Peach Oolong Blend from Rishi Tea

by liberteas

PeachOolong

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Rishi Tea

Tea Description:

Iron Goddess of Mercy and a lightly oxidized, flowery oolong from Taiwan are paired with dried peaches and the fresh essence of peach. A blush of hibiscus and a hint of sweetness from natural roots lays the foundation for one of Rishi’s most enticing, indulgent and fruity flavored blends.

Learn more about this blend here.

Taster’s Review:

I have to be honest, when I saw that there was hibiscus in this blend, I was skeptical.  In my opinion, hibiscus has no place in an Oolong blend.  And even after tasting this Peach Oolong Blend from Rishi Tea – and enjoying it! – I admit that I am still keeping to that opinion.  Hibiscus should not be in an Oolong blend.

So, yeah, I am enjoying this tea.  The Oolong notes are lovely:  sweet, creamy and slightly vegetative.  The peach flavoring enhances the natural fruit notes of the Oolong and I’m really liking that.

The schizandra berries add a touch of berry tartness to the cup – not that it needs it, but it is an interesting dimension to an otherwise very peachy cup.  The hibiscus accentuates the berry notes, but it also enhances the thickness to the body of the Oolong, and this is probably my biggest complaint about the hibiscus here.  Oolong is already a thick, lush tea, it doesn’t need additions that will add to this.  It sort of “ruins” it.  Sure … it’s an enjoyable cup, but I can’t help but think that it would be SO much better without the hibiscus.

Fortunately, there isn’t a strong hibiscus-y flavor … and there is something that saves this tea for me and that’s the licorice root.  I love that hint of licorice.  It is very slight … it isn’t a strong, licorice-y taste.  It doesn’t taste sharp or snappy … it just adds a faint licorice note that keeps me sipping just to experience it.

I don’t think this is a bad tea, I just think that Rishi Tea should rethink the hibiscus addition.  It turned what could be a really good tea into something that is just average, in my opinion.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Oolong

1 thought on “Peach Oolong Blend from Rishi Tea”

  1. We love this critique! It’s thoughtful and has some good feedback that we will definitely share with our blending team. Much appreciated.

    Sincerely,
    Beau
    Marketing at Rishi Tea

    Reply

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