Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yellow
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Yellow Buds is composed of a single, ripe bud shoots. Usually, yellow teas are made with small leaf or medium leaf varietals from central and eastern China. This is a one of a kind Yellow Tea made with Mannong Manmai’s ancient heirloom broad leaf tea trees.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This isn’t my first sampling of Ancient Yellow Buds from Rishi Tea, I’ve tried this tea and reviewed it previously, however, that was a couple of years ago, and I believe that this is a tea from a more recent harvest … and tea changes fro year to year, harvest to harvest.
I was really excited to receive YELLOW TEA (my precious!) in the Steepster Select box for the month of May. No tea makes me as happy as yellow tea. So, for all the complaining I might have done last month because of a less than exciting box – I take it all back and apologize, because this month’s box more than makes up for last month’s shortcomings! This is the very best box from Steepster Select yet, and it has single handedly (single boxedly?) renewed my faith in the Steepster Select subscription.
And … oh. my. goodness! Is this ever good. Seriously, if you haven’t yet tried a yellow tea, I recommend trying one. Get yourself a really good quality one like this one from Rishi Tea. The leaves are soft and covered with fluffy, downy fuzz and they look a bit like Silver Needle, except that they have a slightly golden/yellowish color to them. The aroma of the dry leaf is like a cross between freshly cut grass and hay – lightly vegetative and very crisp and fresh smelling.
The brewed tea smells very much like the dry leaf, and it is a treat to inhale deeply before taking a sip … this really enhances the overall taste to engage the olfactory nerves in this way. The flavor is sweet and delicious. I have often compared the flavor to tasting a little like the “lovechild” of white and Oolong tea. It has a similar mouthfeel of a good Oolong tea, with a lovely smoothness and a hint of buttery flavor, while also maintaining the delicate, sweet features of a high quality white tea.
But really, it’s even more than that. An experience with yellow tea is just so amazing. Every tea lover should try this yellow tea from Rishi Tea – it’s excellent!
Organic Dragon Well from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Dragon Well (Long Jing) is the most famous Chinese green tea, named after the Dragon’s Well landmark in the West lake area of the Zhejiang, where the tea originated. Dragon Well is a pan-fired green tea flat fried by hand in large woks one small batch at a time. This artisan processing technique yields a tea with leaves shaped like the blade of a sword. Each spring, during the prime Dragon Well harvest, we select a unique quality that has a balance of fresh green and smooth toasted flavors. Rishi’s Dragon Well is mellow and smooth with a fresh bittersweet finish and roasted chestnut aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This month’s Steepster Select Box was a celebration of the Chinese New Year which marked the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. To celebrate this occasion, the Steepster Select Box included three Chinese teas: Two Dragons and a Pearl; a flowering tea from Teavivre; Dragon Well (Long Jing) from Rishi Tea; and Pheonix Yunnan Gold from Tea Valley. The flowering tea and the Yunnan tea are two teas that were new to me, and I’ve already reviewed them this month, but this Organic Dragon Well from Rishi Tea is one that I’m familiar with as I reviewed it several years ago.
This Dragon Well holds a somewhat special place in my heart as it represents the first Dragon Well tea that I tasted that I enjoyed, having had somewhat of a bad experience with a Dragon Well quite some time ago, I was hesitant to try it again. Since that time, I’ve realized that I’m actually fond of most Dragon Well teas, and I therefore must assume that it was how I brewed the tea, and not the tea itself that I found distasteful those many years ago.
The tea has a light to medium body and a crispness to it that is quite refreshing. It is sweet and smooth, with a very pleasing nutty flavor in the background. While the description on the Rishi website (provided above) describes this nutty flavor as a chestnut taste, I find it also tasting vaguely of roasted almonds, a flavor that is especially pronounced toward the finish. It tastes very much the way I think a roasted nut butter made of both almonds and chestnuts might taste.
While this Dragon Well has a somewhat grassy taste to it, I find that the grassy flavor can be toned down significantly by lowering the water temperature to just 175°F and steeping for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. With this cup, I taste almost no grassy tones, only a hint of it in the distance.
A delicious Dragon Well, one that I’m very happy to be enjoying again!
Organic Golden Needle from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Product Description:
Our best black tea is composed of pure buds that are hand harvested from Yunnan’s antique tea trees. Delicate processing and even fermentation present a lovely leaf style that yields a smooth, sugary flavor with nuances of baked sweet yams and raisins.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Looking back at the last few reviews that I’ve composed of teas from Rishi Tea, several of them have been “Golden” type black teas. And I must say that Rishi has a really good selection of golden tea leaves to choose from. But of all of those that I’ve tried thus far, this one has to be the most golden … that is … every leaf in this pouch appears to be gold in color. Beautiful!
And what a lovely flavor these Golden Needles produce. The body is lighter and crisper than a typical Yunnan tea, with a sweet flavor that is quite like raw sugar in flavor. I also do taste the sweet potato and raisin flavor as mentioned in the description from the Rishi Tea website (as provided above).
It also possesses flavor characteristics that I’ve come to expect from a Yunnan tea: a spiced undertone that is somewhat peppery and a hint of malt. It has a very warming quality to the flavor as well, making it a very welcome tea to enjoy on this chilly, late-autumn afternoon.
I prefer this served hot as the flavor profile seems more fit for a hot tea than an iced tea. That’s not to say it wouldn’t make a nice iced tea, but I find that some of the nuances become lost in this tea as it cools, so for best enjoyment of all this tea has to offer, I suggest sipping it whilst it is hot. It needs no sweetener of any kind, as it has a very satisfying sweetness to it without additions.
A very pleasing cup!
Golden Assam from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Product Description:
The Assam region of Northeast India is famous for its black tea production. The sub-tropical valleys of Assam in which tea is cultivated yield gutsy, bold infusions with full body and flavor. Our single estate Golden Assam is from orthodox manufacture and has an abundance of even grade leaves and golden buds. Its rich liquor is sweet, robust and malty with notes of fruity raisin and date sugar.
Taster’s Review:
Fabulous!
This is the kind of tea that you want to wake up to in the morning. It has GUSTO! It is a robust Assam with a deep, rich flavor that suggests notes of sweetness and fruit as well as a very profound malty tone.
This delicious, full-bodied tea has a lovely baked quality to it, very biscuit-y in nature. It has a very pleasing sweetness, and I must agree with the above description, it is a “date sugar” kind of sweetness. It is a very enjoyable tea without coming across as too sweet.
I steeped my serving of this tea just under three minutes, and I am finding it to be free of bitterness. I wouldn’t recommend steeping it much longer, though, as Assam teas can be somewhat temperamental and become bitter if steeped too long. There is a fair amount of astringency in this cup; it is a clean, slightly dry astringency, but I did not find it to disturb my enjoyment of the tea at all.
This tea takes well to the addition of milk and honey, if you like your tea that way. I prefer mine without the milk, but a drizzle of honey is quite nice and accentuates the fruit tones of this tea well. This is a wonderful tea that is perfect for that all-important first cup of the day and would be equally as nice as an early afternoon tea.
Bergamot Sage from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Company Description:
The sublime character of sage is wonderfully balanced and masterfully combined with the citrus notes of lemon thyme and bergamot, which play beautifully with overtones of fresh pine, wintergreen and peppermint. Bergamot Sage is an original mood boosting and mentally clarifying blend, fit for anytime of day.
Taster’s Review:
This is surprisingly good. It’s definitely the best caffeine-free bergamot tisane that I’ve come across in a long time.
The dry leaf has an appealing bergamot and herb scent to it. As it brews, I notice that the herbal notes intensify a little bit, but it still smells amazing. If Glade sold this fragrance as a room freshener, I’d buy it!
The flavor reminds me a bit of a green tea Earl Grey. The bergamot flavor is strong but does not taste soapy. I think that the herbs in this tea tone the bergamot just enough so that it can be strong without tasting like Aunt Gertrude’s perfume.
I can taste the sage too, and it gives it an earthy quality and a well-rounded taste. The sage gives this a more masculine taste, as much of the floral essence of the bergamot is offset by the herb.
I really like this one a lot, in fact, this is one I could see myself drinking regularly. I like that it has a very calming, grounding effect, and it does help clear the mind (and tonight, with my daughter having a sleep-over, I definitely need some clarity!)
Bravo, Rishi Tea!