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“Wow – this is good. It is much better than I thought it would be. I am always a bit skeptical when it comes to tisanes with ingredient lists that begin with hibiscus as their main ingredient. ...” Read full tasting note
“This is a tart tea- I mostly taste hibiscus and a background note of of clove…as I drink it, it grows on me..maybe I need to try this iced? Right now, I am not sure if I like this one….” Read full tasting note
“I got a bunch of tea in from Samovar not too long ago, and a lot of it’s new. For those of you who read what I throw up here, you know that I like the words, so I’m going to be rolling out my...” Read full tasting note
“I got this tea at the wrong time of the year. This is a fall tea. This was definitely a surprise for me. It has a really powerful kick in both the smell and the taste, all the way down. It’s all...” Read full tasting note
Origin: Organic orange peel, organic, fair trade hibiscus, organic lemongrass, organic licorice root, organic clove, organic lavender and organic stevia (sweetleaf) from the U.S.
Flavor Profile: A deeply complex, sweetly spiced, comforting blend full of rich, warming spices and herbs.
Tea Story: Wei Chi Cha is named for “wei chi,” your protective life force energy. Acupuncturists from all over San Francisco send their clients to us for its warming qualities.
Chi aside, this is an organic, caffeine-free blend that is bold and soothing, like mulled apple cider, but with abundant stevia sweetness in lieu of sugar and fructose.
The dry blend is a colorful, bright mélange with intense aromas of clove, lemongrass, lavender and orange peel. When brewed, Wei Chi Cha is a brilliant ruby color with rose-pink edges in the glass.
The grounding aroma is a balance of hibiscus and lemongrass, with lesser notes of clove, orange and other warm spices. Hibiscus, clove, lemongrass and orange peel create an all-enveloping flavor that is potent and supremely comforting. Lemony tang and licorice and clove astringency in the finish precede a sensation of restoration and calm.
Samovarian Poetry: A blend of warming spices to soothe the body, mind and spirit.
Food Pairing: To start your day, drink Wei Chi Cha with blueberry, cherry, cinnamon-apple or cherry coffeecake, Danishes, strudel or crème-anglaise-topped popovers. It’s also great with spiced, fruity desserts, like apple kuchen, gingerbread, pumpkin-raisin bread, stewed cherries over vanilla ice cream, baked apples or warm, iced cinnamon-raisin rolls.
Samovar's is dedicated to preserving the simplicity and integrity of the tea traditions and inspiring people to practice peace through drinking tea.
Wow – this is good. It is much better than I thought it would be. I am always a bit skeptical when it comes to tisanes with ingredient lists that begin with hibiscus as their main ingredient. But this one is blended well… not extraordinarily heavy on the hibiscus, and the other ingredients help cut through some of that tart flavor.
It is pleasantly tart, with a little sweetness, and a really nice hint of lavender in the finish. I like this very much.
I got a bunch of tea in from Samovar not too long ago, and a lot of it’s new. For those of you who read what I throw up here, you know that I like the words, so I’m going to be rolling out my thoughts on them slowly, even though I’ve tried…ehm…all of them already.
Before I say anything more, can I just say hats off to the Steepster monkeys who made all of this wonderfulness happen? Best update ever. Am I right?
Ok, so Wei Chi Cha. Or is it Wei Xi Cha? I’m not sure, but this tea is absolutely delightful. It’s like autumn in a cup. I’m always on the fence about whether to use ‘autumn’ or ‘fall’ because ‘autumn’ borders on snooty for me. I feel as though I should be wearing a tweed jacket with elbow patches. Fall seems much more casual comfortable, you know? It’s a little more hooded sweatshirt, which is how I roll. My quirky verbal prejudices aside, though, holy autumnal tea, Batman.
It smells like cider and cloves and cinnamon and dried leaves and log fires. I might be mistaken, but I think that this is a relatively new tea for Samovar, and when I read the description of it I had added it to my cart before I could realize that I’d clicked the button.
The taste of the tea is a little sour [I’ve been slowly discovering that just how sour is controlled greatly by the steep time – I recommend around 4 minutes, maybe 4 minutes 30, but play around with it.] The sourness dissipates once you’ve swallowed, though, and you get treated to this nice bit of sweetness that sinks into your tastebuds.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that the taste of this tea gets watered down quite quickly. If your cup is looking pinkish, you’re probably not going to get a ton of taste. You’re looking for something closer to a nice, light red hue. I haven’t had any luck beyond two cups, but there is a noticeable difference on the second steep.
All in all? A good tea. And it certainly is working well as a stand-in for me while I wait for the weather here to catch on to the fact that it’s officially fall. Right now it’s doing the best impression it can muster of a Louisiana swamp.
Sounds interesting! Usually even the smallest amount of hibiscus makes the tea too tart for my tastes, but this does sound good with cold weather creeping up on us.
Also, thanks for the kind words about the updates :)
There definitely is tartness, which is why I like to go easy on the steep time, but the smell makes me want to go jump around in leaves.
And no problem, we all appreciate the hard work you guys have been putting into the site!
I got this tea at the wrong time of the year. This is a fall tea.
This was definitely a surprise for me. It has a really powerful kick in both the smell and the taste, all the way down. It’s all kinds of complexity mixed into one tea and I don’t think I’ve tried a Samovar tea that has been this powerful before.
I haven’t experimented with too many herbal teas since I’m a bit more of a fan of straight-forward tea leaves, but this one is definitely unique. The colour of the brew was a surprise at first (a ruby or purple hue), but then you realize that it’s normal given the ingredients. It’s smooth going down, even if it can be a bit on the sour side, and the taste is not too similar to the smell which is interesting. It’s very soothing and I can tell it could make anyone feel warm on a cold winter night, which is why it’s a shame that I got my hands on it just as the weather is getting warmer.
I’m going to have to play around with this one more to see if shorter steep times or less tea might reduce the overpowering flavours, but this is one to try for sure. I’ll have to serve this to some friends and see what their opinions are.
I’m not sure what it is about this tea, but I find the flavor/texture amazing! The first tangy sip surprises me every single time. I have to be in the right mood to drink it (and I swear, despite the lack of caffeine it always makes me need to pee) — but when I am, it’s, well — fun. A really fun tea, if you like different and tangy.
