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Buzz, buzz nom. Nom nom nom.
Buzz.

This is a nice tea. Very complex. In fact my first thought when having this tea was “mmm.. this is complex.” I am a genmaicha fan, and this is one of the better ones I’ve had.

It also has a lot of caffiene. Or at least I’m getting a serious buzz from this one. (Nevermind the fact I’ve had 3 other cups of tea today… :P )

This tea is the lovely green color others have mentioned, murky, deep, flavorful, and just pretty awesome. Liking this tea!!!

(And possibly twitching at this point, but I won’t dwell on that… )

Not a bad silver needle.

I tend to judge all silver needles against the first one I ever tried – which was a oddly magical experience. I was in Nashville, TN for a training course, and I went to go scout out the tea shop I’d be meeting Lena at later in the week. I got there right as they closed, so I couldn’t stay long, so I ordered something I’d never tried before to go, just so I would have tried something.

I then drove around trying to find a restaurant that didn’t exist.

Because I was driving at the time, I let the tea cool more than I tend to normally, and the buttery flavor of the tea got amplified. I was really in awe. (And I think the lady was a little heavy on the leaf). It was good tea.

Trying this tea – I get the buttery, and even some of the peach overtones they mention. But the flavors aren’t as strong as I’d like. And yes, I know this is a lighter tea, but the mouthfeel and the light flavor of the white tea are lighter than I’d like.

I wish there was more in the sample, so I could try the other steeping method mentioned, but alas, this is just a sample. I am enjoying it, and I do enjoy silver needle in general. However, I think I’ve had other silver needles I enjoy more.

This was very creamy, smooth, and yummy. I have to admit, it had more of a peppery or spicy bite than I was expecting, and I almost didn’t like it as first, but it grew on me.

I had samples of this, so I don’t know if it says this on the larger package but my sample mentioned that I should add another tbsp of black tea to the package. And honestly, I found this a little disapointing of them. Samovar charges some of the higher prices out there for their sample sizes, and to have them provide a sample that you then are supposed to add more tea to yourself? It felt a little cheap. If they want to offer the possibility for higher or lower caffiene, I’d personally prefer that they just offer two different blends. But that’s me.

But in general, this was pretty darned yummy.

A sample I got from TeaEqualsBliss. It smells awesome, but I can’t get any peach flavor from the tea. It’s a nice dark oolong however. Almost a meh, but on the positive side of meh.

Interesting. I’ve never tried a Kukicha before. It is sort of like drinking tea made of twigs, but in the best way possible. It definitely tastes of wood, but nicely so. And for being made of wood, it’s very mild. Yum.

Brewed this up last night, in the traditional stovetop method. It was a nice solid cup of chai. No notes stood out, nothing detracted. Nice cup.

Very pepperminty, good flavor. It’s a nice, simple peppermint tea. The sachet it nice, and the leaf is of good quality.

I wanted to like this tea. I really did. But it’s just not oolong enough for me. This is too mild, and even when steeped extra strong tastes a little like it’s watered down to me. The aromas are nice, and I taste some of the sweet. But this just isn’t gonna be one of my all-time favorite oolongs. Sigh.

Big, bold, brassy. This tea is by no means a delicate wall flower of a green tea. Or a delicate anything, really. It comes right out and lets you know that it’s here, it’s a green tea, and that it means to be taking center stage, thankyouverymuch.

However, in its efforts to inform the world of it’s intentions, it may scare some people off. It almost scared me off. Opening the pouch of tea, the scent is an inviting green tea aroma with an enhanced nutty quality, brought about by a roasting step during the processing of the leaf. Steeping the tea, it’s a delicate, pale green color with just a hint of brown; the very picture of an inviting cup of tea. But then, sipping shocked me. Very astringent. Almost a sour quality. And the drying sensation wasn’t restricted to just the mouth, it went down the throat as well. As the brew cooled, the sour faded, leaving a sweeter quality to the cup.

To try and get the best out of this tea, I tried multiple steeping parameters. My first two tries, I used the method referred to on the packet – 1 tablespoon per 5-6 oz of water, steeped in 180 degree water for 3-5 minutes. Their website also recommended trying more leaf with a shorter steeping time. This method resulted in a brew where the sour flavor held on, even once cooled. I then tried the old tried and true proportion of 1 tsp per 8 oz. This resulted in a much lighter brew with reduced astringency and reduced sourness, and a hint of nuttiness at the back of your mouth.

If you are a fan of the big, bold and dry red wines, you will likely love this tea brewed to the original directions. I preferred the weaker brew, but other greens have tickled my fancy more than this one.

Also reviewed at http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/504/tea-review-rishi-teas-organic-green-needles-lu-zhen-roasted-2/

I’m surprised I haven’t logged this before. I’ve been drinking this for a while – and it’s good warm and great iced. (I’m getting really into this iced oolong thing lately).

Nutty overtones, beautiful leaves, and just a lovely tea. Yum.