Rishi Tea

The latest batch of this tea is quite different than what I’ve had before. This time it’s a much darker roast and the sweetness and floral notes are gone. I noticed Rishi harvests this tea in the spring (optimal) and winter. This is likely from the winter crop and could explain the flavor difference.

This delicately flavored tea has been steadily creeping to the top of my rotation. For a while I’ve been on a green/floral oolong kick after being turned off by some of the overroasted batches of other oolong varieties like Wuyi. This tea falls squarely in the middle of the oolong spectrum, combining the best characteristics of light roasts with its pronounced floral notes and sweetness along with the smooth, roasted flavor of a darker roast.

I usually do 3 infusions of this tea in a guywan. Roughly 3/4 tsp per 5 oz of water at steep times of 4, 6, and 7 minutes respectively. Steeping longer on subsequent infusions yields an even deeper flavor.

Thank you for the sample cookies!

This is interesting…tart and a little sweet from the wine and earthy from the puerh. I preferred the 2nd cup I made which I lightly sweetened, which means this is not going on my shopping list even though I enjoyed it! (don’t like to sweeten my teas regularly)

Backlog:

A strong cinnamon-y scent. I also smell notes of licorice and hints of fruit. The fruit note is rather indistinct, it doesn’t necessarily smell of “plum” or “currants.” It just smells like fruit.

I’m glad it doesn’t taste too hibiscus-y. It tastes mostly of cinnamon: a sweet, warm cinnamon note. This isn’t overly tart. There is a balance between sweet and tart with warm notes and I enjoy that balance of flavors.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/10/03/cinnamon-plum-caffeine-free-herbal-blend-from-rishi-tea/

Thank you, Veronica, for including a sample of this in the Christmas card! I did not follow the directions and only dumped half into the teapot (directions call for 1 tbs – yipes).

I never would have thought to try this on my own. Not much of a ginger fan unless it’s in tea with plenty of other ingredients, and I’m hesitant about shou in blends.

Here, the shou is earthy and smooth – not much else going on. The ginger adds a good kick. It’s an odd combo but works. A very nice winter tea! Especially when it’s overcast booooooooooo.

Sipdown!

I got this in the Overboard TTB. I’m really going to miss it. It’s not something I craved often, but it was a nice treat when I had it. Very smooth and rich tasting. I may need to put in an order with Rishi eventually just to get more of this.

In other news, I put in an order with Herbal Infusions two weeks ago and haven’t gotten the package yet. I know it needs to cross the border, but that still seems like a long wait. I looked at some of the recent reviews for the company and it sounds like other people have ended up waiting quite a while for their shipments. I really hope it gets here soon so I can add a few things to the TTB I’ll be sending out in February.

Overboard TTB.

This seems like a pretty good introduction to Puerh. The liquor is a deep brown with a bit of burgundy to it. The flavor is very rich and smooth, with a bit of tart fruitiness at the beginning of the sip, and a lingering taste of wine at the end. It tastes surprisingly decadent, and very well-rounded. This definitely makes me even more interested in trying some other puerh teas.

From Day 2
Amanda SoggyEnderman Wilson’s Tea Advnt Calendar.
I love Oolongs and this one is not disappointing.
1st steep A light floral with a tiny bit of roasted notes. Yum! Very calming.
2nd steep floral and roasted fruit with a slight green hay note. Very pleasant and calming, like a warm Spring breeze. Not to be too descriptive, but it reminds me of how the air smells when it is being heated up by the sun. The light floral,roasted fruity earthy smell mixed with hay.

It appears I underleafed this. It was missing the figgyness I had hoped for, but I do think it will come out more when I read the directions before eyeballing an amount that wasn’t even correct. The “earthiness” here was really comforting. It reminded me of hiking through the woods. The bit of fruit/fig flavor made it seem like an abnormally cool summer day in said woods. I liked it, but I am definitely looking forward to steeping the correct amount. I’ll withhold my rating until then.

I’m trying not to get sick, but some of those presick symptoms of congestion, tiny cough, and a slightly sore throat are starting to pop up. I wanted a tea that I thought might help that and luckily I have a sample of this kicking around that I picked up in bulk at Central Market grocery store! This tea is really hitting the spot right now. I can taste the tumeric, which compliments the ginger quite well. The ginger is pretty strong and there is a sweetness that comes on at the end of the sip with some orange and I’m attributing the sweet to licorice root. This is such a weird savory and sweet combo that I’m really digging right now. This is a sip down, but I’m feeling like I should keep this on hand for those sick or almost sick times when I want something more complex than my usual go to plain ginger drink.

Tea Advent Calendar, Day 2

http://instagram.com/p/wHc36xgyTc/

I decided to do this one gongfu cha in my gaiwan. I’m so glad I did.

I love watching oolong in the rinse. The leaves just floating, barely open.
http://instagram.com/p/wHdSMDgyWP/

They open much more after the rinse in the first infusion
http://instagram.com/p/wHeNDZgybu/

Slightly roasty, rather sweet, quite tasty, and it lasted through many, many infusions. It lasted a lot longer than I thought it would.

If I could get this one, I would have it again.

Well, this is delicious. Strong, spicy and heavy on cardamom – my only complaint is that the flavor of black tea gets a little lost. I’ve tried brewing this on the stovetop, according to the directions on the package (substituting almond milk and Stevia), as well as a regular method (one rounded tbsp, just under boiling water, steep for 3 1/2 minutes). Stovetop is better, but I usually don’t have the time or patience, and both ways work for me.

Really impressed.

The 2nd steep for me is love like a chubby kid and biscuits. Like he wants to stop for health benefits but the addiction is too high and he cant simply stop on his own. So what does he do? he calls for help. That’s right. He found the magic conch and called the sea gods to have them explain the addiction of SB. What they told him changed his life forever… But yea strong grassy taste which i enjoy.

Do you all know that today is National Comfort Food day? To celebrate I am curled up on the couch under some covers with a good book, a huge mug of this delightful malty brew, and an even bigger bowl of some steaming hot curried lentil and carrot soup. My kind of holiday!

Rishi is one of the selected loose leaf companies my local grocery store carries, so every once in a while I’ll wander from the bulk tea section and check out if they have anything interesting to offer. Last week I stumbled upon this one which I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise, but it was on sale (I’m such a sucker) so of course I took it home with me. I got around to trying it a day so later and immediately went back and picked up two more boxes while it was still on sale (again, what a sucker).

This is the type of Assam I really adore. Malty and sweet, but not so sweet that it seems more like a Yunnan. Just enough to counter the touch of astringency . There’s not all that much to say about it. It’s just a really nice hearty classic Assam. Even with ever-changing preferences, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of theses types of teas.

I should note that I think this is the tea I got. My boxes only say Assam rather than Golden Assam. However the golden tips are plentiful and there is no plain Assam listed here or on Rishi’s website. So I think I’m putting this in the correct spot.

This was probably the most expensive tea by weight of any of the bulk teas from Central Market, but it’s so lightweight that you can try it out fairly cheap. I brewed mine as per the instructions and used my iron kettle to rock and pour the kukicha to bring out all the flavor. Honestly, I get the smooth, thick, umami thing from this like they suggest, but it reminded me of spinach water. Like, if you drain the water from steamed spinach and drink that, that’s this tea. Not a bad thing. I sort of enjoyed it. You could definitely drink this with a meal.

Another sipdown way up high in the sky!