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“Pot of tea! This was the tea that finally caused me to cave and place this giant Rishi order in the first place. I’ve never had plum blossoms before, and was deeply curious what the flavour would...” Read full tasting note
The plum blossom, known as the meihua in Chinese (梅花; pinyin: méihuā), symbolizes perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity because plum blossoms bloom most vibrantly during the harsh cold months of winter. Plum trees usually grow for a long time. Ancient trees are found throughout China, Korea and Japan where their blossoms have been collected for making confections, liquors and sweet, fragrant flower teas. We developed a special type of scented and aged Plum Blossom tea made by blending the late winter plum blossoms and first flush Yunnan Dian Hong Red Tea. This tea is alluring and elegant while deep, floral and sweet. The taste and aroma are well integrated and balanced with a fine tannin structure of Jin Xuan Dian Hong. The tea has a unique floral and fruity aroma with tasting notes of dark cherry, sweet plum, marzipan and fresh Sicilian almond cream. This tea pairs well with rich foods and all types of sweet desserts.
Black tea, plum flower.
Rishi Tea specializes in sourcing the most rarefied teas and botanical ingredients from exotic origins around the globe. This forms a palette from which we craft original blends inspired by equal parts ancient herbal wisdom and modern culinary innovation. Discover new tastes and join us on our journey to leave ‘No Leaf Unturned’.
Pot of tea!
This was the tea that finally caused me to cave and place this giant Rishi order in the first place. I’ve never had plum blossoms before, and was deeply curious what the flavour would be like. Though I intend to play around with a bunch of steep methods, I ended up doing this as a larger Western pot of tea that was shared with a coworker as this was the tea in my order she was most personally curious about as well.
The initial flavour was much different than I’d expected. Insanely full-bodied and rich with tannic, malty top notes and a lot of upfront woodiness as well. Not bitter, but just a little bit drying in a way that took a small teacup or so to get a little adjusted to. Once “acclimated” I felt like I got much more of the almond flavour that Rishi speaks about in their description. Somewhere in between a more roasted tasting almond with some umami to it and then also at times something a little more silky and smooth, akin to fresh almond milk. Also worth noting that despite the nuttiness and slight creaminess this was not a very naturally sweet tasting tea at all. The undertones were quite complex with elements of dark cherry skins and also a bit of a more heady floral component.
I’m curious to see if this one grows on me as I become a little more familiar with its quirks. I didn’t dislike it, but there was a bit of a “spark” missing from the initial tasting that kind of had me more on the fence. I will say, though, that it was a LARGE teapot and it didn’t really take me that long to finish it off – and those final sips were met with some disappointment there wasn’t more to pour. Which is a good sign for future brews.
