Rishi Tea

This tea was way too strong by itself, but cut 1:1 with some straight silver needle or silver bud, it was quite a winner—very popular with colleagues who like their teas flavored.

It’s a good smooth oolong but the lemon is a little distracting from the smoothness.

Steep Information:
Amount: 10 tsp
Water: 4 measuring cups filtered water + ice
Tool: Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker
Served: Cold

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: lemon, berry, floral
Steeped Tea Smell:
Flavor: berry, hibiscus
Body: Full
Aftertaste: bitter, licorice, BITTER
Liquor: dark reddish-orange

I got this from Lena or Meghann M, oh my I’ve lost track, sorry!

Smells fabulous!

Taste at first sip is good, hibiscus berry, and then at the end of the sip TART LICORICE TART bleh bleh!

I like licorice, and have been known to gnaw on a licorice root, i like hibiscus, i like berries, and i like rooibos, but something about the combination is bad.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/rishi-tea-loose-leaf-rooibos-tea.html

I think this is the 9th or 10th cup I’ve had of this in the past two days. When I’m drinking this, I don’t cough. They really are magic herbs for sickness. Medicinal in the best way possible. Tasty and helpful for two steeps.

Oh Medicine Tea, I am so happy I have you in my tea cabinet today! This one is good for two infusions, so I made a big double pot, which I can then make fresh water for and have again. It is SO soothing on the throat, warming, and after only half a cup I’m breathing better. So much nicer than taking cold medicine which makes me feel jangly and dry.

This is an unusual one – strange and medicinal but oddly enjoyable on the right night. A lot of pepper in this serving! The lemongrass and licorice have a great flavor. I still maintain this would be great for a cold, or if you were feeling run down. I haven’t even scratched the surface of learning about herbal tisanes as remedies, but it’s yet another aspect of tea I am interested in.

No matter how much I try to frequent the small markets and specialty shops in my area, a once a month big supermarket trip is inevitable. Tonight was my night :/

One nice thing is that the store had tins of this tea on clearance! I decided to take a chance on it, and I’m glad that I did! It’s lemony, with a bit of licorice, and some peppery and gingery notes. Some honey sweetened it up a little. It was great for a late night cup, and I imagine it’s wonderful if you have a cold.

SIPDOWN…see other notes…Steepster still super slow for me that’s why I haven’t been around much

Since I am not usually into Jasmine…the more I have been trying to tinker with it…the more I have realized that I prefer WHITE Jasmine over GREEN Jasmine. I think it’s this tea that put me over the edge about my Jasmine thoughts. This is another gift from LiberTEAs and It’s highly scented and has an intense Jasmine Taste without leaving a funky aftertaste. It’s refreshing and relaxing all at the same time. Very nice!

Meghann M!!!! Thanks for sending this my way!

This smells like Orange Blossom Soap that I have smelled before. Not that it smells soapy…but it was the ‘scent of the soap’ that actually reminded me of this tea.

I really had no idea if I would like this or not when I saw the actual loose leaf. It looked like a whole lot of lemon grass…not that I don’t enjoy lemon grass from time to time – just the last several lemon grassy teas I have tried I haven’t really enjoyed much.

This isn’t too bad. Altho it’s not very memorable, I find it refreshing and light. Probably a good one to sip on if you are stressed out! I started the cup while it was really hot but since it has cooled down and is quite chilled…I like it better cold. All-in-all not a bad one!

Revisiting a favorite of mine.

Lovely Jasmine flavor. Sweet white tea. What a absolutely delightful combination.

This is my favorite “non green” jasmine… and quite possibly my favorite white tea (I think I had responded on an earlier tasting note that there was another white tea I liked better than this – Frutto Bianco Pearls from Teavana… but I like this one better than Frutto Bianco).

The jasmine flavor is remarkable in this blend, delicate yet so delightful. Sweet and exhilarating. Beautiful…absolutely beautiful.

You can read more about my thoughts of this tea here:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=4134

Delightful!

This is a decent basic pu-erh. I drink it in the morning when I am in the mood for something more pleasant than coffee.

Well, I think that I’ve fully realized that I really like the thought of rose teas, but in reality they’re not what I enjoy. There doesn’t seem to be any subtlety with the ones that I’ve had. In an odd way I think that some oolongs are what I’ve been dreaming of with roses.

This one has the aggressive “I am rose, hear me rawr” dry leaf scent that I’ve begun to associate with rose teas. The steeped scent is nice and rosy. But then there’s the war between the rose and tea. They just don’t seem to get along together. I don’t like feeling like my mouth is a battleground. And there’s a bitter aftertaste that I’m not digging.

Oh well, I’ll use this tin up over time and then be sure not to purchase again. M

Yum!

Pretty tasty tea. Decided to buy it just to try something new, pretty happy that I did. Very fresh flavour; still looking for the nutty flavour, but overall very palatable.

This is my first Wuyi Oolong, and it’s really shown me how there are so many different characteristics to oolongs. The dry leaves had a slightly smoky scent along with the smell I associate with oolongs.

I actually read through all the notes to see if I was crazy, and thank goodness someone else had a similar experience (cuz I did feel crazy), but throughout the first steep I kept getting a “wift of marijuana smoke” smell. The taste was bolder than I’m used to with oolongs – more earthy and like a steamed vegetable plate (less asparagus-ey).

I’m on steeping #2 and it’s more like I’m licking a mossy rock that someone had sprinkled with sugar. Not a bad thing (or something that I’d do in real life), but I’m just not sure if this will be a staple oolong for me. NE

This tea has beautiful long leaves and smells a little of hay. The taste is reminds me of toasted corn and the smell is slightly floral. A very nice cup of green tea.

A very nice green yunnan tea. It has a nutty aroma with a hint of flowers.
3g/8oz

The leaves of this tea are so big its hard to use a teaspoon to get them. So, I used my fingers and used about twice as much tea as I did the first time I drank this. Then I steeped for 6 minutes. The tea was unbelievable and I’m not usually this ecstatic about green teas. The tea had a nutty and orchid fragrance and had a nutty toasty taste with a slightly floral aftertaste. I’m going to start not following directions and experimenting until I get the tea the way I like it. This cup was great.

I figured that if I like Yunnan’s so much, why not find a green Yunnan. The Japanese greens I tried were a bust except for one. Green is new to me, but I actually like this one. Out of the tin this one smells like hay to me. Steeped it takes on a different persona. I get a slightly nutty taste with floral notes. The tea has a sweetness to it and I get the smell or orchids as it cools. I have some Indian greens coming next week so I hope I can find more that I like.