Rishi Tea

Sipdown! (26 | 303)

Okay, finishing off the remainder of the sample cold-brewed in the fridge for a few hours.

It’s a little better I think – the ginger is still very aggressive, but the citrusy notes of the yuzu are more prominent, which helps temper it a bit.

Still not something I would reorder, but it’s an improvement at least! XD

A sample I added to reach the free shipping threshold when ordering teaware.

Honestly, I expected this to be horrible after seeing the other reviews. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not good. But I don’t find it to be that bad either… Like, I’m not spitting it out or anything ha ha.

The ginger definitely overpowers everything else. It’s essentially a dried ginger tisane with hints of yuzu, rosemary, and black pepper. I don’t think I would have guessed that there’s matcha if I hadn’t already known, though it’s very obvious by the green powder-dusted dry leaf.

I’m going to try the rest cold-brewed to see how it fares. Happy that it’s only a small sample, heh heh… XD

Sipdown! (10 | 287)

Another sample that I got from Rishi. The combination of hojicha and mint sounded intriguing.

I quite enjoyed it. This last cup is a bit peppermint-heavy due to it being the bottom of the bag and all. But otherwise I like the combination of mildly roasty hojicha with the fresh, cool mint. There’s an almost chocolaty note to the hojicha as well, which gives it a bit of an Andes mint vibe.

Not sure whether I feel the need to reorder it… But in the future, I might have to try recreating something similar with my other hojicha.

So this is a free sample that was included in my recent Rishi order, which was mostly just to get the cute glass teapot recommended by LuckyMe. I threw in 3 tea samples to reach the free shipping threshold, and then they also included this bonus sample.

Now, I don’t really like lavender most of the time, but I’m giving this a fair shot.

It’s okay. It’s not the worst thing ever. Really the lavender isn’t that strong, but even so I’m not a fan. I think it’s because bergamot can already read as somewhat floral and perfumey to me, and the addition of the lavender just takes it to a perfume/soap place.

It would probably be fine as a latte, but I think I’d rather just move the rest of the sample to my rehoming box and add it to a TTB where someone else can enjoy it.

Got this as a sample and was not expecting to like it. It was a berry tea with lots of pieces of different fruits. Very flavorful. Would be great iced…I had it hot. Need to buy more!

My last remaining Rishi tea! This was another one that Todd asked me for a “top up” after his “Sara’s Old Tea Advent Calendar,” so a) I have a lot less leaf to work through for sipdown and b) I expect it to go fast because the last tea that Todd really liked and requested a top up of was really freaking good.

The package instructions suggest 8g for 8 oz of water?! Do they expect me to clean rust off my intestines?! For me, a “stronger” than normal cuppa is adding a gram to my typical 2.5g for 12 oz. Yaaaaaaa… I think I’ll just make it my way, Rishi. 2.5g leaf, 350ml water (boiled to 205F but had cooled to 195F when I realized the kettle was ready… I just decided to use it as was), steeped for 3 minutes(ish).

The steeped cup smells like roses, which immediately has me excited! Also a fruity scent that is somewhere between lychee and orange zest, and a very sweet aroma as well, reminding me of cream. On the sip I’m definitely getting the purported lychee and rose, as well as warm baked bread, honey, and a strong lingering orange marmalade taste after the sip. The tea has a very mild drying sensation after the sip, but the flavors are smooth and lacking any bitterness.

Dare I say this is a Chinese black that is up there with unsmoked lapsang for me?!

During my staycation, I really have to get out of the house some (just too much stir crazy/cabin fever vibes going on), so I’ve decided to visit at least one or two “new to me” local, independantly/family-owned businesses in my community that I have never been to. Today I found a cupcakery I didn’t even know existed! I got a Cookies & Cream, Apple Cinnamon, and Lemon Blueberry cupcake, and am enjoying this cuppa with the Lemon Blueberry one for teatime. It is wonderful paired with the bright, tangy and sweet citrus notes of the cupcake!

Received a sample of this herbal medicinal tea with my Rishi Tea order a long time ago. I had been saving it for a sick day and finally dug it out the other day for my wife who was feeling under the weather.

This tisane has a wonderful, mesmerizing aroma. It smells just like its name. An explosion of sweet candied ginger, tangerine, ginseng, and heady geranium all danced in my nose. It smelled so good I felt like using the mixture as potpourri to perfume the house. Like most Rishi blends though, the taste of the brewed tea wasn’t as exuberant as its smell. An earthy, turmeric-like chalky flavor is the first thing to hit the tongue followed by spicy black pepper and a tingle of ginger. I was really hoping to taste more of the citrus and geranium notes so prominent in the aroma but alas they had tamed down and were barely detectable anymore. There are some other exotic herbs and flavorings in there I’ve never encountered before like ashwagandha root and vana tulsi which added an herbaceous undertone to the tea.

On its own, this is a tad earthy for me but it would be soothing to have when you’re nursing a cold or sore throat. Would reach for this over DAVIDsTea Cold 911 any day.

Steepster Freeze 2021 #2: 01/18/21

I have finally finished off my 50g bag of Rishi’s Ruby #18 and am only one cold-brew batch away from finishing off the 50g of Yunnan Orchid Green, so I can finally move onto the remainder of my 2017 teas, which is getting to be quite a small list now! Thankfully my last two Rishi teas I only have to work through 25g, because Todd really liked them from his advent so I split the 50g packages with him.

Brewed this western style this morning, 3.5g to 350ml of 205F water with a 3 minute steep. The aroma from the cup is lovely! I smell orange blossoms, honey, marmalade, and a sweet, roasted nuts aroma. This has such a silky mouthfeel, with a florality that comes out first on the sip, teetering on perfumy but subdued by the other flavors. A rich, citrusy orange note quickly follows mid-sip and settles along the back of the tongue, leaving an aftertaste of sweet marmalade jam and honey-roasted nuts. There is a slightly sharp, fruity note as well, which is a little hard for me to place… perhaps a dark variety of cherry.

This is a really lovely oolong… I can see why Todd was so taken with it!

Everyone once in awhile I will drink a tea or have a matcha that is the unfortunate victim to poor packaging. The grey unassuming bag looks like it would be well suited for the job of protecting this matcha but I fear it failed. The dry aroma is nil. It’s part of matcha that I love, so smelling a staleness, a sort of packaging type of smell was disappointing. Surprisingly the wet aroma immediately filled my nose with vegetal and slight nori notes. Gave me hope. But that was dashed with the flavor. It tastes like the aroma. Not at all what I expected. At some point I’d like to get a sample to see if perhaps it really is the packaging or if the matcha they sourced just isn’t that good.

Work tea #1

I found this very enjoyable. There were woody, earthy notes from the puerh as well as sweet spicy grape flavors. There was also a slightly deeper note that hinted at wine, but I think it fell a bit short. The tea was full bodied and had a nice creaminess to it. All in all really good. I’d happily drink it again. I wish I could’ve tried several steeps, but work is work. If I can I’ll pick up a box to keep at home. This is a good one.

Moving onto my Rishi teas from my 2017 stuff, and these are all 50g packages and will take many a morning to finish off… and while I realize teas like this are just “meant for gong fu”, western brew work thermoses are going to be the way I accomplish that. Possibly some iced tea/cold brew jars. If I have the time for a gong fu session, I’ll probably pick something I only have a small amount of leaf left that the session can tidily finish off…

I gave samples of these teas to Todd in his advent (before I’ve even tried them, ha) and at least he said they are still holding up, but he also often just thinks “tea tastes like tea” (I still love you, Todd!) so let’s see, shall we?

April/May 2017 harvest, 3.5g in 500ml 205F water, steeped 3 minutes. I smell a bright, fruity mandarin orange aroma, as well as cinnamon. The flavor is malty, with a bit of a baked grain bread with a bit of spice (more clove than cinnamon on the tongue), and an oddly crisp minty note in the finish. I would assume that was flavor contamination from my thermos (I had the Pistachio Mint tea in it yesterday, and even though I thoroughly washed it in the sink last night it still had a “minty” aroma this morning, so I’m going to have to deep clean the thermos with the Mandala Tea Cleaner every time I drink that B&B Mint Pistachio, apparently…) except this was tea that came straight from my infuser to a separate glass for taste-testing since it takes so long for anything to cool in the work thermos. Huh. I guess at 50g, I’ll have plenty more cups to see if that note reappears or is, indeed, some kind of contamination… (Although, I see just before posting this that jamin also tasted “minty overtones” soooooo…)

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a black tea like this. It’s certainly interesting, and definitely not unpleasant!

Day 22 of Sara’s Old Tea

Mmm, strong vegetal taste, kind of like asparagus. It tastes… very green, LOL. I like it.

Samurai TTB #15

Mmm, this is nice. Fresh and minty and the perfect afternoon pick-me-up! Rishi tea is always such lovely quality.

Making this tea was such a comedy of errors… I guess that’s what I get for trying to multitask in the kitchen too much! I forgot to change the temperature on my kettle (which is on 205F by default) and realized it the SECOND I started to pour the water over the leaf and saw the steam rise… I stopped immediately, dumped the leaf (I seriously have TONS of this stuff, a 50g bag from 2017 to work through!), set the kettle aside to cool down to 175F, and got a fresh 2g of leaf to start over. Lost a bit of water from the ordeal, so this is a bit less than my typical 350ml cup, but I’m not sure by how much… 2 minute steep.

I can see why it is called “orchid” green, because it has a very sweet, floral aroma… something about the smell makes me think of flowers and strawberries? Definitely a berry fruitiness to the aroma. There is definitely a floral note present, that lilac/orchid note typical of green oolongs… There is a fruitiness here too, but not the berry note I was getting in the aroma, more of a very subtle green grape. Smooth vegetal taste of fresh green beans and peas that I often taste in Chinese greens is present as well, and probably the most present note, as it lingers after the sip.

A pleasant green, but like my last large, old bag of green tea, I’ll likely use it up making liter-sized batches of cold brew until it is gone.

This is the 9th day of Sara’s Old…
WHAT? Wow, this is amazing. Strong notes of malt and honey, super smooth.

Mmm, I may have to order some of this.

Day 3 of Sara’s Old Tea. This is a really nice black tea with complex notes. I listed all the flavors I could think of words for, but there are still more dancing around in the background. The leaves didn’t look like much dry, but they expanded a lot. This tea is from Taiwan, but it kind of reminds me of black tea from Nepal. Lovely tea.

Extremely disappointed. I expected to enjoy this but the sample I received had an overvearing burnt popcorn scent and flavor. I wanted to enjoy this but ended up throwing out the cup after 5 sips. I couldn’t stomach it. I have no experience with gemmaichas so I might not understand the flavor but this is God awful in my opinion. I usually enjoy most green teas. Very disappointed.

This is my go to dinner tea. It has strong ginger heat and a smooth lemon flavor that blends wonderfully. I mix it with milk and if I want a dessert tea, then I’ll add sugar too. I rarely add sugar usually.

This tea has initial grassy notes followed by mellow flavors of nuttiness and a slight fruit flavor. After the first sip, it develops into a mellow relaxing tea that reminds me of a flowing stream. However there is a slight acidity left at the back of my throat from this tea.

Sipdown (1421)!

Finished this one off grandpa style earlier this afternoon – it tasted smooth and earthy with some more brothy/umami notes to it. Very uncomplex and simple but pleasant nonetheless. However, I got frustrated while drinking it because the tuocha itself broke apart into such fine and flaky bits of leaves that would not sink/stay submerged in the mug. I just didn’t feel like using my teeth as a filter today, so I ended up scrapping the mug after the second top up even though the leaf didn’t seem totally steeped out yet.

Gongfu!

I love working from home because it means I often get to sneak an afternoon tea session in over my lunch break, and MTL is at a point now where it’s basically pitch black out by 4PM so without sneaking it in then it’s just waayyyy too dark. As I’ve mentioned in the past, while I know that I can Gongfu without natural lighting I just feel less motivated to drink teas Gongfu when it’s so black outside…

Anyway, this was nice! I actually forgot I owned these tuochas, but I was looking for a sweeter/cozier shou to have over lunch and I stumbled upon the sample bag and it just seemed perfectly timed for the mood I was in! Really creamy mocha, oat, and petrichor type notes with a thick, velvety liquor and clean finish. A no frills type of pu’erh, for easy, enjoyable casual drinking! Five steeps total, each better than the last. Cut the session off when the liquor started easing up in flavour…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgEpaOhYOa/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuZUzvFcC0I&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart

This tea went into my swap box. I broke it out for #31daysofhallotean as the prompt was to drink a trick blend aka a tea you don’t like. Roswell Strange was kind enough to share this with me but I could almost guarantee I wasn’t going to be a fan between the puerh, dandelion, and chicory. It was essentially a combination of all things I don’t like in one mean cup. And though I hoped for the best, this met my expectation. I am not rating though because this just happens to be all things I don’t like and it seems unfair for me to tank the rating based 100% on personal preferences. Nonetheless, thank you Roswell Strange for sharing and always trying to broaden my horizons haha.

What?!

Thank you derk for this tea, but sorry, it’s awful. But nice tea bag wrapping to my collection. That’s only positive I think.

I took the bag out and I coughed. Coughed several times of the foul smell of ginger and citrusy (it should be) but it rather reminds me paint. Wall paint. Then some coriander and rosemary stuff, but somehow weird as well.

Flavour. Well it is paint again. Citruses? Nope. Matcha? Nope. Herbals, ginger? Nope. Iti s weird. Completely off. Maybe something like lemongrass, but rather grass. No notes of green tea!

What was this? Would I try to drink another teas from Rishi, or even worse… would I try to use second tea bag I received?

On the other news from Central Europe: Mother have her colleague tested positive. They won’t test others since they don’t have symptoms. She works in social care though. 4500 positive yesterday.

On positive side, I got accpeted my bachelor thesis topic: Analysis of material handling machinery in selected company. That’s great!