Rishi Tea

well, i ran out of my favorite jasmine pearls, so in the meantime i picked up a tin of this at World Market – not quite as good as i was hoping, but definitely serviceable. as someone else noticed, this will give you your Jasmine Fix, if that’s what you need. Quite pleasant, and because it is so unobtrusive, will probably make a fabulous all-day-long tea.

I always love genmaicha, but this one had a bit more rice flavor than I wanted. I also felt like it took an unusually long time to steep. Still, a nice tea at a reasonable price.

made ma a strong cup this morning got crazy bizy before i realized that i had not drank it….added ice and a half of cup of almond milk and now i am in spicy,cinnamon heaven

Before I drank “real” tea, my hot beverages of choice were brewed from a few varieties of herbal unsweetened teabags from Yogi tea. Lemon Ginger was among my top three favorites. Translate that flavor combination to a loose leaf blend with a much higher price tag (theoretically correlating to freshness and quality), and it seems that my expectations grew with every minute of steep time.

And that was my lesson: watch those expectations. Whether positive (as in this example) or negative (such as dreading a family gathering), expectations get in the way of simply allowing something to be what it is.

Because really, this tea was fine. It was me that tried to shape it instead of appreciating it for what it is. No off flavors. Nothing overpowering. Lightly flavored: I first brewed 1 heaping tsp with 8oz of water, and then after seeing that Rishi recommended a full tbsp, brewed as directly. Seems like that would have made a big difference, but I didn’t notice much.

The ginger is apparent (though I wouldn’t consider it spicy by any means). There’s some lime; it’s neither tart nor fragrant. Its quietness surprises me, since West Indian Lime seems to be used predominantly as a fragrance, and since the ingredient list also contains lemongrass and lemon myrtle. But perhaps Rishi was going for a quiet, balanced blend. Another ingredient, licorice root, is also subtle in this cup — seemingly adding only the slightest sweetness and its flavor nearly undetectable even to this fan of tisanes containing licorice. I would not have known that the blend includes green rooibos, perhaps because I am new to rooibos. At the end I added a couple spoonfuls of simple syrup, and somewhat predictably I found that to increase my enjoyment.

Curious what my tastebuds would think of it now, the aforementioned Yogi Lemon Ginger became my next cup. Far more flavorful and entirely tasty — still quite a pleasant cup, despite a “best before” date of October 2014. It’s bright, spicy, and naturally sweet, since this blend also includes licorice root (and evidently a larger amount and/or more potent source). The peppermint leaf and black pepper, both near the bottom of the ingredient list, are barely there — I doubt I would have been able to place them without having read the label. There are plenty of teas that captivate me now, but I’ll hang on to these old teabags, especially for those times when I’m sniffling or away from home.

I have a cupboard full of fruit teas so I decided to try something different this time. This ginseng tea is sweet and warm. Not quite honey sweet but closer to licorice. I taste an earthy undertone, especially when it cools down. I guess that’s the ginseng I’m tasting. Very interesting.

I got this as a sample ages ago. It brews rather dark, and has that smoky oolong smell. Which I haven’t really decided how I feel about, yet. It really does brew dark—like, black. I’ve never seen a tea take to the dark side so quickly. lol

I’ve discovered you can make a Wishlist with Yunnan Sourcing. That’s dangerous. The only reason I don’t buy heaps of tea from them is because shipping is so much (it’s like they’re shipping from China or something—sheesh!) and I usually only buy one or two teas at a time. It’s hard to justify it when shipping is just about as much as your tea. Oh, wishlist, I was really going to have a tea budget this year…

Oh, wow, this is complex. It’s floral, and I can taste the green in it. It has its own sweetness. That silly oolong smell always freaks me out. Because it always smells more roasted/smoked than it tastes, so I get all nervous, “Am I really going to like this?” and then it’s just delicious anyway.

The fruit-taste is very mild in this, it’s not overpowering. I love it. :D

Got to use my new… what do they call it? “Digger wimble” haha! to put the tea leaves from my strainer back into my teapot, rather than my fingers. And my new tea cloth is awesome because I am soooo messy—especially when I’m filling my teapot because I’m trying so desperately to get all of the tea leaves off the edges.

This tea is very yummy. :)

I tend to let my tea bag just stay in the cup till I finish it and then add more hot water. I’ve been trying to drink more green tea and this one becomes more bitter the longer it sits. On the second cup is a lot more mild and enjoyable. I didn’t add anything to this one.

I love this tea with a half tsp of rock sugar. The flavor isn’t particularly mint or vanilla, but the vanilla gives a light sweetness on its own and the mint leaves a refreshing aftertaste. It also smells very nice. I don’t think you can go wrong with Rishi.

nope. NOPE. nope. this is weird. I thought it wouldn’t be too bad, but there’s something in here (omg says licorice) that makes this sweet and weird tasting. it starts out as a decent sort of herbal, hibby blend and then it’s just…nope. something about it just turns the blend for me….oh there it is. ingredient listing online says licorice root. BOOOOOOOOOO! no one seems to be able to balance it in blends these days, which is unfortunate because in small doses, i don’t mind it.

Final Count: 140

(Ingredients: Organic rooibos, organic hibiscus flowers, organic sarsaparilla root, organic lemongrass, organic rosehips, organic licorice root, natural passion fruit flavor, essential orange oil, organic orange peel, natural pineapple and mango flavors.)

mmmm sad to see this one go – found the sweet spot with this one with just a tiny bit of sugar added to the cup. Just enough to cut the tartness and bring out the other flavours. Thanks for this one omgsrsly

one from omgsrsly that i don’t mind. I like hibby, and this one is sort of like a blueberry hibby blend, that isn’t really blueberry like at all. lol. I know, not terribly helpful but it’s an almost muted sort of blend when you factor in how much hibiscus is in it, and that makes it interesting and enjoyable for me in a different sort of way than your typical hibby blend.

Not my favorite tea but I don’t dislike it either. I probably would not buy this tea again. It is a bit tart so I mix it with other teas that might need something. I like to mix it with a wegmans just white tea which added a little something to it to make me like it better.

The first thing that hit me was GRASS. Fresh-cut grass. It tastes good, it’s smooth, not bitter, very full and robust. It won’t replace Rishi’s Jasmine Pearl or Genmaicha as my favorite everyday green tea, but it’s nice for something different on occasion.

This is also one of my favorite teas. I love the smell of the tea when I pour hot water over it. The peach taste is warm and inviting.

This is my favorite tea so far. Since I am new to the tea brewing scene I might not know about how long to steep or how hot to make the water, but I end up steeping for 5 or more minute and use boiling water. I enjoy this tea with any meal or by itself, but only as hot tea because I do not like the taste of cold teas. I would definitely recommend this tea to anyone and will also keep buying this tea for a long time.

Ooh! Actually pretty decent hot with 1 rock of sugar.

Thanks for the idea, Sil! :)

Not really getting orange OR mango from this. It honestly just tastes like a generic berry tea, heavy on the hibiscus.

Not bad, but not one I’d get again.

(Cold brew overnight.)

Not bad, not great. Too astringent to stand on its own. Cream and sugar enhances the rest of it, and I’ve had better offerings from Rishi. I definitely got the caramel note they described it with, but that’s after two minutes. Otherwise malty, bitter sweet, woody, and astringent. Your usual English Breakfast, really, and a tad overpriced.

I am schocked to see the low score this tea has.

I drink it every morning on an empty stomach.

An entirely drinkable work horse pu.