Orange Blossom

I’m a sucker for anything orange. So just based on the name I knew I had to get this one. Sadly, I’m a bit brain dead tonight so I can’t really pick out lots of goodies from the dry leaf. But it smells fun.

Post-pouring, I can smell the lemongrass but I can also smell something that reminds me of my perfume (which has notes of things like Bergamot, Grapefruit, Mandarin and Orange – it’s yummy). Sipping is… wow. The front taste is definitely the lemongrass but it’s quickly followed by some nicely juicy and dark citrus tastes. And I say ‘dark’ because it’s a pretty concentrated flavor. The lemongrass keeps a nice, fluffy top note going on and (I’m thinking) the osthmanthus (or perhaps the lemon myrtle since I don’t know what that tastes likes) gives it a sweet end note, with the citrus hitting in the late middle. It’s almost borderline too phlegm-producing herbal with the strong citrus but that lemongrass saves it and as it cools, that heavy citrus lightens up to a more clementine taste.

This is really actually very good. Light but flavorful, good citrus flavors (that don’t remind me of Froot Loops – always a plus) and pretty darn refreshing. I think this would probably be pretty summery and awesome as an iced tea. This is an herbal I’d be happy to add in my rotation for nights that I need tea but it’s too late to have caffeine.

I made up a gallon of this iced and have been drinking it all day. A gallon didn’t actually use all that many leaves (just 4 tbsp) as the tea can handle a second steeping very well, so I just brewed it up hot 32oz at a time, added 32oz of cold water and voila: greatly refreshing citrus green tea. I love this tea iced as it is slightly sweet all on its own. Hot it is almost a bit bitter, but iced the lemongrass, lime and orange really come alive. I’m glad I bought a tin of this and that it was on sale for $8. I can see this being a staple in my fridge. Upping the rating because of it’s iced lovely ness.

Hello! Welcome to a tea that Auggy sent me!

Right, so if you take Rishi’s Citron Oolong, and you take away the hint of lime that you get in that, and you replace it with a hint of orange, you would have this tea.

They’re cousins! Identical cousins!

I’m not going to copy the entire review I wrote on Citron Oolong, but to summarize – light, refreshing, citrusy, with a hint of Fruity Pebbles/Froot Loops. The flavor comes through more at the back of my tongue, and if I can suck in air over the liquid. Very similar to Adagio’s Citron Green, but not nearly as mouth drying, so I like it better for it.

I had been thinking about ordering some Citron Oolong, but I held off this time and I’m glad I did, because this tea also runs quite a bit cheaper [$14.75 for 4 oz. of Orange Blossom vs. $19.50]. Any differences between the two are so negligible to me that it can’t justify the near $5 difference. Bumping Citron Oolong down and having this one take its place.

Meghann M!!!! Thanks for sending this my way!

This smells like Orange Blossom Soap that I have smelled before. Not that it smells soapy…but it was the ‘scent of the soap’ that actually reminded me of this tea.

I really had no idea if I would like this or not when I saw the actual loose leaf. It looked like a whole lot of lemon grass…not that I don’t enjoy lemon grass from time to time – just the last several lemon grassy teas I have tried I haven’t really enjoyed much.

This isn’t too bad. Altho it’s not very memorable, I find it refreshing and light. Probably a good one to sip on if you are stressed out! I started the cup while it was really hot but since it has cooled down and is quite chilled…I like it better cold. All-in-all not a bad one!

I have decided that today shall be an “Orange” day. I have no idea why. It’s just worked out that way. So next on deck is an Auggy tea, which always makes me feel warm and fuzzy, because Auggy is quite the warm and fuzzy lady.

She picked this one up at the London Tea Room, which is awesome, and it’s Rishi, which is double-awesome! Anyway, I used a tablespoon of this lovely stuff. It’s very pretty. A rainbow of greens and yellows, and very… stick-like! Lots of flat, stick-shaped things in this blend.

Anyway, this one smells bright and summery! It’s less heavy on the orange than something like Blood Orange Pu-erh (Samovar, not Rishi), but it’s still orange-y. I’m really getting a smell similar to the gorgeous smell they used to pump out in the faux orange groves of the Horizons Disney World ride that they have since dismantled. It’s a nice scent!

So I steep this one up, and the resulting infusion is a medium goldenrod color. The scent coming off the wet leaves is actually pretty lemon-heavy, but the infusion itself… Deeper orange than I thought initially, with an almost floral-sweet edge to it. If I flounced around in fields, I’d want them to smell like this. Of course, I’m not the flouncing type, and I’m a city girl, so there are no fields, but still. You get the picture.

At first sip, I’m sort of shocked at how light this one is! And bright and happy! It’s a complete 180 from the tall/dark/handsome pu-erh before. Sunshine in a cup. I’m not good with citrus, so I can’t really expound on what’s going on here (since it’s really just blending together), but there’s an orange taste as well as a lemon myrtle taste, followed by a refreshing sweetness. This one is clean and fresh and light.

There is a slight Fruit Loops flavor, but it’s not as heavy as Citron Oolong by Rishi! Which is good!

I just finished a children’s book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, and this tea really reminds me of that 1899, rural Texas plantation kind of feel. Lazy summers in the heat, sweeping music, cicadas humming and a sunset in the distance.

Yum.

It’s no secret that I love Rishi’s peach blossom which is a white tea base and it contains orange while I don’t taste peach so much I mostly taste orange I still LOVE it. So when I looked through the Rishi website I thought I HAVE to try orange blossom which has a green tea base.

Dry leaf on this one smells very orange and delicious. I can see that there is a lot of lemon grass in the mix but it still smells orange to me. So steeped for 4 mins and I get a lemony scent no more orange scent. The lemongrass is mostly what I get and the more it begins to cool the more I get notes of floral in the smell and the taste.

It’s funny in that in the Rishi Peach Blossom I tasted orange in the Rishi Orange Blossom I mostly taste lemon there maybe be subtle hints of orange but I really have to strain to think I taste it in there! It’s a good tea I really enjoy it in that it tastes nice and the aftertaste leaves my breath feeling fresh.

A refreshing, fruity green tea. The orange, lime and tangerine oils are quite evident in fragrance, but the ingredient I most taste is lemongrass. That’s not a bad thing. The lemongrass is well complimented with citrus aromas, flavors, lemon myrtle and the green tea itself. The tiny golden osthmanthus flowers are visually lovely and complement the taste with a hint of light floral apricot. Yummy hot or iced. I’m looking forward to more of this one as the days get warmer!

In the past I have had this tea, and found it to be… meh.

But today it was brewed for a tasting at Whole Foods… and our barista brewed it lightly, and very specifically. I actually really enjoyed it!

I’m still very much a purist with my green teas, but if the brewing instructions are followed closely, and you lessen steeping time a bit, I highly recommend it to the fan of a good blended green tea.

Full orange flavor with underlying sweetness. Sooth despite the citrus flavor. Slight aftertaste that sticks with you that isn’t bitter but makes me think of orange rind.

The name of this tea is really a misnomer. I love orange blossom but alas this tea has no discernable orange blossom flavor nor are there orange flowers in the ingredients. It tastes mostly of lemongrass. There is a citrusy note in there and a hint of tangerine and that’s about it. Very similar to Rishi’s Chamomile Medley and Starbucks Tazo green tea. Not a bad tasting tea, but not as advertised.