Rishi Tea

I’m cold. It’s cold outside. Need a cup of something. This was lying on the counter and I’m feeling lazy. Though honestly I feel like I should save this for when I get sick. This is a perfect waaabam for hitting those colds right in the face. The dry aroma is a zinger of ginger. Oooo wee. Yup. GINGER! The turmeric is there to but it’s subdued like an understudy for a Broadway play.

TTB tea! This was spicy and dirty tasting. It wasn’t that great. There was way too much licorice, so it was weirdly sweet. It was better with some soy milk.

A solidly good Earl Grey that I enjoy drinking. Wish it had a little more bergamot.

Really like this tea! It’s not showy, but it is what I expect from Earl Grey. Perhaps a bit more bergamot? I am drinking this every morning now, competing with my husband.

A bit less round and greener Rooibos flavor than the BK Tea Rooibos Chai. Thinner midpalate too. Some licorice sweetness, but an accompanying, slightly off putting seaweed taste.

Little soapy/perfumy. Spicy.

A little much cinnamon bark. Not their best. The straight Kapoor Tulsi is much better.

Ugh, just can’t do this

Bright/neon green liquor. Very fresh, grassy. Not bad, but not my style.

Red berry fruit, hibiscus, rosehip layer beautifully over the earthy ginseng. Taste is really good. This is a superb elixir.

Deep Reddish brown amber. No smoke and not tons of “toasted” flavor but definite rich, gently, slow roasted notes. Some juicy, subtle plum fruit. Verging on black tea. Just not a ton of dimension.

Reddish greenish amber. Substantial toasted barley notes. Distinctive and different than the Adagio Ti Kuan Yi. Nice. Brisk, round and satisfying palate. Solid.

This was a sachet. Broken pieces. Nice, strong citrusy aroma. Again, like the ‘supreme’, missing the luxuriousness and vanilla notes of my favorite earl greys. Citrus is overpowering.

Lemony citrus aroma from the leaves. This brews to be aromatic but is more high tone perfume and less cream than my preference. Missing vanilla and cornflower aroma. Very brisk, needs milk and honey.

Can definitely smell the Valerian strongly. Also notes of rose and fennel. Juicy almost red berry quality. Really nice… Next morning update: pretty hungover! One tablespoon too much for me, need to go with half in the future.

Like red zinger with a more rooty, earthy taste.

All mint. Very strong and very nice texture and sweetness, but the mint really overpowers.

Delicious. Buttery, rich. Very good quality. Soothing nighttime tea.

Really great. Pineapple, cupcake, hefty cinnamon. An all time favorite herbal tea.

Great balance, with a real sweetness from the fennel/licorice root.

Thanks so much to Roswell Strange and VariaTea for organizing this TTB! I had a lovely time with it, and it will be moving on to AJRimmer tomorrow. I made this hojicha from the Strange VariaTea TTB a few times and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I can say that the sarsaparilla’s root beer note is very strong when this is cold, in a nice and almost tingly way. Hot, I just really struggled to describe the flavor or even decide whether I actively liked it. Jury very much still out. I ended up keeping it because I couldn’t get the box closed without taking out another tea, so I chose this one because a) I like hojicha a lot, b) I definitely like it when it’s cold, and c) I’m intrigued by how difficult it is for me to describe it when it’s hot.