Rishi Tea

Gah, Rishi, NO! No hibiscus! That is what I hate about so many fruity teas, they feel the need to hibiscus it. Luckily they didn’t overdo it, but it would be nice if they (grocery store tea “they”) didn’t depend on it. The oolong is less prominent than in the Rishi peach I just had. The aftertaste is vaguely plum like and it also has a mild sweetness to it, like the peach. Very unexciting.

As I scooped out some tea, hibiscus was spotted. Crap! I steeped it anyways and was pleased to see the water turn to only a slight pink hue. I can taste the hibiscus, but it seems to be used in the rare measurement of moderation here! There is a sweetness at the back of each sip and a nice oolong base. I’m not necessarily getting peach from this tho, maybe a little on the aftertaste. As it cools the hibiscus becomes more prominent. Boo! It could probably do with a little sweetener at this point, but I may just gulp down the cup to get it over with instead. Not bad, but far from spectacular. Definitely not a rebuy.

It’s really difficult to beat Golden Moon’s Coconut Oolong. This is the closest to being as good, but still, not there. There’s suppose to be pineapple in the blend, but I don’t taste much of it. The coconut flavor reminds me more of coconut water than the meat itself. I prefer a toasted coconut taste if I have to pick. This makes for an excellent iced tea.

May need to play around with steep time and leave quantity. Could be better if I get the right balance. Bitter first go.

Color me impressed. This is really nice. It has a fair amount of malt and sweetness to it. What I really like about it is how smooth and thick it feels. For a tea bag tea this is amazing. It’s also a nice change from the other breakfast teas in my cupboard.

Yet another tea I can see myself getting more of. This one I’d love to have on hand for when I travel.

A very smooth oolong with a hint of coconut. For awhile I was trying to figure out why the coconut in this tea seemed different then others and then I realized its because it reminds me of a freshly opened coconut.

From the HHTTB2

This is a pretty good Earl Grey. There’s lots of bergamot and lots of lavender. The two flavors are well balanced against each other, but they are both so strong that I can’t taste the base tea. I can say there was no bitterness to my cup, and the tea was very smooth. I just wish the tea itself had more of a presence.

Someone brought this in while I was at work (Teavana, felt so bad trying other teas) but my god was it amazing. My co-worker also steeped it with some soy milk and I think I almost died. Must get.

From CANTB

A slightly sweet and vegetal green with a strong, but not overwhelming amount of jasmine. It’s not quite as immersive as I like my jasmine, and doesn’t quite live up to the ‘experience not a taste’ feeling that I get with some of my favorites.

Even so, I could see this as being a more inexpensive fix to my serious need-of-jasmine problem.

A minty chai! This is pretty tasty. The mint is sweet, and there is definitely licorice in here, but it doesn’t dominate the tea. There is also a fair bit of ginger which is nice and warming. Overall I really like this one.

From the HHTTB2

I didn’t pay super close attention to this tea while I was drinking it because I was reading other people’s tea notes while sipping. What I can say is this is good and fairly spicy. It reminds me a lot of DT’s North African Mint. Also, this tea sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar is excellent with Smartfood’s White Cheddar Popcorn. Seriously good.

The directions said to steep in boiling water, but I waited a few minuets for the water to cool since there is green tea in the blend. I think steeping in boiling water would cause the tea to go bitter fairly quickly.

Every spring I try to order Sencha Sakura. This year i chose Rishi and I do not regret it: the sweetness of Sencha mixes well with the subtle floral notes. It also helps that I have a brand new tea corner :http://www.pinterest.com/pin/50313720811653877/

Cast iron tea pot from adagio teas. Cherry blossom branches from my local flower shop. Vase from IKEA. Vintage Japanese print book (Utamaro). Cup from http://www.teavana.com and large print from Lost Meridiem Productions https://www.etsy.com/listing/186864488/ready-to-hang-canvas-print-12-x-18-nyc?ref=shop_home_active_7

The scent of this Shou Pu-erh is very sweet and reminds me of sweet dried summer grasses and other dried botanicals.

The liquor is very dark, deep brown. The brewed flavor is very mellow and sweet with date and hazelnut notes. There is much more mellow sweetness to this tea at first than earthiness, so it brews very mild and enjoyable. The second steep was a little more dark and earthy with cocoa notes and a lingering sweetness toward the end, less sweet up front. In later steepings there are tobacco and molasses flavors and the sweetness becomes more evident again throughout the cup.

Overall this is a very nice tea. I have been slowly encountering more Rishi teas since I work at a store that sells them and while I haven’t exactly been wowed yet, I am usually pleasantly surprised by the quality.

This is a well balanced spiced chai. Some chais have too much of a certain spice that I don’t care for and I’m not sure what it is. I personally like it but my Chai loving husband was not impressed. I would get it again next time I’m at a Whole Foods that has it in a bulk bin in order to experiment more with it.

I’ve had this tea in my cabinet for about 8 or 9 months now. On my first review of it I gave it a pretty low rating. Then I tried to swap it. Nobody wanted it. So it sat in my cabinet. So I’ve been thinking of just throwing it out but thought I’d give it another try. I’ve been using multiple pre-steeps on my pu-erh teas that has been working out quite nicely. Usually 10, 10, 15, 20 & 25 sec before I even drink a cup. With this I did 10,10 & 15 and threw it away. I figured too many steeps beforehand would wash away the bordeax flavour. So I brewed the 4th steep at 20s. It is actually quite good. The grape/red wine taste is very subtle , a light earthiness, sweet fig notes. Okay, back in the cupboard it goes. Lesson learned. You don’t like a tea- Try ALL different brewing methods before throwing away.

I can’t believe I didn’t even taste the red wine flavour in my other review! This cup is delicious!

I bought this tea in January and have had it before but just leaving a review now. This shows tea in teabags but my tea is loose. It smells just like Bordeaux wine in the bag. Brewed up , I only taste Pu-erh. It’s okay. Not a bad pu-erh but I was disappointed, no wine flavour.

I don’t know if this is the same as the Rishi Pu-erh Vanilla Mint as this does have peppermint. The package calls it Pu-erh Vanilla. I haven’t had pu-erh before much less with added flavors so I can’t tell much about the pu-erh flavor. It isn’t in a pressed cake so again I couldn’t judge the quality at all. The only time I smelled a pu-erh , it was rather musty and and unappealing to me. I decided to be bold and brave and try this one. (All of the above are disclaimers to let you know that I know nothing about this tea.)
It came loose leaf in a foil pack inside a box. Smelled good with the additional flavors added. Strongly vanilla in the first sniff. After brewing the liquor was very dark, almost like coffee. Drinking it I definitely sense the vanilla, with a nice light mint after taste. There might be a bit of licorice flavor but it seems well balanced with the mint so it is very unobtrusive. Very enjoyable tea. Energizing, but not like my beloved chocolate yerba mate. I will drink this tea easily and keep it in-stock. BTW, Is this supposed to be kept refrigerated?

I like sencha but I love bancha. I didn’t think much of this one until a particularly hot summer day inspired me to cold-brew it. With no expectations, I took my first sip.

Wow. At low temperatures (8°C / 45°F), this tea is a totally different experience.

No astringency, no bitterness— just the aromas of toasted rice, dried grass and sugarcane, followed by a delayed but pronounced mouth-smacking sweetness that lingers on my gums and tongue for several minutes. Someday I’ll include formal tasting notes but at the moment I’m sipping on a tall glass of this tea and enjoying it too much to bother.

Mixing this with chamomile tonight. Getting Gramma into tea! This is her second cup of the night too!

Good ol’ standby to start off the night.

Great standby – chocolate and peppermint :)