Zhi Tea

Sipdown! (15 | 15)

My last Zhi tea! Though some have made their way to the rehoming box, but those don’t count. :P

This is probably the best one out of what I ordered, though it’s not amazing. The sencha base is very dry grassy with some slightly fishy seaweed notes, but not much depth or really any vegetal notes at all. I do like the grapefruit flavor, it’s restrained but not too subtle and it does taste like a real grapefruit. And since it’s a citrus it goes fairly well with the more savory base, when some sweeter flavors would be a weird combination.

Anyway, it’s not bad. Lupicia’s version is much better, because the base is much better. Maybe I’ll steep up some of that tea next… Zhi in general was very disappointing to me, especially since it’s a local brand. There were a few teas that were decent, but none that were great or worth reordering IMO. Oh well.

Sipdown! (12 | 12)

Don’t ask me why I ordered this, ginger is the first ingredient. And I like ginger in some things, but it tends to be too much for me as a starring ingredient.

Anyway… This isn’t bad by any means. The ginger is strong but it doesn’t burn my tongue, which is a plus. But the peppermint is already a bit wet rag-y and the earthiness of the ginger pushes it even more in that direction. I definitely don’t taste orange. The eucalyptus is there, adding a nice savory coolness to the blend.

It’s drinkable but not something I would buy.

Sipdown! (10 | 10)

This had a lovely raspberry smell dry, but I wish I was getting a bit more raspberry in the taste.

The nuttiness is definitely there, I’m not sure I would know outright that it’s pecan, but it’s rich and creamy and pleasant. But there’s only a touch of raspberry, and I wish it was stronger to better compete with the nuttiness. And then near the end the rooibos rears its head a bit and takes over everything.

I like the idea of the flavor combo, but I wish for more raspberry and possibly a different base…

Sipdown! (28 | 517)

So, I was excited to try this when I saw that it’s pineapple and passion fruit flavored.

However, I’m finding the flavor a bit too subtle. There is some nice tartness and pineapple-esque fruitiness. However, the base is a totally generic Chinese sencha that just tastes like a big ol’ pile of dry grass. And that just makes it taste rather flat for me overall. I feel like the flavoring needs to be stronger to compete with the grassy base.

Not loving it, but the overall rating is quite high so I guess I’m in the minority. :P

Sipdown! (27 | 516)

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I ordered these samples from Zhi Tea, since I ended up with three coconut teas and it’s never a favorite flavor of mine…

This one smells a bit odd, I thought I was smelling stevia at first, and then changed my mind to licorice root. But neither of those things appear to be in this tea, so not sure what’s going on. It also tastes a bit odd. The base is coming off very earthy, when it’s apparently an Assam. Not sure what’s making it taste that way to me, maybe the ginger? The coconut is very light in comparison to the spices IMO. I mostly taste cinnamon, and it’s somewhere in between Red Hots and bark. I probably would have guessed clove as well, but there is none. Not really picking up on the cardamom either.

An odd experience, as it really doesn’t taste like I would expect from the ingredients list. I would probably swear up and down that this has licorice root in it if I didn’t know it doesn’t. Hmm.

Sipdown! (36 | 488)

This is an interesting one.

It does have a sort of ginger ale or maybe even cola flavor to it. The lime pairs nicely as well, giving it a Moscow Mule kind of feel.

But to me, the ginger is a bit too strong, and this last mug is especially spicy. Also I’m not a fan of the cloying licorice root aftertaste. I bet this would be super interesting as an iced tea though…

Sipdown! (34 | 486)

Meh. Not the biggest fan of this one.

The white tea is quite musty and earthy, but then the pomegranate tastes artificial and candy-like to me. I don’t think I would’ve identified it as specifically pomegranate either, more of a generic berry-esque flavor.

So musty hay and mixed berry candy. Not a favorite, ha ha.

Sipdown! (30 | 482)

This one is just bland.

The base is a very generic woody, leafy oxidized oolong with no real personality. As far as the peach, it’s very subtle and actually reminds me of cucumber, the same as in their Fredericksburg Peach black tea. Ginger is very mild too.

So overall, just bland and boring. Meh!

Sipdown! (21 | 473)

I quite enjoyed this one. I’m not generally a chai drinker, but of course everyone is more drawn to cozy teas this time of year. Also the promise of cacao drew me in for some reason.

This has sort of a Mexican hot chocolate vibe to it because it’s quite cinnamon-forward. The chocolate part is quite subtle, but very authentic. The other spices round it out nicely, with the ginger adding a gentle tongue tingle. I will say, I don’t taste vanilla at all, which is supposedly included. There is cinnamon flavoring as well, which veers slightly into Red Hots territory.

Quite cozy! Probably not something I would reorder, just because I don’t crave chai in general. But I bet this would be lovely prepared on the stovetop too!

This one gets a big ’ol nope from me.

Similar to their Green Earl Grace tea I recently tried, the bergamot here is just so overwhelmingly perfumey and almost chemical in taste. I see other reviewers assuming this tea has lavender in it, which it does not. But even for lavender, which I admit isn’t my favorite, this is quite soapy. It’s like a bergamot and lavender scented soap.

I’m not sure anyone would enjoy this, but into the rehoming box it goes. And Violet Femme is going with it, as I see that it has this bergamot and lavender. I can’t imagine.

Sipdown! (18 | 470)

So I assumed from the dry scent that this had jasmine in it, as it had a very potent aroma. But apparently it’s just a green base with bergamot?

Hmmm yeah, no. The bergamot is so over-the-top and perfumey with a weird floral sweetness to it. It’s almost chemical-tasting, or at the very least artificial. Which is odd because apparently it’s bergamot oil, not flavoring.

Anyway, this is gross. And I can’t really taste the base under all the crap.

Sipdown! (12 | 464)

I was excited to try this one, being a lover of plum.

However, I don’t get much plum at all here. Mostly it’s just a generic roasty oolong with little to no nuance. There’s a pleasant light sweetness to it, but not much else going on. I think if I squint, I can taste a hint of plum? But quite honestly, I wouldn’t know this is a flavored oolong if I tried it blind.

Meh!

Sipdown! (9 | 461)

This is fine, but a bit bland.

The honeybush has a pleasant woody flavor with some biscuit notes and hints of pepper. There’s a touch of sweetness from the vanilla, but I really feel like it needs more. Mostly it tastes like honeybush.

Sipdown! (4 | 456)

Hmm nope. Mostly just getting rooibos and stevia leaf. It’s not horribly sweet, but there’s a lot of that papery sort of stevia flavor. Cinnamon is there as well, and reminding me a bit of Red Hots.

But mostly just wood shavings and stevia leaf. :(

Sipdown! (2 | 454)

Ooh I’m excited for this one, it’s always refreshing to have an orange tea with no spice in sight. I really enjoy more zippy orange teas, and oolong sounds like a lovely base for it.

Hmm… It’s a bit underwhelming for me, and not really what I was expecting. I do enjoy the orange part of it, though it does veer into Tang territory. It has a nice zestiness and isn’t overly sweet. However, the base is just too strongly roasted and it overpowers most of the orangey goodness. The two also don’t really meld well together in my opinion. Sometimes contrasting flavors can be nice together, but here the dark toastiness of the oolong just covers up the brighter orange.

Oh well! Not a bad tea, just not up to my expectations unfortunately.

Sipdown! (1 | 453)

So I’m not generally a breakfast blend sort of gal, but I just thought it was fun that this is named after Austin (where I live). And I do like black teas, so I gave it a go.

To be fair, this isn’t a blend, which makes it odd to me that it’s called a breakfast blend. It’s actually just an Assam. No complaints here, as I do enjoy some Assam teas. This one is surprisingly mellow with very little bitterness or astringency to speak of. But it also tastes rather generic. There’s a tad bit of raisiny goodness, but mostly I would describe it as “tea-ish”. Not sure I would be able to pin down whether this is an Assam or Ceylon tea if I didn’t already know the answer…

Anyway, it’s tea. Pleasant enough to sip on but with no real personality.

Sipdown! (41 | 450)

Another coconut tea that I ordered for some reason, ha ha. I guess I was sucked in by the promise of pineapple…

Like most piña colada things, I want more pineapple. This is mostly a light and slightly creamy coconut white tea with a hint of pineapple. It’s not bad, just not what I was looking for. The bai mudan is generically hay-like with soft grainy notes.

Sipdown! (39 | 448)

Hmm, this is an odd one.

I don’t really get peach at all. If anything, it’s reminding me of cucumber? Maybe a super duper underripe peach if I squint a bit? But the flavoring is quite light in general, mostly I’m tasting what I think is the same Assam base as their Coconut Assam. It’s not bad per se, just not as flavorful as I would like. Sort of leafy, with little malt and no raisin to speak of.

So really it sort of tastes like a vaguely cucumber-y generic Assam to me. Needless to say, not quite what I was expecting… XD

Sipdown! (33 | 442)

I don’t know why I ordered so many coconut teas from Zhi Tea. Clearly I was in a coconutty mood when I browsed their website, even though I don’t tend to love coconut-focused teas…

This one is decent. The coconut is quite strong, but also a bit creamy and almost buttery. It doesn’t taste terribly artificial either, reminding me a bit of canned coconut cream. The Assam base is present but I wouldn’t call it strong. It’s also a bit nondescript, lacking the nice malty and raisin notes of a flavorful Assam.

It’s a good tea, but not a great one. I’m sure someone who really loves coconut would like it more than I do, and it would probably be nice with milk and sugar as well.

Sipdown! (31 | 440)

Sorry for the lack of notes over the past few days, we had a coworker of my husband’s staying with us over the weekend. He was in town for a beer festival that we all went to on Saturday. It was an eventful but exhausting weekend, and I find myself dreading work tomorrow…

Anyway, this tea. I figured I’d go ahead and finish off the packet. It’s a good tea, thought mostly on the berry side of things. There’s a bit of a candylike quality to it, but it’s well-balanced by the tartness of the raspberry and the touch of hibiscus.

Fun to try, but not something I would order as I want more plum.

I indulged in a bit of retail therapy the other day, and ended up ordering a ton of samples from Zhi Tea. Zhi is a local Austin company that I’ve been meaning to try, so I’m glad to have finally taken the plunge. Though my cupboard probably isn’t so happy, with something like 25 new teas… :O

Anyway, I pulled this one out, semi-randomly, to try first. I often have an issues with berry flavoring tasting chalky, and from the dry scent I could tell this would probably be one of those times. But actually, it’s not as chalky-tasting as I expected.

The berry here is more of a dark, syrupy, quite candylike flavor that’s somewhere between blueberry and raspberry. It’s almost a bit cotton candy-like? Maybe some blackberry in there as well. I don’t get much plum though, which is a shame as I adore plum things. The hibiscus is very restrained, I only get a hint of tartness that helps the berry pop a bit more. Base is decent, could be a bit more flavorful but I can definitely taste it and it’s not thin or overly tannic.

Anyway, it’s a nice enough tea. Probably not something I would reorder, just because I was wanting more plum than berry and it was kind of the opposite of that. But I’ll enjoy finishing off the sample packet!

One thing I wonder about Zhi though, is whether they blend all of their flavored/blended teas in-house. Their website seems to imply yes, but then they have a few teas that are always catalog red flags for me, like a cherry sencha and a blueberry bai mudan. It doesn’t necessarily matter either way, just something I’m curious about. I’ve had several experiences where companies say they hand-blend everything, but it isn’t really the case, so I guess I’m just suspicious about it now. :P

#tiffanys2021sipdown Tea #11
#drinkwhatyouown January slot 5/25

So this was suppose to be a sipdown evening of Sat 1/9 as I was doing the overnight shift at work. I’ll admit that I am not a black tea fan but trying to drink what I have so I made 2 sachets hot & plain in my everyday travel mug (DT favorite tumbler in navy blue which is 20 oz). Then I left in my boyfriend’s car when he dropped me off. So instead this was sipped cold & with milk with my meal before I worked Sun 1/10 overnight shift.

#tiffanydrinkstea #tiffanys2021 #tiffanysfaves #tiffanyinthe614 #tiffanysteasipdown #sipdownchallenge

Steep Information:
~12oz boiling water 2tsp
5+ minutes
Metal basket strainer

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, coconut, anise
Steeped Tea Smell: Anise and wood, Hint coconut
Flavor: Sweet coconut anise
Aftertaste: Woody
Liquor: Color translucent orange red

Resteep: very weak

https://amazonv.blogspot.com/2021/01/zhi-tea-company-loose-leaf-rooibos.html