Rishi Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

88
drank Turmeric Chai by Rishi Tea
120 tasting notes

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

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88
drank Turmeric Ginger by Rishi Tea
120 tasting notes

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

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drank Houjicha Sarsaparilla by Rishi Tea
1146 tasting notes

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.

Tiffany :)

Kaylee-are you able to PM me? I tried to and it didn’t work to send you a message? :)

ashmanra

I got a message through to Michelle a while back but she was 7nable to get one back to me. Thankfully I had sent my personal email address to her. It must be glitchy right now.

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90

Strange VariaTea traveling (herbal) tea (powder) box? I’ve been wanting to try Rishi for a while, so it was nice to see this in here. The powder itself is kind of a muddy and unimpressive yellow, which made me apprehensive. As soon as the water hit it, though, a glorious, spot-on aroma of passionfruit wafted up. My apologies to everyone after me who won’t get to drink this because I will be keeping it. It made for a really great morning latte. Bonus: the excellent and very specific kind of sweet-tart of passionfruit brought back pleasant memories of fresh fruit on our Taiwan trip earlier this year.

AJRimmer

I may have to order some of this!!

Kaylee

I’ll send you some to try so you can decide!

Inkling

I got scared off by the color; now I wish I’d tried it!

AJRimmer

Oh it looks like the minimum order amount is 125 grams, so that’s super nice of you to help me decide, thank you!

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derrrrrk. Thank you for this.

The mountain air is getting chilly and the leaves are dropping in fits… I love having seasons again. I opened up my drawer of magical powdered things in anticipation of some kind of cozy-thick latte thing… ended up with a lukewarm cup of summer in front of the fire.

I maybe leaned a little light on my powder-to-water ratio here, so the faint reminiscence of Theraflu is totally on me. I always think of gooseberry as a kind of nondescript flavor, so rightly expected the passionfruit to be the leading layer…. but hot damn, if the scent of summer in the backyard - drying grass and sweaty bodies and sun-hot gooseberries - weren’t exactly what my brain found when it went digging.

I’ll save the rest of this for next summer, I think. Dreamy.

Flavors: Gooseberry, Hot Hay, Passion Fruit, Summer, Sweat

derk

You’re welcome. Sounds like you’re enjoying the new mountain home!

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Rishi recommends gong-fu brewing 8-9g in 150-200ml @212F for 45 sec for the first 4 steeps.
Per Rishi: “Smooth and silky with a deep fermentation taste and sweet and malty notes.”

I can confirm smooth & malty. There’s no obvious acidity or bitterness. However, there’s astringency that persists on one’s tongue long after the cup is empty.

Unfortunately, it’s not sweet, rich, viscous, or full-bodied.

I’ve tried 210F & 30 sec. I’ve also tried my normal brewing parameters. It was ok, but nothing impressive.

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drank Pu-erh Tea Cake by Rishi Tea
139 tasting notes

Pot-brewed per package recommendations & also by my usual gung fu method.
Cert. Organic, but lacking in flavor. There are much better choices available in shou pu-erh.

ashmanra

Nice to “see” you again, looseTman!

looseTman

Thanks ashmanra! I hope all is well for you, your family, & all our Steepster friends?
Do you have a current favorite shou? Thanks!

ashmanra

I have been neglecting almost all of my puerh lately, but I have a few samples I need to try. I might get to one of them tomorrow!

looseTman

Thanks, I look forward to your new pu-erh tasting notes!

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69

Dry aroma: Barely there but if it were fresh I am sure it would be stronger with woody notes.
Liquor aroma: Malty. Slightly woody.
Flavor: I would not call this robust. But to be fair my parents don’t drink tea much and I don’t drink tea bags much. Also don’t know how long this tea has been in their cupboard let alone been around. Granted the packaging looks fresh. Still…. I think this could be stronger. It’s not terrible but the slightly woody, slight varnish, slight malt… it’s too much slight for an English Breakfast.

Irina

I want my English Breakfast to WAKE ME UP. A weak EB is just wrong.

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100

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From beerandbeancurd!

Made with cold non-homogenized 2% milk and stirred. At first the beet powder clumped a little on top, but after letting it sit in the work fridge for several hours, the mixture completely homogenized. Color is like one of those flesh-colored crayons with a pinkish tint.

The taste is a near copy of restaurant Thai iced tea but more natural tasting. Less thick (which I appreciate) because it’s not made with condensed milk — really satisfying and chuggable. The beet extract powder with its earthy sweetness lightly balances the richer cane sugar taste. Am I imagining the floral suggestion of the gardenia flower extract?

I don’t understand how this has such a spot-on flavor with only 4 ingredients! That black tea extract powder must have a major malty-vanilla tilt to it.

Not only would this powder be perfect for people that like to cook Thai/Asian food at home, but I also think it would make a killer ice cream.

Flavors: Beetroot, Creamy, Earthy, Floral, Malty, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 6 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
beerandbeancurd

Yeah, this stuff is some wicked alchemy. Glad you enjoyed it.

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70
drank Houjicha by Rishi Tea
961 tasting notes

This came as a free sample with my order. I’m not the biggest fan of houjicha, but the toasted, nutty flavor does seem pretty perfect for the cooler fall temperatures we’re getting here in Wisconsin this week! Probably not something I’d order again, but I’ll sip down this sample.

Flavors: Nutty, Roasted

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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75

Have you ever bought a tea just because it looked too pretty to pass up? I’d like to think I’m above this kind of thing, but yesterday I bought this matcha on impulse because the tin is cute. And I didn’t have any matcha at home. But also, the tin is cute.

This is my first unflavored matcha in quite a while. David’s Tea’s wild honey matcha used to be a staple in my cupboard for matcha lattes, so that’s the “default” flavor in my mind when I whisk up matcha. I guess that’s probably why I instantly reached for the honey and milk and made a sweetened matcha latte as soon as I opened the tin. Shame on me. I usually taste teas straight before I try any additions.

That being said, it made a highly satisfying latte. It’s quite grassy without giving that dusty, pollen-y flavor that matcha sometimes gets, and it’s hardly bitter at all — but then again, that might be the milk and honey. All in all, the impulse buy paid off! I’ll write an update when I try it on its own.

Preparation
3 g 2 OZ / 59 ML
Cameron B.

I, too, am a sucker for cute/pretty packaging he he. :P

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80
drank Silver Needle by Rishi Tea
961 tasting notes

Mmm, this is nice! Despite the pale color, the flavor is surprisingly robust with floral notes and a honeyed sweetness. It is just the tiniest bit drying at the end of the sip, which keeps me coming back for more! Guessing it will also resteep well.

Flavors: Drying, Floral, Honey, Sweet

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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80

I love a good coconut oolong! My favorite is from The London Tea Room in St Louis and I was excited to possibly find a replacement a little closer to home. However, I missed the fact that this one also includes pineapple. The flavor is much more pina colada than straight-up coconut. Not what I was expecting, but still quite delicious! Going to try icing it next time.

Flavors: Coconut, Fruity, Pineapple, Tropical

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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70

Yunnan black teas tend to be my favorite, so I had to try a sample of this one in my recent Rishi order! Unfortunately, I found it to be just okay…which was disappointing considering the price point. It was quite smooth with a pleasant bready flavor, but I found the flavor surprising thin and watery despite using my usual steeping parameters. I will try over-leafing my next cup to see if that improves the flavor, but I probably won’t be repurchasing this one.

Flavors: Bread, Malt, Smooth

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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90

Since I grew up (and still live) in the Milwaukee area, Rishi is THE tea that gets served in my local coffee shops. Which means I’ve neglected them as a source of tea for my personal collection because I’m always thinking, “But that’s what I’ll be having next time I go to Stone Creek with my coffee-loving friend.” However, a local tea friend recently invited me to go in on a group order with her and I was delighted to discover that their tea catalog goes far beyond the half-dozen or so usual suspects I rely on to avoid having to drink coffee.

This was one of the samples I ordered and I think I’m going to have to go for the big bag next time. Lemon ginger is a fairly basic flavor profile that a lot of companies offer, but in my experience it can go SO wrong: artificial lemon flavor that tastes like cleaning fluid, too much spicy ginger taking over everything, not enough ginger just making the lemon taste weird…the list goes on.

But this one is perfection! Pure, natural-tasting lemon; just the right amount of ginger bite; notes of mango and lime in the background adding a bit of pop; and just the right amount of licorice root sweetness. It was great plain at my desk today, but I really see myself reaching for this with a touch of honey next time I’m feeling a bit under the weather.

Looking forward to seeing what other goodies my Rishi sample pile holds!

Flavors: Ginger, Lemon, Lime, Mango, Spicy

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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drank Schisandra Berries by Rishi Tea
1558 tasting notes

Pungent pearls!
Abundant acid!
Spicy, salty spheres!
Bitter balls!
Numbing nuggets!
Generous juniper!

TCM associations for sure. There is some semblance to Sichuan peppercorns.

Refreshing, sour and light when brewed hot then refrigerated .

Feeling: cleansing, fat digestive, tonic, invigorating

Flavors: Acidic, Berry, Bitter, Hibiscus, Pine, Pungent, Salty, Sour, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 9 g 14 OZ / 400 ML

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drank Genmaicha by Rishi Tea
1558 tasting notes

Last note I mentioned something about this smelling like paint. A little exposure to air has done the trick. Best genmaicha around even though it has too much roasted rice for my liking. Remedy? Crunch crunch crunch :)

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drank Genmaicha by Rishi Tea
1558 tasting notes

Hefty sample from Rishi helping get me through food poisoning. The rice, when brewed, provides that smell that I can’t quite place. Acrylic paint? Did I see ashmanra mention a houjicha smelling like paint? Sobacha can have it, too. Chemical-ish.

Still a good genmaicha. Maybe it needs aired out. Could be a touch more savory as the amount of rice leads this to being a little too sweet. I’ll give it some more attention soon.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 g 12 OZ / 354 ML
Courtney

Oh no! I hope you feel better soon!

Leafhopper

I also hope you feel better!

gmathis

Been there. Take care of yourself!

ashmanra

Hope you are already all better, derk!

beerandbeancurd

Ah, gross. Heals to you.

Martin Bednář

Oh dear. I hope you are doing alright already!

derk

All’s good, thanks evrybody <3 One of those 24-48hr deals.

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96
drank Ruby Oolong by Rishi Tea
135 tasting notes

Love this tea! Drank 2 cups every morning until I ran out. The advertising is that the flavor has complex layers of cacao, raisin, and black cherry. It does! Finally a tea that tastes precisely as it should. This tea is rich and sophisticated, and if I can’t get another bag, I’ll cry.

Flavors: Cacao, Raisins

Mastress Alita

I absolutely love this stuff!

Cameron B.

Red oolongs are always so yummy! :3

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Cold Brew!

You know when you taste something so sour that you can’t help but squish and contort your face to the point where you look like a shrunken skull? Yeah, that was me with every sip of this cold brew. It was almost like just drinking straight malic acid, except after each gut punch of sourness would be this lingering savory note. Very strange, though still enjoyable in a sort of masochistic kinda way.

gmathis

Any time I read “schisandra,” I have an overwhelming urge to say, “Gesundheit!” After reading your description, I think I know why!

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92

Thank you Derk!

I probably would have gotten this myself, though I would have been detracted by the darker oolong. However, it serves as a fruity base backing up a lot of umph for it overall. I brewed it in my ceramic strainer mug and did it over six times western, and it just gives and gives. The dryleaf has a spicy ripeness to it, but brewing it up has a very pronounced passionfruit flavor with a nice balance of sweetness and pith. The earlier steeps had a little bit of a fresh peppery profile, but I’m not sure if it’s really spicy despite leaning in that direction. It’s tropical for sure and super easy to drink. Very bright sunny energy coming from it. I’m glad I had this in the morning. It felt like a pick me up in a cup.

I personally would not consistently drink it as a hoarded stash, but it’s a profile I really love for a summer tea and is deep in the category of the kind of floral and fruity teas I like.

Flavors: Citrus, Fruit Tree Flowers, Fruity, Passion Fruit, Pepper

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drank Houjicha Shiso by Rishi Tea
15575 tasting notes

Brewed this up in one of the pieces of pottery I picked up while in Victoria this past week!! Though I’ve always loved houjicha, I’ve been especially interested in blended houjicha as of late and Rishi has a few more unique options that have been fun to explore. This one, which uses shiso leaf in addition to mint and bamboo ginger, had my eyebrows turned up from the moment I opened the bag of dry leaf to take a sniff because it smells so potently and precisely of snow peas at that exact moment you snap one in half and the essential oils are released in one crisp motion; sweet, earthy, fresh and vegetal with a slight resin note.

It tastes a bit like that when steeped too, but mostly it’s the tingly and cooling combination of shiso and mint that stand out the most against a warm backdrop of cozy, roasty hojicha with strong notes of toasted nuts and grains. Of the handful of Rishi’s houjicha blends I’ve gotten to try, this has definitely been my favourite!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtKgvuuOwtT/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvzctFHXfGs

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