This is my first tea/tisane from Rishi and my first impression was positive; they print complete brewing instructions on the front of the packet. This original blend is composed of organic cinnamon, organic Fair Trade hibiscus, organic currants, organic licorice root, and natural plum flavoring. With the exception of the flavoring, all ingredients were readily apparent, in lovely large chunks and whole currants. The aroma was sweet and heavenly, with the licorice and cinnamon leading the way.

Following directions, I brewed a tablespoon of the dry mix in 8 oz. of 212F water for five minutes. The resulting liquor was a pretty plum red and smelled like a warm plum cobbler, with lots of fruit and cinnamon notes. The licorice aroma had receded, but was readily apparent when I took my first sip. The flavor profile was tart, sweet, and fruity, with lots of nice cinnamon accents. The licorice was nicely balanced, and dominated the finish in a good way. It was amazingly sweet, too, and I didn’t feel the need to add any sugar at all, although you certainly could. In short, it was delicious! I think it would be terrific iced, as well.

The wet ingredients in the teapot were a deep plum red and smelled mostly of cinnamon and licorice. I tried a second infusion of seven minutes. This one was disappointing, a paler rose pink with a strong cinnamon fragrance, and a far less complex flavor profile, mostly hibiscus, with little to balance it. While drinkable, for me this is a one steep tisane.

Second steep notwithstanding, I really loved this tisane, and will be adding some to my meditation night stash. At only $9.00 for a 3.7 oz packet, it’s a pretty good deal. Highly recommended.

After becoming hooked on Rishi’s Vanilla Mint Puerh, I recently placed an order for more of Rishi’s flavored puerh. Allow me to digress for a moment and say that NO ONE does flavored puerh like Rishi. In my opinion, they set the standard. I digress. I also threw a 1 oz package of this into my cart when placing my order. I love lime, I love ginger, and I love green rooibos and especially in the summer as it is usually excellent iced. Me liking this blend is likely a no-brainer.

Rishi lists the ingredients of this blend as Organic Fair Trade Certified™ green rooibos, Organic ginger, Organic lemongrass, Organic lemon myrtle, Organic licorice root and natural essential oils of lime and tangerine. One nice thing about green rooibos is that like it’s red cousin, it is nearly impossible to screw up. I scooped this generously, infused it in boiling water and came back about 5 min later—Wha-la! Perfecto! The liquid brewed up to an orangey golden color. The flavor is very zesty! This cup provides a nice amount of heat from the ginger! Since I happen to love that ginger’s spicy bite, I am quite the smitten kitten. However, I would warn others who are not a fan of blends that possess this kind of heat to avoid this one as the ginger is fairly strong in this cuppa. While I think that the citrus flavor overall errs in favor of lime, I found that at some temps it tasted a bit lemony. I think that this one would be a good candidate to cook with and I can imagine that it could be infused into a delicious salad dressing. I am also looking forward to enjoying a cup of it with some tilapia tomorrow. I also tried this one iced and it is excellent. Further, the ginger stood up to a splash of dairy nicely. Overall, this blend is zesty, refreshing and quite versatile. I do think that this blend is one of those love it or hate it kind of things, but I happen to love it!

The liquor was a light golden color and had a slightly grassy aroma. This tea is everything that a dragonwell should be. Sweet, mellow and roasty; it is just what the doctor ordered on a spring morning. The second infusion didn’t reduce the flavor by much, but I don’t think it would have held up to a third. I’ve been neglecting my greens lately and this one has made me want to make up for lost time. I would definitely recommend this tea.

Rishi knocks it out of the park on this one – an all-organic blend of Pu-erh tea, vanilla, peppermint, cinnamon and licorice root. It’s kind of like magic in a cup – all of those flavors are present, and balanced perfectly. A singular whiff of the dried mix sends a pungent, cooling and intoxicating scent of minty freshness up the nasal passage. The dried blend has a presentation such that all of the ingredients are evident on sight alone, and exuding quality every step of the way. It is also Fair Trade Certified.

Freshly boiled water steeps this tea for 5-6 minutes on Rishi’s recommendation. I wholeheartedly agree, keeping my time to just 5 minutes and finding that incredibly satisfactory. The infusion turns an immediate deep coppery red. The aroma in the cup is decidedly minty, as with the dried blend – however, a richer aroma is at work along with the mint here. Something almost chocolaty and buttery. Recollections of chocolate-coated espresso bean munching come to mind. On the palate, the cooling sensation from the mint is almost immediate, and everlasting well beyond the finish. An inherent earthiness from the Pu-erh is very present as well, and the butteriness in the scent also translates to a slickness in the liquor (undoubtedly from the vanilla presence, which marries well with the peppermint). The cinnamon adds an appropriate touch of astringency, and the licorice root is an ideal cherry-on-top. A second infusion loses a minor percentage of potency, but is completely delicious all the same.

This is a superb tea that just gets better with each cup. It really delivers from the very first sip, but as you become more familiar with it, and more intimate with its nuances, it only gets better from there. This could very well be Rishi’s masterstroke.

The liqour is a deep mahogany red-brown colour that seems slightly murky, which I have come to expect from teas with directly added ingredients, such as the cinnamon. I will admit that I was skeptical at first of the mint in this tea. Most teas are simply dominated by an overwhelming minty flavour when mint is anywhere on their ingredient list. This tea made quite the impression on me because it was minty at the finish, but I didn’t feel like I was shooting peppermint extract.

The taste was well rounded, full and made me feel like I was sitting in front of some fire. The fire could have been a summer bon fire blazing into the midnight blue sky with green and yellow lightning bugs zooming around. Or it could have been on a couch or rug in front of a hearth when the first winter snows begin to fall. Either way, its a warm mood tea, that is wonderful at any time. I dearly have enjoyed it and have made most of my tea drinking buddies try this one because it is so good.

deep reddish-black, opaque infusion with a cool peppermint note. Hand-chopped vanilla beans and fresh ground cinnamon Its lightly sweet flavor has accents of espresso and cacao.

The ingredients for this cosmopolitan blend are organic puer, organic vanilla, organic peppermint, orcanic cinnamon, and organic licorice root. How they succeeded in getting it to taste like white chocolate, I know not. Master blenders are like apothecaries and alchemists. Ask not what they do.

Recommended brewing was 1 tablespoon of leaves per 8oz of 212F water for five-to-six minutes. This is one of those where it’s best to obey it to letter, I surmised, given the strong ingredients I was working with. Lest I make my sinuses explode. I aimed for a five-minute steep to be on the safe side.

It brewed to a very earthy, dark brown, which is expected of a shou puer base. The aroma was equally as earthy, kinda like someone threw some sand into the Junior Mint batter when the candyman wasn’t looking. Vanilla and mint took point in the flavor department. Puer muddiness was delightfully understated. The last thing I wanted to taste was fish with my white chocolate. When sweetener of any sort was added…then it was a liquified Junior Mint.

Needless to say, I liked it. A lot. Go get it.

This tea really intrigued me.  Ingredients include pu-erh, vanilla, peppermint, cinnamon, and licorice root.  All ingredients are organic and the pu-erh is also fair trade certified.  A look over the dry ingredients revealed beautiful bright green pieces of peppermint leaves mixed with the tea, and reddish pieces of cinnamon.  The scent of the tea was absolutely amazing; heavy with mint and followed by earthy undertones.  To prepare my cup I followed Rishi’s recommendations, using one tablespoon with boiling water and a five-minute steep.  This produced a deep brown liquor, reminiscent of coffee.

After my first sip, my taste buds were met with a strong peppermint flavor, warming cinnamon, and earthy pu-erh.  I was amazed how fresh the ingredients tasted and my tongue actually tingled after each mouthful.  I reached back for the sample packet to check it out one more time.  “Flavoring” was not listed as an ingredient.  This was good news to me, but also a bit of a shock, considering the strong flavors produced in the cup.  This blend of ingredients created a clean, bright flavor.

My only negative comment about this tea is that the vanilla flavor is very light, and to me almost unnoticeable.  Also, those looking for a strong and well-defined pu-erh flavor may be slightly disappointed as mint is clearly the star of the show.  That being said, for me, this tea is amazing just the way it is.  It manages to be both a wonderful pick-me-up and a relaxing blend all at the same time.  This tea would definitely satisfy fans of mint, and for those interested in trying a pu-erh this might be a good first step.  This is an excellent tea and I highly recommend it.

Even before opening the package of the tea fully, I was already awash with visions of plum crumble from the divine scent of cinnamon and cooked plums teasing from the package just like aroma fingers from the oven that seem to draw everyone in the house to the kitchen when a spiced fruit crisp, crumble or buckle matures in the oven. Closer to the leaves, the smell is much more intense with a sharp cinnamon scent slicing through a rounder red fruitiness. The heartiness of the cinnamon speaks to the freshness of the ingredients, reminding me of the pungency of freshly grated cinnamon versus the subtle soothing of ground cinnamon from the store. With a touch of licorice root in the aroma, the fragrance is soothingly sweet while it adds a type of earthiness to yield an oaty cinnamon plum aroma of a baked good just marvelously. As the delectable smell just begs to be brewed, looking through the mixture reveals a rich looking assembly of sienna cinnamon bark chunks, pale yellow twig type pieces of licorice root, dark burgundy black red currants and wiggles of dried reddish burgundy hibiscus flowers. The only ingredient that isn’t immediately evident from the tea itself listed on the package or the Rishi website, is the natural plum flavours whose presence seems already accounted for in the dreamy scent although it seems a bit strange having currants instead of plum pieces in a plum tea.
In order to bake up this plum crumble for the cup, Rishi recommends using one tablespoon of tea per cup with boiling water. Fortunately, it’s far quicker than the actual baked good as Rishi suggest brewing up to five minutes or less. What is even better is that this plum delight offers entertainment while you wait. From the earthy browns and blacks springs a deep burgundy cup, visually suited to celebrate baked red plums. While steeping, the aroma of the infusion softens into a warmer medley of mulled wine than the penetrating scents of the dry blend. The resulting cup is redolent with a fierce cinnamon aroma rounded out with fruity red notes to match the attractive opulence.
There is just as much pizzazz in the taste as the fragrance and appearance allude. A rush of abundant sweetness from presumably the licorice root and currants opens into a shot from the spicy cinnamon and a tang from the hibiscus to fall into a base of light red fruit flavours. I was actually a bit startled by the licorice root sweetness on my first sip but I found it melded into the other flavours as I continued through the cup. It’s presence was apparent though more in a slight numbing fuzziness on the tastebuds rather than a taste of licorice. There is a lot going on in this medium bodied brew as the tea seems to challenge each point on your tongue with the interplay of sour, spice and sweet. Apart from the kind of dulling sensation from the licorice root, the hibiscus zings the top of the tongue while the cinnamon sweeps in along the sides of the mouth resting at the base near the throat. Thus, the flavours seem to travel in different directions rather than commingling into an overall palate. While the acidity of the hibiscus adds some liveliness and fruitiness, I found the tea tasted more of hibiscus with a less predominate red fruit character than really seeming like plum. So the added plum flavours seem to contribute more to the wonderful smell of the tea than the actual brew. Yet the robustness of the cup is impressive considering herbal teas and tisanes can often suffer from weak flavour. The tactile adventures continue in a medium finish of cinnamon that leaves a remarkably sweet tingle and taste of cinnamon on one’s lips after each sip.
Very unlike a plum cobbler, the tea can be baked yet again. As a further delight, the second infusion is a lustrous ruby red cup that I’d dare say had one up on the colour of Dorothy’s slippers from Oz for I was sure thinking there was no place like home with this beautiful brew by my side. The second steeping is quite similar to the first yet the balance shifts slightly with the cinnamon and licorice coming more into focus while the sour note from the hibiscus subsides. Additional steeping is possible but a third cup has very little colour and tastes mainly of cinnamon. I also found it worthwhile to give the tea a good healthy shake to distribute the ingredients evenly before sampling as I had one cup that tasted only of hibiscus and licorice root.

So if Peter Piper had the choice again, with the wonderful aroma and luxurious hue of Rishi’s Cinnamon Plum, those peppers would have never had a chance. It is certainly a brew to add some twist for the tongue on chilly nights or iced for sunny days.

The tea was very dark with a strong aroma of cinnamon. I was amazed at just how good this was, especially since it is concentrated. Although already sweetened it isn’t overdone so I still found it enjoyable. Rishi has managed to mix the right amount of spices to achieve a balanced cup. I’ve never had iced chai but I have found that I really enjoy it that way. I’d love to experiment with making smoothies or slushies with this as well. I would definitely recommend this tea.