Tea: Lychee Red Tea
A Lychee Black Tea from Rishi Tea
This tea has been retired/discontinued.
Brand: | Rishi Tea |
Style: | Lychee Black Tea |
Region: | China |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 1 View All |
Reviewer: synth
✓ 31 teas reviewed
✓ 1 of Lychee Black Tea
✓ 1 of Fruit Black Tea
✓ 6 of Rishi Tea
✓ 8 from China
Review of Lychee Red Tea
April 30th, 2010
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
7 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 73 of 100 |
Very Good | Good | Good Value |
note: this is the first lychee-flavored tea i've tried.
aroma:
dried leaves: powerful and sweet. the lychee fruit scent is authentic and not artificial.
liquor: sweet, floral. the lychee presence is noticeably diminished.
flavor: light, sweet, floral. the lychee fruit flavor is definitely present, and to my great satisfaction, it does not taste crappy or artificial. somewhat sour. faintly astringent. not really bitter at all.
this tea is awesome. i got exactly what i hoped for: a refreshing lychee-flavored tea that does not taste artificial or otherwise screwed up. very tasty. i'm pretty sure that this is the best fruity flavor-infused tea i've ever had [neglecting earl greys]. other ones i've tried have been disappointing in one aspect or another. for example, some have been artificial-tasting or too acidic. also, i often find that the fruity essence, although aromatically present in the dry tea, does not transfer well [or at all] to the liquor.
my main criticism [and it's not a big one] is that it's a slightly more acidic than i would like, but this would be nice for iced tea. also, as i said, i've had fruity teas that were way more sour than this.
i speculate that, besides the fact that many people find sour drinks pleasant, tea manufactures also acidify tea blends in order to promote aqueous extraction of some organic [in the chemistry sense] flavor oils; it could be that the fruit flavor profile is not transferred as completely or as strongly to the liquor without lowering the pH.
Rishi recommends trying it as an iced tea drink. i agree that this tea would be excellent for that.