Rishi Tea

So one of the perks of working in customer service, especially front desk as in my current employment, is that you actually get to know people. Well enough that people now ask me how many teas I brought to work today (one day I had at least 6 of my Timolinos lined up at the front to make a gorgeous rainbow – people kept asking if they were for sale… :P DavidsTea should really be paying me for this advertising, since I keep directing people there to buy them if interested…). Anyhow, one of the regular ladies apparently also quite likes tea! And gets her brother to bring tea over (by the carton) from the US when he visits. This is one of her favourites, so she brought me an individually-wrapped teabag to try out. I was super curious, because I’ve read quite a bit about turmeric tea in the last while, but haven’t bothered to try it quite yet – so this was my chance!

Now to the tea – the teabag was one of those silken types, and had I more time, I probably would have transferred it to an infuser, but I was in a rush, because work. Anyways, it was yellow and powdery from the turmeric, and powerfully gingery. Steeped, it smelled kind of herbally, and I was kind of concerned about how the flavour would be… with good reason, because honestly, it was a bit strange. EXCEPT! Omg, the aftertaste. I don’t normally like licorice root, but combined with the ginger in this tea, it was so good. It took a few seconds to hit, but when it did, it was powerfully sweet and gingery before fading into a lingering sweetness. I will admit to gulping the tea solely for the aftertaste, so I really didn’t savour it at all. It wasn’t objectionable, though, just fairly boring other than that lovely, perfect ginger sweetness. A resteep brought out more ginger, and the sweetness was still good, but 2 infusions was probably enough for that teabag.

Overall, if you’re drinking this to sip, it’s maybe a bit boring. If you’re going for health properties and/or the ginger sweetness? Probably a good choice.

A good green Sencha if you like to taste/smell how green it is. My first attempt was with recommended serving size. I could only finish half the cup ick. Second attempt I went down to 1tsp for 1 mug of water. A dab of honey added and mmmm amazingly opposite experience! I was able to steep the same leaves twice also which was nice. Still get some green notes to it with a light vegetable type aroma but it combines well and isn’t over-powering. Moral of the story? Great tea if you find the proper balance.

I had this tea the Briar Rose Bed and Breakfast this morning. I picked it from their ‘wall of tea’ because of the way it smelled; blueberry yogurt, but in a good way. Little did I know it had hibiscus in it. I knew I should have gone with the genmaicha!

Ah well, I had an amazing stay at this BnB and enjoyed the rest of my breakfast. Maybe I will ask for their kukicha later :)

Grape-y flavors accompanied by some spice notes. A light, but not overpowering astringency. A great morning tea to get you up and moving. If I brew it right it can have an effervescent sensation like a sparkling wine.

I picked up a bag of this at the local coffee shop. The bag itself is nice. Nicer than the paper bags of other teas. That’s the best thing about this tea. It was bitter to me. I might have steeped it too long. I drank half a cup and brewed a second, this time with a little honey. That made it much better. Consiering how much tea I have, I won’t bother with this one again.

I met the gals at a new coffee shop called “Beans” for knitting this afternoon, and they had a small selection of bagged teas by Numi and Rishi. I decided to pick up a couple of bags (because, ya know, I don’t have enough tea!) I’d been told that turmeric was good for nasal polyps, so I chose this one and the Yunnan Breakfast tea. I made this one for my evening cup. I’m honestly not sure what I think of it. The mouthful starts out a little tangy, and turns almost sickeningly sweet. Like lemon and honey cough syrup. The sweet lingers on the tongue after I swallow. I’ll finish the cup, but I’m not going to re-steep, and I don’t plan to buy this one again. Although I will say my nose is slightly clearer. I could suck on a Halls cough drop for the same effect.

Having this tea for breakfast this morning! Seemed appropriate. Smooth and malty, with a bit of acidity and astringincy as the cup cools. Very nice. :)

Addendum: Second steeping (6min) was milder and sweeter, with a bit of minerality.

I do not often have a white tea in my stash. I don’t really know why that is but I do know that I worry about the temperature as I have yet to find a tea thermometer. I just had to pick this one up during my last visit to The London Tea Room as Peonies are my favorite flower.

I took the kettle off the burner right before it was going to start boiling. I then took off the lid and opened the spout as I prepared my teapot (which is fast becoming my favorite way to steep). I do not know the temperature that it would have ended up at, but I didn’t want it boiling temperature when I poured it over the leaves. It took a whole spoonful of sugar, per cup, for this to be tasty to me. I think it is the astringency that was masking the flavor for me. Overall, it is a beautiful tea. Not a bad way to start my night of relaxing (finally!).

This may have to become a staple in my cupboard. I find myself reaching for it most mornings. Again, not a lot of mint in the cup but that little bit at the end to keep things interesting.

Had this one this morning again. It’s really growing on me. Just that tiny bit of mint at the end of the sip. It is gentle but has enough caffeine to help get me going in the mornings.

Again, wishing this had more mint in it but this is actually a really good tea. It is also one that I can make a whole kettle’s worth of and the boyfriend and I will split it. Good tea to start a hopefully relaxing afternoon :)

I wish this had more of a minty flavor. Maybe this cup ended up with less of it? Or I am used to the excessively leafed peppermint the boyfriend prepares. This is better with sugar. It is nice to have something minty with a bit of caffeine.

The name of this tea is really a misnomer. I love orange blossom but alas this tea has no discernable orange blossom flavor nor are there orange flowers in the ingredients. It tastes mostly of lemongrass. There is a citrusy note in there and a hint of tangerine and that’s about it. Very similar to Rishi’s Chamomile Medley and Starbucks Tazo green tea. Not a bad tasting tea, but not as advertised.

Smells and tastes like a thai green curry amazing vegetal creamy sweetness slight citrus lemongrass sour tang. Honestly cant say much more thai green curry is the exact image I get in my head. Of course accompanied by that gaoshan heavy dose of theanine for extra relaxation.

Not something I could drink everyday but I would easily pay $5-10 for a bunch of small sample bags to pop open when the time is right.

I know that saying this tea tastes very green is silly, but it does. Nice flavor without bitterness.

I love this tea for being both robust and soothing. If steeped too long, it has a bit of a burnt toast aftertaste, but I do love it. Makes a brilliant latte with plain almond milk.

This remains my favorite chamomile blend of all time. It’s an easy to drink tea that will win over even chamomile haters. This tea is full of bright herbaceous flavor and citrus in perfect harmony with high quality chamomile flowers. There’s a natural sweetness and lingering spearmint aftertaste. The second steep (add 1 minute) is good too.

This is a great steeping stone to straight chamomile and excellent night time tea.

Hmmm….the dry leaf smells sort of similar to a Fuzzy Navel. But, the taste is almost all orange/tangerine to me. I’ll have to try this one again to see if I can taste more of the peach. As is, it was good but not at all what I expected or wanted when I opened the package. I’ll reserve my rating til I’ve tried it again.

Got this one as a Christmas gift. It’s a dark roasted oolong. I got two dark oolong’s for Christmas and usually the light oolongs are my favourites.

Anyway, I brewed it up this morning according to the directions from Rishi. It’s a pretty strong tea with rich roasted graininess and a bit of sweetness. Shared it with Hubby this morning. It was pleasant enough but even on the 2nd infusion I couldn’t detect any orchid notes that they claim is there. Maybe as it becomes weaker with each infusion , orchid notes might come out. There definitely was raisin notes.

Even though this tea is good, I don’t think this is the type of tea I will reach for very often.