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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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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Choice Organic’s Earl Grey is made from Fair Trade Certified black tea, organic orange peel, organic oil of bergamot, and organic safflowers. This tea is another example of Choice Organic’s commitment to social responsibility and customer satisfaction.  Their Whole Leaf organic products contain loose leaf tea in a pyramid tea bag; which gives the tea consumer a quality tea in an easy to use tea infuser.

Earl Grey is a popular black tea blend often referred to as an afternoon tea. I like it anytime of the day, especially in the morning. There’s one catch to liking Earl Grey, you have to like the flavoring of the Bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit described as a cross between a pear lemon and a grapefruit.  The flavor combines to create a flavorful black tea that is a favorite of many.  With the Choice Organic Earl Grey, I didn’t find the flavors to be overpowering.  I typically do not add milk, sugar, and honey to tea, but this one needed something extra to bring it to its full flavor potential.  I think most people that enjoy Early Gray in a tea bag will enjoy this tea.  If it had just a bit more flavor from the start, I would have been more satisfied with my cup.  Keep in mind this product is organic and fair trade.

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Choice Organic Teas has recently introduced eight new whole leaf organic teas.  The teas are neatly packaged in an artistic wrapper.  The tea itself is contained in a biodegradable tea pyramid (mesh-like). Today, I’m drinking Lychee white.  The white tea is both organic and fair trade.  From the start, this tea’s fragrance will make your mouth water.  The dry tea has an inviting sweet scent to it.  It’s a very welcoming scent.  As you inhale the fragrance, it awakens your senses and motivates you to get your day moving along.  If you drink white tea for its low caffeine content, you’ll enjoy the relaxing nature of the tea.  The lychee is a small fruit native to southern China.  The lychee flavor found in tea reminds me of a mix between a sweet grape and a raspberry.  You need to try it for yourself and decide.  Regardless of what it reminds me of, it tastes great.  To prepare the tea, I let the water sit for about 3-5 minutes after it boiled.  I let the tea pyramid float in the water for about 2-3 minutes.  I was left with a delicious cup of tea.  The white tea was very enjoyable.  The flavor is very well balanced.  The white tea and lychee flavors blend together to create a beautiful medley of flavors.  For an extra touch, Choice Organic added organic osmanthus flowers to the mix.  This is easily one of my favorite Choice Organic products, and I can’t wait to try the other new flavors.

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