Rishi Tea

The packaging of the Rishi Pu-erh Ginger is absolutely beautiful. There’s no doubt that the natural brown and black ink print of a flower garden seems to reflect and project its degradable quality and eco-friendliness. The ingredients are also all organic, which just somehow feels good. The flavour… Despite boasting strong spiced ginger, which I find an absolute delight, this blend also contains quite a distinct lemon note, which becomes particularly strong when combined with honey. I’m really not a fan. On the upside, I can totally imagine this being perfect if you had a really snotty head cold. The ginger would open your sinuses, the lemon (and honey should you add it) would sooth your throat and the deep earthy tea serving to relax.

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I expected a more pronounced seaweedy taste from Sencha, but this one was more on the mellow side. Quite pleasant aroma and smooth buttery taste

My first loose leaf oolong at home. Very nice. Rich and grassy. Bright. Sweet. Nutty.

GCTTB Round 6

So this is a pu’erh, but it contains cocoa shells and cinnamon bark.

The little pyramid it came in smells minty fresh, I’m not too sure about the chocolate flavour. There is definitely cinnamon though.

I brewed it for 4 minutes (5-7 recommended) in hot water until the brew was very dark black and smelled delicious. As for taste, I’m getting mint and cinnamon banana bread. It really reminds me of something fresh out of the oven. The pu’erh base isn’t very present because it is overpowered by the cinnamon/baked goods/mint, but I think it tastes a bit woody/barky, and dark, but without being bitter at all. All in all, it is actually fairly smooth. I don’t taste any chocolate, and the cinnamon is leaving a sickly sweet aftertaste in the back of my mouth.

I happened upon this one at my local tea shop this afternoon. I’ve been experiencing the GI joys of diverticulitis and recently read that green tea can be helpful for that condition. Green tea seems to be quite the panacea, effective for a multitude of miseries.
What a wonderful medicinal – No spoonful of sugar needed to help this medicine go down!

The dry leaf smell is sweet and mildly floral. As the tea steeps the aroma is very strongly evocative of oolong. The flavor too suggests oolong, along with floral notes of chrysanthemums and wildflower blossoms with a bit of honey. There is a mild vegetal note – Just enough to remind you that it’s a green tea you’re drinking.
I was a little leery about the 190F brewing temperature, but no bitterness. I used 3 generous teaspoonfuls for a 16 ounce pot and steeped for four minutes.

Yunnan Orchid Green is a lovely green tea – One of the very best I’ve had. My tummy feels better already.

This was a gift, so I decided to brew the “legendary ancient tree” mini tuocha! The little guy is massively compressed with a slight earth coffee tone and some fungal aroma. I warmed my gaiwan and popped it inside. The pebble opens with some sweet cherry, dark cocoa, wet moss, petrichor, and a background of vanilla. I washed the leaf twice and picked at it, so I could begin brewing. The body is surprisingly full with earth and fungal tones. A light sweetness lingers on the palate. The brew is intensely dark. A strong woody tone comes out along with a bit of fruit. The tea is decent, but it is very basic. The inky drink continues with this earthy body and dry astringency for the rest of the session. The qi is warming and hot towards the head and stomach, but it stops there. Also, the leaves have a bit of green/ish in them. This was an average session, but I think these would be good for traveling.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDyyxdEzGSK/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I liked this one hot but once it had cooled to room temp it wasn’t nearly as good. Definite blueberry taste and scent. One that I will drink for sure and probably replace when I run out of it. Fruity.

This one snuck up on me. Co-worker gave a bag to me months before. I finally decided to try it but couldn’t remember where I got it from. Only said Rishi on the bag with no identifying type on it. I brewed it and loved it. Love the bluberry, loved the whole flavor combination. Fruity, smells lovely, and caffeine free so I can drink it any time. For sure not for someone who is a green or black purist.

I really wanted to drink some green tea but this was way too grassy for me. I couldn’t finish it but I did try it several different times hoping to change my mind. Both smells and tastes like something that fell out of my lawnmower.

Honestly, to me it smells like candy when I open the bag. Every time I drink it someone in the office comments on how lovely it smells. It tastes smooth, peachy, and good warm or cold. I will steep it several times and it’s always a go to tea for me. Refreshing and light.

The photo was so pretty I had to order it. It was nice, but like most flavored or blended teas I order, I wound up gifting it to a friend.

Too much jasmine for me. Gifted it to a friend who really loved it.

Very nice TGY.

I have been so busy this week that I sadly have not had much time to review new teas. I’m still working my way through larger amounts of some teas I have already reviewed, so finishing them has taken precedence for me. Even when I have had the time to try something new, I have unfortunately had to rush through it or have otherwise been forced to evaluate it under less than ideal circumstances. Such was the case with this tea.

After popping in to a local high school for a follow-up, I swung by a local cafe that carries Rishi products and ordered a mug to go along with a bowl of soup and half a sandwich. I then had to rush back to the office and time the infusion while in my car on the way back across town. Needless to say, this got steeped at least 1-2 minutes too long. The fact that I then ended up having to drink it in my office out of a cardboard to-go cup didn’t help matters either.

Ignoring the distinct cardboard aroma undoubtedly contributed by the cup, I was still able to detect distinct scents of toffee, molasses, chocolate, and wood. In the mouth, I again ignored the influence of the cardboard, choosing instead to focus on the mellow notes of toffee, chocolate, malt, cream, sweet potato, leather, toast, and molasses. I could tell that I steeped this a little too long because the finish was more tannic and astringent than it probably should have been, but it wasn’t unbearable. Also, I could tell that this tea was maybe a little on the older side. The aromas and flavors one would expect of a traditional Yunnan black/red tea were there, but were less vibrant than they arguably should have been. Again, it could have been worse.

At this point, I am not certain that I feel all that comfortable assigning a numerical score to this tea. The combination of the age of the tea, the overly long infusion, and the vessel from which I had to drink it all served to skew my perception of this tea. From what I was able to detect from it, I would expect this to come off as a woodier, maltier Yunnan black with decidedly heavy notes of molasses and sweet potato under ideal circumstances. I will be a little lenient here and give my first impression of this tea a 71/100. Should I ever get the opportunity to try this one again, however, I will expect a little more from it.

Not my favorite tea, but not the worst tea I’ve had. It trends on the bitter side and I find the lemongrass to be too overpowering. The delicious tropical fruits I was so looking forward to were masked by the spiciness of the lemongrass and overwhelming aroma and taste of ginger. I was expecting a smooth cup with traces of pineapple, papaya, etc. I haven’t tried it iced yet, but I’m hesitant to do so based on the taste when it is brewed hot.

Chinese blacks are not usually my favorites, but I find this one surprisingly delightful. It’s very smooth, more so than the Indian black teas I usually go for, and sweet and malty. It has a hint of that characteristic cocoa flavor that usually gets me (in a bad way), but it’s very mild. It actually reminds me quite a bit of an Assam, which is a good thing in my book.

A solid Pu-erh for the price. I’ve spent alot more money on Pu-erhs that weren’t any better than the quality I got here. It has a good chi feeling to it and it leaves me uplifted, happy, and rounded. A good Pu-erh to drink whilst chopping wood in the snow.

Nothing to write home about. Too astringent and too less of that “golden sweetness” you’d expect for a golden tips tea. Not bad, but not what I was expecting. Still a very clean feeling.

So I decided to sign up for an account after being appalled by the low rating of “74” this tea has gotten. This tea is simply brilliant. It is sensitive, yes, and I have found if it is brewed longer than two minutes on the first brew at above a temperature of 80celcius it can get bitter. However, if brewed properly it is absolutely divine. It clears the mind wonderfully, and I feel it has really high levels of theanine (which is what I look for in a tea). It has a very clean, fresh, feeling- much like the early days of spring. Of course I have had higher quality green teas before, but with rating a tea I take in account the price. At $49 a pound, it is quite the bargain and that is why I give this tea a solid 90. I highly respect Rishi tea company and I trust them very much. I have never had a tea from them that tasted “dirty”. Again, just be careful not to over brew this tea and you’ll be soaring high on Jade Cloud 9!!