My first loose leaf oolong at home. Very nice. Rich and grassy. Bright. Sweet. Nutty.

GCTTB Round 6

So this is a pu’erh, but it contains cocoa shells and cinnamon bark.

The little pyramid it came in smells minty fresh, I’m not too sure about the chocolate flavour. There is definitely cinnamon though.

I brewed it for 4 minutes (5-7 recommended) in hot water until the brew was very dark black and smelled delicious. As for taste, I’m getting mint and cinnamon banana bread. It really reminds me of something fresh out of the oven. The pu’erh base isn’t very present because it is overpowered by the cinnamon/baked goods/mint, but I think it tastes a bit woody/barky, and dark, but without being bitter at all. All in all, it is actually fairly smooth. I don’t taste any chocolate, and the cinnamon is leaving a sickly sweet aftertaste in the back of my mouth.

I happened upon this one at my local tea shop this afternoon. I’ve been experiencing the GI joys of diverticulitis and recently read that green tea can be helpful for that condition. Green tea seems to be quite the panacea, effective for a multitude of miseries.
What a wonderful medicinal – No spoonful of sugar needed to help this medicine go down!

The dry leaf smell is sweet and mildly floral. As the tea steeps the aroma is very strongly evocative of oolong. The flavor too suggests oolong, along with floral notes of chrysanthemums and wildflower blossoms with a bit of honey. There is a mild vegetal note – Just enough to remind you that it’s a green tea you’re drinking.
I was a little leery about the 190F brewing temperature, but no bitterness. I used 3 generous teaspoonfuls for a 16 ounce pot and steeped for four minutes.

Yunnan Orchid Green is a lovely green tea – One of the very best I’ve had. My tummy feels better already.

This was a gift, so I decided to brew the “legendary ancient tree” mini tuocha! The little guy is massively compressed with a slight earth coffee tone and some fungal aroma. I warmed my gaiwan and popped it inside. The pebble opens with some sweet cherry, dark cocoa, wet moss, petrichor, and a background of vanilla. I washed the leaf twice and picked at it, so I could begin brewing. The body is surprisingly full with earth and fungal tones. A light sweetness lingers on the palate. The brew is intensely dark. A strong woody tone comes out along with a bit of fruit. The tea is decent, but it is very basic. The inky drink continues with this earthy body and dry astringency for the rest of the session. The qi is warming and hot towards the head and stomach, but it stops there. Also, the leaves have a bit of green/ish in them. This was an average session, but I think these would be good for traveling.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDyyxdEzGSK/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I liked this one hot but once it had cooled to room temp it wasn’t nearly as good. Definite blueberry taste and scent. One that I will drink for sure and probably replace when I run out of it. Fruity.

This one snuck up on me. Co-worker gave a bag to me months before. I finally decided to try it but couldn’t remember where I got it from. Only said Rishi on the bag with no identifying type on it. I brewed it and loved it. Love the bluberry, loved the whole flavor combination. Fruity, smells lovely, and caffeine free so I can drink it any time. For sure not for someone who is a green or black purist.