Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Cup Water’

From what I can tell of the leaf, it contains cardamon, what looks like yerba mate, pu-erh, and cocoa. The aroma has chocolate, cardamon, and ginger notes.

The steeping instructions call for one cup of boiling water, one cup of boiling milk, to mix in the ingredients and to let it steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Sweeten to taste.

I did not add any sugar; the taste was fine as it is and I think better without it. The chocolate notes rounded out the ginger and spice that peeks through ever so slightly. It has a sort of grounded, chocolate, round, creaminess with a bit of hui gan bitterness at the end after you swallow which I think can be on account of the pu-erh bits mixed with the cocoa. I think adding sugar would ruin the taste as it would give it a sharpness which does not complement the taste of this beverage. The rounded, soft taste without the edge suits the creaminess and milky mouthfeel, with only the peeks of spice and ginger.

I would recommend only letting the ingredients steep in the milk and boiling water for the suggested 3-5 minutes then strain out all the ingredients from the pot. Do not let the ingredients sit in the solution as it will make the beverage taste very gingery and strong hui gan bitterness.

I like this blend. When I first read chai with pu-erh I thought that it would be a catastrophe but it works! If steeped correctly, it’s like a creamy (unsweetened) cocoa, with hui gan bitterness and the occasional peeks of spice and ginger to liven up your taste buds but still overall a soft and round beverage.

You can purchase the Chocolate Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

The smell from the package reminds me of Christmas: Cinnamon and spice fill my nostrils. I can hardly wait to follow the directions on the package: bring 1.5 cups of water and 1 cup milk to boil. Reduce heat. Add contents of package. Let simmer 3-5 minutes. Sweeten to taste, strain to drink.

I simmered mine for 4 minutes. The smell is heavenly to me. I did not add sweetener the taste seemed find to me without an addition. Wow, this is still really hot to drink, I have burned my tongue. And I will gladly burn it again to taste this tea. The spice is still lingering on my tongue. This warm milky, brown brew is delightfully spicy. Ginger is hitting my tongue and playing against the black pepper, the cinnamon is still a major player much to my delight. I find myself wanting to really drink this down, but the temperature is restraining me to small sips. I finished drinking this brew as a cold chai. Good and spicy to the last drop!

Bottom line: The price point is doable at $3.50/ounce and if you like spice, this is one chai you need to try.

You can purchase the Masala Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

I made this tea according to the directions on the package: 1 1/2 cup water and 1 cup milk. Bring to boil, add contents of package. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.

The dry leaves look like lemongrass. The smell is vegetal with spices. With this Green chai, you do not get the traditional brown color of Chai that you would get with a black tea base. This tea is much less spicy than Rishi’s Masala Chai which makes this a good choice for a green tea fan who wants a chai.

You can purchase the Green Tea Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

This sencha is one of the loose tea samples included in Den’s Tea’s Green Tea Novice sampler. The dry leaves are lovely to look at – shiny, dark green needles of tea that have a full, savory sort of smell with hints of nuttiness. When I took the leaves out after they’d steeped they looked almost like pieces of fresh leaves that had been picked today.

The colour of the tea is a vivid lemon-yellow hue despite having a fairly short steeping time. The tea itself hovers somewhere between the grassiness of matcha and the flavour of cooked vegetables. It has a distinct savory undertone to it – I think someone else called it umami and I agree with that. There’s also a bitter tang on the end of each sip that leaves a bit of a sour aftertaste in the mouth. Nothing too horrible though, and the other attributes of the tea more or less make up for it in my opinion.

I’ve not had much experience with authentic, good-quality Japanese teas, but within my limited experience I can say that I think this is an excellent sencha and something that I might consider buying a full bag of one day.

You can purchase the Sencha Fuka-midori directly from the Den website.

Attention ALL Pineapple Lovers! 

Before, During, and After infusing this tea is all about the freshly cut Pineapple Smell…once the infusion was complete add the fresh Pineapple smell to a Green Tea and there you go! It has a typical Sencha type color and the taste is refreshing and creamy, yes, creamy! I was shocked it was creamy…sure it says it’s creamy but I didn’t believe it for myself until I tried it. AND it’s still a Loud Pineapple Scent! The Green Tea Taste is still true as well but you really have to enjoy Pineapple to like this tea…lucky for me…I LOVE Pineapple!!

You can purchase the Pineapple Sencha directly from the Den website.