2145 Tasting Notes
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed this tea, but it still remains one of my favorites so I thought I’d review it over on my blog today. Not everyone can appreciate the bold, somewhat bitter flavor of this tea, which is why I suggest adjusting the amount of leaf until the flavor is more suitable to your (or your guests) tastes. This is a very flexible tea and after some experimenting I found that my guests prefer it when I use 1 Tablespoon of loose tea per 16 ounces of water, steep the tea three times (3m, 4m, and 5m) then mix the steeps together. This preparation method produces a more mild flavor with hints of malt and subtle chocolate notes that even my non-tea loving friends and family have come to appreciate Since discovering this tea nearly six years ago it has become my tea of choice for iced tea, we go through several pounds a year, officially making it the tea I couldn’t live without.
You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/9/23/tuesday-tea-organic-china-breakfast-rishi-tea.html
The first steep of this tea was lighter in flavor, but packed a sweet, yet floral punch which became stronger in subsequent steeps. By the time I reached my fourth steep of this tea it developed a somewhat vegetal flavor with hints of floral mixed in. While earlier steeps of this tea were somewhat creamy in texture, later steeps began to develop a hint of dryness. I was impressed not only with the flavor, but also with the number of times I was able to steep the tea. Even my fourth cup had wonderful flavor, I could very likely have gotten a fifth steep out of my leaves, but in my sick and clumsy state I managed to drop my steeper sending my tea leaves flying everywhere. This week is already starting off on the wrong foot, but at least I have a great oolong to help me on my road to recovery.
You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/9/16/tuesday-tea-september-selection-club-simple-loose-leaf.html
Preparation
Chai tends to vary widely in methods of preparation as well as ingredients, but every chai I’ve sampled in the past has one thing in common: it’s made with black tea. The fact that this particular chai is made with a rooibos base didn’t escape my notice, in fact, i’m rather intrigued by the idea. As you know I’ve been drinking a lot of rooibos lately to help with the swelling in my hands. While the flavor of rooibos has slowly grown on me I still find the rather medicinal taste unappealing and prefer heavily flavored blends. In other-words this tea should be right up my alley.
My first sampling of this blend was not prepared in the traditional method (with milk and sugar) as you can see from my photo. I had just opened the package and taken a huge sniff when two things happened. First of all, I caught a good noseful of black peppercorn which caused a huge sneezing fit. Secondly, I discovered that my son had finished off the last of the milk while I wasn’t looking and all we had left was a really old carton of coconut milk. Not to be deterred, I decided to prepare this like I would any rooibos blend and was greeted with a huge burst of flavor on my first sip. The cardamom and black peppercorn were the flavors that were the most prominent and I was happy to find that the cinnamon wasn’t as noticeable, but rather something hidden in the background amongst the other spices. I find that many spice teas on the market this time of year are laden down with cinnamon, so this was a welcome change.
You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/9/16/tuesday-tea-september-selection-club-simple-loose-leaf.html
