Rishi | Organic Green Needles

It has been a while since I’ve had a pure green tea.  It was a perfect time to get back to the basics.  Rishi’s Organic Green Needles (roasted) is an excellent pure green tea option.  I’ve made several cups now and each cup has been enjoyable.  The green tea flavor really pops in this variety.  Much of the flavor and aroma has to be contributed to the attention to detail with the processing of the tea.  I get a wide range of flavors from this tea.  It’s buttery sweet with a very smooth vegetal flavor.  The aroma of the tea rivals the flavor.  So you get this blast of fresh green tea with every sip.  I often find myself just enjoying the steam rising from the cup before taking a sip.  From my previous blogs, you may know that I’m a huge fan of roasted teas.  This one was actually a lot less roasted than I anticipated.  It’s a very subtle roasting.  You are not going to be overwhelmed with a smoky flavor by this tea.  The subtle roasting is an excellent accent to an already flavorful organic and fair trade certified green tea.  I didn’t find the green tea to be bitter, but the roasted accents are noticeable (as I mentioned they are subtle).  I stuck with a traditional steeping method of 180°F water for a few minutes – great every time.

One compliment I want to give Rishi is their description of their teas.  Those of us that love tea and are always looking for information to expand our tea knowledge really appreciate Rishi’s descriptions.

Rishi describes the tea as : “Green Needles, known as “Lu Zhen,” is the most famous green tea from the Xuan En Yulu Organic Fair Trade Tea Association in Hubei, China. This grade of Organic Green Needles was made in early April of 2009 during the Qing Ming harvest season. Green Needles is noted for its brisk, energizing character and artisanal hand-shaped appearance. Composed of one leaf and a bud, this tea has a superb balance of freshness and brisk bittersweetness. This tea is made by roasting after withering and the final drying temperature is a bit higher than for the steamed type of Green Needle.”

I recommend this tea as an excellent every day green tea.  If you are a new tea drinker and you are ready to experience a true green tea that isn’t overpowering – this is an excellent option.

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Rishi | Organic Yi Congou Special

I am enjoying many new teas from Rishi.  My wife was very kind to buy a lot of teas for me for Christmas.  Rishi’s Organic Yi Congou Special was very enjoyable.  With Yi Congou Special being both organic and fair trade certified, it makes this tea even more special.

Let’s start with Rishi’s description of the tea: “Yi Congou is the traditional black tea from Xuan En County that evolved from the rise of Keemun black tea’s popularity in Western tea markets during the mid-19th century. Often mistaken for Keemun and exported falsely as such, Yi Congou has a smooth, sweet flavor with a light chocolate note and sweet finish.”

Most of us that drink a wide variety of teas appreciate the vast differences between the many types of black, green, white, and oolong teas.  The range of flavors and extremes is endless with the many choices that tea vendors offer.  Yi Congou Special is just a simple pleasure.  It has a strong, yet smooth, black tea flavor that reminds me more of a Ceylon than a Keemun.  As Rishi mentioned, it’s not to be mistaken for a Keemun.  The dry tea also displays nicely for your guests.  The deep-dark color of the tea leaves are accented by copper leaves evenly scattered throughout the tea.  This tea shouldn’t be viewed as boring by any stretch.  It is an every day kind of black tea.  It’s an excellent morning and afternoon tea and it pairs well with many foods due to the fact that it doesn’t have dominating characteristics.  It’s a pure and true high-quality black tea.  The sweet finish makes it very enjoyable to me in the morning.  If you are looking for something slightly stronger than a Ceylon, but not as dominating or defining as a Keemun, I highly recommend Yi Congou Special.

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Rishi Ancient Moon White Tea (2009)

What makes white tea special?  To me, it’s the pure and subtle flavors derived from the tea.  Primarily labeled as “the least processed” tea, white tea is not oxidized.  It’s easy to say the tea is simply plucked, steamed, and dried, but there are still major tea skills necessary to produce a high quality white tea. When drinking a pure white tea like this, the leaves have to come from excellent growing conditions in order to taste good on its own. Due to the fact that the leaves and buds go through very little processing, it is said by many tea experts that white tea contains more antioxidants than green tea and black tea.  It’s important to me as a tea consumer to share my thoughts regarding white tea with you to help you form an expectation. Having said that, your taste buds will be the final judge.

I drink white tea when I want to relax.  After a stressful day or before a hectic day, white tea is very calming.  It’s a beverage that helps me focus and it helps me relax with its subtle notes of  freshness.  White tea does contain caffeine.  In fact, recent studies that I read in the January 2009 edition of Fresh Cup magazine revealed that certain white teas contain a much higher amount of caffeine than was recently thought by the tea industry. One defining characteristic I like about white tea is it’s appearance. When you show someone white tea, if their only experience with tea has been finely chopped dust and fannings in a tea bag, now they can actually relate to tea as a leaf or bud from a plant (or tea tree). Once the tea steeps, the soaked leaves come to life. You can see the vivid colors and defined shapes of the leaves and buds.

Rishi’s Ancient Moonlight White Tea (a.k.a Yue Guang Bai, from Yunnan) was a very enjoyable white tea.  Again, you’re not going to be wowed by powerful flavors.  However, if you’re like me, you’re going to be impressed with the natural freshness that white tea offers.  It’s not grassy like many green teas.  This white tea captures that hot sunny day when the sun has been shining bright on the vegetation of the land and the gentle breeze is sharing the scent of the land to anyone lucky enough to be near.

Rishi describes the tea as: “Having a rich and lively mouthfeel. The complex floral aroma and sweet finish suggests pit fruits, persimmons and wildflower honey.”

I’m not picking up a lot of sweetness in the flavor of this tea.  The floral and fruit flavors are very distant and not always easy to recognize.  This tea has more of a dryness to it.  My best advice to people wanting to try a white tea like this, don’t expect it to taste like something it’s not.  This tea is very mellow and shines with it’s subtle nature and not it’s popping flavors.

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Keemun Golden Buds (Organic/Fair Trade)

Rishi Keemun Golden Buds

I just noticed that according to my blog counter that this is my 100th black tea blog.  Rishi’s Organic and Fair Trade Keemun Golden Buds from the Xuan En Yulu Fair Trade project in southwestern Hubei, China definitely makes for an excellent 100th black tea blog.  The Keemun Golden Buds experience starts with its presentation.  The small golden and dark colored leaves present well.  The scent of the Keemun is fantastic.  The scent is a harmonious blend of a bold and malty black tea mixed with a sweet grape-like aroma.  After steeping the tea in a water temp of 200°F for about 5 minutes, you are left with a dark liquor.  The flavor of the tea is perfect for me in the morning.  It has a way of waking me up with each sip.  It has a strong flavor mixed with a natural sweetness; which makes for a perfect combination early in the morning.  I have to say, this tea reminds me of an Assam.  It’s very bold, but yet with a mild astringency it’s very easy to sip.  Although the color of the liquor is very dark, this tea is very smooth in texture.  The natural sweetness in the flavor will make this more appealing to those that don’t like their black tea over-the-top strong.  All-in-all I really had fun drinking this tea.  Another awesome selection by Rishi.

Rishi describes the tea as: “Our Keemun Golden Buds is a very unique Gong Fu tea, which is hand harvested according to a one leaf and one bud standard. This tightly rolled, well-fermented tea is super tippy with a very unique leaf style. Its deep red infusion is full flavored with rich notes of caramelized sugar and fresh pine. This is one of our premier black teas from the Xuan En Yulu Fair Trade project in southwestern Hubei, China.”

My only disagreement with their description is that I’m not picking up on the pine flavor.  I’ve spent a couple of weeks trying to find it – to no avail.  I can’t say I miss it.

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Rishi | Xiang Mei Premium

Words like “quality” and “premium” are often loosely used when describing teas.  Having said that, when Rishi says a tea is premium, they mean it.  With high expectations, I put a teaspoon of leaves into my Gaiwan and poured water (just cooled from a boil at about 180 degrees) on the premium green tea leaves  and let the tea steep for about 3 minutes.  As soon as the first drop of water hit the leaves an aroma was released that instantly soothed me.  I knew I was in for a pleasant experience.  The spring like scent that rises from the steam in the cup is so calming – it’s a unique experience.  Nearly every quality I enjoy in green tea was present in this cup.  There were creamy-buttery notes, a natural sweetness, oceanic attributes, and a long finish. My high expectations were exceeded.

Rishi supplies the following background on the tea: “The small leaf tea varietals of Southwestern Hubei, China produce assertive, lively green teas. Rishi’s Xiang Mei is classified as Chaoqing: pan fired in a process similar to traditional Chun Mee green tea. Xiang Mei is of a much higher quality than common Chun Mee, which is typically produced during the summer harvests. Xiang Mei was harvested in late March, and the tender two leaves and a bud are skillfully pan fired in small batches with strict control. This prevents smoking or burning of the leaf such as is apparent in many Gunpowder or Mee Cha grades available in the market. Xiang Mei is perfect for the green tea drinker that likes a strong, energizing cup with a nutty, toasty aroma but without the strong, smoky or bitter edge found in most pan-fired green teas.”

You can really taste the freshness and quality of the tea.  As Rishi discusses, there is no smokiness in the flavor of the tea due to the skillful preparation of the leaves.  This allows for a pure and smooth cup of green tea.  The flavors really stick to your tongue.  If you enjoy green tea, this is a must try.  This tea is too good to continue drinking by myself.  I have to share it with others so they know what a premium green tea tastes like.  The fact that it is Organic and Fair Trade certified makes it even more special.

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