Marcy Ross Send Message

I was underwhelmed by this one. The smell of the dry tea was great (very fruity), as was the smell of the teacups after we had finished the tea (they smelled sort of like Virgil’s cream soda), but the taste of the tea itself was rather weak. I could tell that it was vaguely fruity, but neither the taste of the tea nor the taste of the fruit was strong enough. I don’t like most flavored teas, with a few notable exceptions (like Earl Grey), partly because I love the taste of tea, and I find that the other flavors often overwhelm the taste of the tea. Here, though I feel like both the tea and the fruit underwhelmed each other. My wife enjoyed it, but it was just missing something for me. Oh, and it was difficult to get the smell out of my French press (as is the case with many flavored teas). I just wish I liked the taste as much as I liked the smell.

As with all the Rishi teas I’ve tried, I enjoyed this one. I hadn’t had white tea before, but this certainly isn’t what I had expected. I followed the instructions and used 2 tablespoons for an 8-ounce serving. The infusion was indeed “amber-orange,” as the description says; I suppose I had expected it to look more like a green tea. The taste was interesting as well—much less delicate and much more rich than I had expected (although it definitely was mild, subtle, and delicate—just less so than I expected). I’m not sure I could yet identify what flavors there are yet; I’d have to give it a few more tries. My wife tried some; she finds green teas too subtle for her liking, but enjoyed this. Make of that what you will.

I liked this tea. Both steeps tasted surprisingly similar—grassy, buttery, and a bit nutty. Good tea, but I wouldn’t buy it again. It reminds me of Tazo’s China Green Tips, my favorite Tazo tea (usually I stay away from Tazo). Since I work at Starbucks, I can get CGT for free. But for those who can’t do the same, I’d recommend this over CGT. Again, very good, just not enough to make me want to buy a tin.

A very nice Darjeeling. In the first steep, I tasted a flavor and astringency similar to that of grape skins (my wife and friend who were trying it with me made fun of me on this point, but as a kid I would occasionally peel grapes and eat the skins and flesh separately, and it was definitely a grape skin flavor). The second steep was more rounded and mellow, less astringent and tasted slightly spiced. Very good overall.

As far as what I’ve tried, I seem to enjoy Republic of Tea’s black teas much better than their greens. My wife and I had this today, and we both loved it! I was a little worried, because I was keeping the leaves in an old tin that used to house Australian Outback tea (I made some, but the pieces were so small that many passed through the strainer, and the smell of the brewed liquid was terrible—enough to convince me not to even sip it. ). Fortunately, it appears that I had washed it thoroughly enough to remove all traces of the previous tea.
Anyway, on to the tea. The leaves looked wonderful, all golden and tippy. They produced a nice dark liquid. Although the Republic of Tea recommends drinking it with a bit of milk and sugar, I tried it plain first. It was nice and smooth—more like a Ceylon than an Assam (I’ve never had a black Yunnan before, so I didn’t know what it would be like). Slightly malty and astringent, but not overpoweringly so, with mild citrus hints. After the first few sips, I added milk and sugar. I can see why they recommend it—it really brings out new flavors! The citrus notes became more noticeable; it felt almost like I was drinking a subtle Earl Grey. This makes sense, as Earl Grey was supposedly first produced in an attempt to imitate the taste of more expensive Chinese teas (making it, I suppose, the genmaicha of England). I was very pleased, and will probably buy a tin of this, if Rishi’s 2nd Flush Darjeeling doesn’t impress me more.

A fantastic blend! On days when I don’t have to wake up extremely early, I make a cup of this. I usually (but not always) add just a small amount of milk and sugar, but it also tastes delicious without, which surprised me. I like the strength and heartiness of Assam, but it can sometimes be a bit overpowering on its own, and I can rarely drink it plain. The Ceylon in this blend works really well to smooth out the bite of the Assam, while still keeping the robustness. This tin was a gift, but I would certainly buy it myself—and may do just that when I run out! I’m very pleased.

This tea was both good and somewhat disappointing. I think I would have liked it better if I had approached it as just a regular Chinese green, but I was expecting more. For one, I started using filtered water (my city’s tap water tastes good, so I didn’t think it would change much, but it improved the other teas I had tried. Moreover, both the price ($22 per tin—but I only got two teaspoons’ worth at Whole Foods, which was lucky) and the description made me expect a spectacularly fantastic green. Maybe it was, and my taste buds just aren’t yet used to all the subtleties in Chinese greens, but to me it tasted like others I’ve had. Good, but not fantastic.

Picked up a few teaspoons of this tea at Whole Foods today, along with a few others. This was the one that my wife and I decided to try first, and we loved it! The dry leaf smelled vegetal and slightly unpleasant, but the aroma of the first steep was wonderful. There were some vegetal notes, but they were balanced with all the other notes (I noticed some nuttiness and a some roasted grain smell). The flavor of the first steep was also delicious—a great combination of delicate and hefty. The flavors (which were the same as the aroma) were strong, but not overpowering. The flavors of the second steep were more delicate. This is only my second oolong, but if this and the previous one are any indication, oolong will have to become a semi-regular staple of my tea cupboard!