Oct 09
Review: Rishi Tea Organic Rooibos Earl Grey
Bergamot Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Rishi Tea, Rooibos Tea Add commentsJamie’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "While the bergamot will wow your nasal spectrum right out of the bag and during the brewing as well, it is more subtle in the finished cup; present but not center stage. "
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Placing a new tea order to celebrate the change of seasons is something I really enjoy doing, and for the fall season, I wanted to choose some good evening sips to celebrate the drawing down of the days. I enjoy Rooibos blends, and Earl Grey as well. For some reason, I love Earl Grey in the evening and thought a rooibos base instead of traditional black tea sounded like an interesting twist. Rishi uses a bergamot oil that astounds me. I tried their Earl Grey, an award winner in the World Tea Championship, and was wowed by its clear nasal tingling potency, so I thought their pairing it with an organic, fair trade rooibos sounded like a blend worth a try.Brewing instructions indicate a tablespoon per 8 ounces of boiled water, with a steep time of 5 to 7 minutes. I generally brew a 24 ounce pot for all tea drinking as I'm typically enjoying the tea with my husband. Tripling the tea amount sounded a little rash, so I opted to use two tablespoons to a pot and steeped for 7 minutes. My personal experimentation convinces me that less tea is quite adequate (I'm now steeping one tablespoon plus a teaspoon to a pot and this yields a nice flavorful mug) and suits my palette well. For a single mug serving, I would recommend trying Rishi's recommendation of one T per 8 ounces and then try experimenting from there.
The dry rooibos has a real bergamot zing that's quite inviting and maybe even a little intimidating! It's more Earl Grey-ey than many Earl Grey blends manage, and this isn't even tea, properly speaking! The pouring of the water releases a nice rush of bergamot, but with a full, luxurious rooibos biding its time just beneath the citrusy surface. The color of the rooibos, brewed, is deep and dark and red tinged enough to look like the more traditional black tea base.
The taste of this blend is sweet and strongly rooibos. While the bergamot will wow your nasal spectrum right out of the bag and during the brewing as well, it is more subtle in the finished cup; present but not center stage. My impression was that it bolstered the rooibos a bit with a citrusy and lightly spicy taste most prevalent at the start of each sip. The bergamot can't quite hold up to the independent flavor of the rooibos, in my opinion; it gets covered up a bit in the end.
Rishi's Rooibos Earl is a neat twist on an old standard - a bit like hearing Eleanor Rigby done jazz style or listening to Sting sing Thelonious Monk. You recognize it immediately and yet, it's different, and it works. It's not like Earl Grey in a black tea base, certainly. If a nice steaming mug of Earl Grey is your preferred morning cuppa, don't try substituting this blend. But if you enjoy Earl Grey and you enjoy Rooibos, this seems a good match. I can't give Rooibos Earl stellar marks the way I could Eleanor or Monk a la Sting, though. Perhaps a black tea base is critical to Earl Grey's success the way melody is critical to the success of the Beatles and jazz. Regardless, this is a pretty good tea that I don't regret buying but perhaps won't reorder as there are so many other rooibos blends to try.
— To purchase Rishi Tea Organic Rooibos Earl Grey, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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October 9th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Where do you get your tea? Wisdom of the Ancients, aka Wisdom Natural Brands has rooibos tea!