127 Tasting Notes
Taken hot, with rock sugar crystals
I’m not sure why it’s called Lychee Red Tea, when it’s a black tea…
Fixed this way, the lychee flavor is very subtle, so mostly I’m getting the mild black tea flavor. I’ll have to try my next cup iced and see if I get more lychee that way.
I’m not really sure what lychee tastes like, anyway… I’ve only ever had it as a flavor in things (like sake!). I’ve never had a lychee fruit.
backlogging…
I made this over the weekend while at my sister’s house. I boiled milk, water, and sugar together with the tea, then let the tea steep for several minutes before straining the leaves out and drinking (what I could remember of takgoti’s chai method posted on Steepster earlier).
It was definitely better prepared that way than when I had done it with straight water, but there was still no pumpkin flavor. It’s just a spiced tea, and I’m not really fond of the spice blend used in it.
The combination of ginger and orange is very… interesting. There are other ingredients/flavors listed (like hibiscus, which is definitely showing up in the color) but they aren’t coming out in the taste.
I’ll probably try this one cold before making my final decision on it. The ginger could make it very refreshing… but right now it’s a “will not purchase”.
I made this over the weekend while at my sister’s house. I boiled milk, water, and sugar together with the tea, then let the tea steep for several minutes before straining the leaves out and drinking (what I could remember of takgoti’s chai method posted on Steepster earlier).
It’s okay, but I didn’t get a ginger flavor, just a spiced tea flavor. Rather dissappointing.
So I bought Rishi’s Hario glass pitcher. One of the interesting suggestions that they had was cold brewed tea – I hadn’t thought of it (hot brewed and sun brewed, but not cold brewed). Essentially, add 10-12 grams of tea to 1 L of water and refrigerate for several hours. I decided to try this with something that I was familiar with (instead of one of the new Rishi teas).
It is milder than hot brewed, but it’s still good (at least, with this fruit tisane). The flavor is milder (the strawberry is barely present). It reminds me of fruit water more than tea.
I wonder what kinds of tea they suggest for cold brewed tea?
Chamomile? I was not expecting chamomile from the name of this one. Hibiscus wasn’t expected, either, but not totally unexpected, since raspberry is tart, so they could have thrown it in there for tartness… but chamomile? I really don’t like chamomile.
I’m not getting any green tea flavor (even though it says that there’s green tea and matcha in there).
The front is chamomile, and the back… It’s fruity – pomegrante, hibiscus, and raspberry. Maybe a tiny bit of green tea at the VERY back end as it cools.
Drinkable, as long as I don’t breathe in the front. I don’t like chamomile.
Preparation
A random teabag that I picked up from I-don’t-know-where….
The aroma here is of jasmine, but the taste is of green tea. It’s okay, but I wouldn’t buy this one. The leaves in the teabag aren’t quite dust, but they’re aren’t whole leaf, either.
Entirely drinkable, moderately enjoyable.
Preparation
Okay, I overbrewed this one a bit since a coworker came in to talk to me while it was brewing, but it’s still REALLY WEAK. I have one more bag and I’m going to take it home and see if using hotter water helps.
I’m tasting spices, but no tea and no pumpkin. Bleh.
When I made my Rishi order a few weeks ago I was hoping they had this in stock. Strange because I don’t even like lychee. It tastes a bit too bitter for me, but others would say it’s sweet. It’s called red tea, because Asians refer to their black tea as Red not Black. And I suppose Rishi also called it a red tea because lychee is a red fruit :D
@Ricky, kinda like how red onions should actually be called purple onions?
Ha, yep exactly!
You should try lychees! They’re so good!