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derk drank Matcha Ginger Buzz by Rishi Tea

1622 tasting notes

My taste for citrus seems different than most people here. I adore grapefruit, either a straight pink or a yellow, no sugar please. Ruby reds are too sweet for me. Following grapefruit, I have a deep love for yuzu and its incredible taste and fragrance. Any Japanese dish with a yuzu sauce is an automatic selection. Yuzu hot sauce from Trader Joe’s is all I need to top some steamed dumplings. Meyer lemons, highly floral sweet limes and sumo tangerines round out the top five of my citrus love-list.

This sachet tea from Rishi has all kinds of ingredients I enjoy, like well, grapefruit, yuzu, lime, green tea and matcha, ginger, quince, rosemary, black pepper and coriander. Literally every ingredient in this blend I adore the taste of on its own. And I get the feeling that if the damn ginger didn’t overpower everything, it would be sublime.

I tried brewing these sachets with varying steep times and could never get past the earthy, spicy! ginger. The tastes underneath would change, yes, sometimes one of the citrus fruits would be highlighted, or the black pepper, but I could never get this tea to perform reliably. The ginger spice actually upset my stomach in the morning. It did work okay as an after lunch brew. Overall — kind of a let down.

Flavors: Black Pepper, Citrus, Earth, Ginger, Marine, Mineral, Pine, Spicy

Preparation

185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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derk
Delete

The last sachet smells and tastes like cleaner. Good riddance!

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derk
Delete

The last sachet smells and tastes like cleaner. Good riddance!

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. Yet I persist.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, and Nepal. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possesses off flavor/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s puerh, I likely think it needs more age.

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