Tea Description:
Hand blended with the natural essence of succulent peaches and tangerines. Well balanced with accents of fresh citrus and white tea.
Tasting Notes: White tea infused with juicy peach, tangerine and aromatic blossoms
Ingredients: Organic white tea, organic white tea with jasmine, natural peach flavor, essential orange and tangerine oils.
Other Information:
Leaf Type: White (flavored)
Where to Purchase: Rishi
Suggested Brewing Tips:
Serving Size: 1 tablespoon per 8oz serving
Water Temp: 185°F
Steep Time: 5-6 minutes
We encourage you to experiment with the quantity of tea leaves and the length of the steep time to find your desired brew strength. Varying the water temperature isn't recommended, as water that is too hot will over-extract the bitter components of tea, while water that is too cool might not fully draw out the aromas and flavors of tea.
Review:
I hope all of my US readers had a wonderful Labor Day yesterday. My family spent the day playing outside, smoking a pork roast, and drinking the very last of my peach tea. This has been a summertime favorite of mine for a number of years now. I discovered Rishi Tea shortly after moving to Wisconsin where Rishi is based, and it still remains one of my favorite companies to order from. I love being able to support local business and not everyone is fortunate enough to have a local tea company.
I've always been a fan of summertime and nothing screams summer quite like peaches. With temperatures starting to cool I'm trying to find any way possible to hold on to the last remaining days. Growing up down South I've always been a fan of iced teas and this tea the perfect choice to be served over ice on a really hot day, sweetened with just a hint of honey or sugar to draw out the peach flavor.
I didn't realize this until I sat down to write my review, but I've never actually served this tea hot. I prepared this following the directions above and was surprised by how different the first steep tasted from my normal iced tea method. It was like I was drinking a completely different tea. When served hot this tea actually has more of a tangy citrus flavor from the orange and tangerine oils than it does peach. It was rather surprising to me because when this is prepared as a cold steep those flavors aren't as noticeable. The peach shows up towards the end of each sip more as a subtle sweetness. I really wish the peach stood out more. Even as this tea cools slightly it still has a strong citrus flavor. Honestly, if I had tried this tea hot the first time I doubt I would have ordered it again since I'm not really a citrus fan.
The second steep more closely resembles the iced version, it is much more mellow and sweet and the citrus flavors remain in the background. One thing that I do want to note that this tea gets very bitter when over steeped. I was a little distracted when I prepared my first cup and it steeped for eight minutes, leaving me with a bitter, undrinkable cup of tea. This is fairly typical of any tea that contains citrus.
I don't generally steep this particular tea a third time because none of the flavoring is left and I can only taste the white base.
Another thing to note about this tea: If you don't care for the strong citrus notes, try steeping at 175°F. The lower temperature lets the peach shine a little more and the citrus stands out less.
Iced Preparation: 1T per 6oz, Cold steeped in fridge overnight using a Takeya Tea Pitcher
This is my preferred method for making this tea, even if it does use more leaf than normal. By using a cold-steep method the peach flavor tends to stand out more and the citrus notes remain more in the background.
My Rating: 89/100
Would I order this again? Yes. This is one of the teas I order every summer.