This was a spur of the moment buy in the whole foods market.

Upon opening the double sealed canister (pretty neat container) one is
greeted with a wonderfully aromatic toasty green scent with only a hint
of peppermint.

The loose leaves appear disappointingly small and broken, but what a
fresh scent!

Water 170 degrees, or as near as I can manage. One heaping teaspoon per
6 oz. Steep for three minutes. The leaves unfurl some in the water, but
do not appear to increase in volume as normally desired in a green tea.
As the tea steeps, it takes on a golden brown, much darker than
expected - well, it could be from the peppermint...

Upon tasting, it is rich smooth and mellows the entire mouth. There is
a roasty, toasty flavor with clear notes that chime of... cocoa (?) and
a foresty flavor - but not grassy. The peppermint doesn't overwhelm,
but lingers nicely like a breath of mountain air.

mmm, very good. Not too sweet, but could pass as a desert tea, still
quite good alone or beside a meal.

Interestingly, it is very forgiving on the steep time. I consider three
minutes ideal, but at five (oops! got away from me) there was still no
astringency and no bitterness.

I think I have the good fortune of having found a very good and very
fresh tea. Produces excellent tea for four infusions (I haven't tried
five, it doesn't seem right).

It's good enough to drink all the time, though I don't think I would...
maybe.

-elgoog

In article om,
"elgoog" wrote:

This was a spur of the moment buy in the whole foods market.


always nice to find a tea that really
floats your boat. whole foods carries
some nice teas, but i've wondered about
freshness with them - particularly
with greens, which don't have much
of a shelf life in the best of circs....p*

In article om,
"elgoog" wrote:

This was a spur of the moment buy in the whole foods market.


always nice to find a tea that really
floats your boat. whole foods carries
some nice teas, but i've wondered about
freshness with them - particularly
with greens, which don't have much
of a shelf life in the best of circs....p*

pilo_ wrote:
In article om,
"elgoog" wrote:

This was a spur of the moment buy in the whole foods market.


always nice to find a tea that really
floats your boat. whole foods carries
some nice teas, but i've wondered about
freshness with them - particularly
with greens, which don't have much
of a shelf life in the best of circs....p*

I pass by those bins of loose leaf tea at the Whole Food Market, and I
am tempted, but I haven't bought any yet. I've never seen anyone buying
it, and it just looks like it has been there for so long.

I am aware that other people have tried Rishi teas and not been
impressed. I think I was lucky in terms of freshness.

You may think me too generous in my reviews. My hope is to express what
I see, smell, feel and taste - hopefully, this will help people to
decide on their own, whether it is for them or not.

I enjoy reading other people's reviews of their teas too [hint].

-elgoog

pilo_ wrote:
In article om,
"elgoog" wrote:

This was a spur of the moment buy in the whole foods market.


always nice to find a tea that really
floats your boat. whole foods carries
some nice teas, but i've wondered about
freshness with them - particularly
with greens, which don't have much
of a shelf life in the best of circs....p*

I pass by those bins of loose leaf tea at the Whole Food Market, and I
am tempted, but I haven't bought any yet. I've never seen anyone buying
it, and it just looks like it has been there for so long.

I am aware that other people have tried Rishi teas and not been
impressed. I think I was lucky in terms of freshness.

You may think me too generous in my reviews. My hope is to express what
I see, smell, feel and taste - hopefully, this will help people to
decide on their own, whether it is for them or not.

I enjoy reading other people's reviews of their teas too [hint].

-elgoog

"pilo_" wrote in message
...
In article om,
"elgoog" wrote:

This was a spur of the moment buy in the whole foods market.


always nice to find a tea that really
floats your boat. whole foods carries
some nice teas, but i've wondered about
freshness with them - particularly
with greens, which don't have much
of a shelf life in the best of circs....p*

I recently bought a few ounces of Rishi's Organic golden Yunnan from WF. I
chose a black tea precisely because I was not sanguine about their storage,
and black tea in my experience is generally more forgiving of storage
indiscretions than green or oolong.

I found the tea adequate, but not exciting - about what I was expecting.

Regards,
Dean