Ancient Yellow Buds

I’m not sure how long this tea has been on my shopping list, but I feel like it’s been ages. I remember checking the Rishi Tea website to see if these little buds would be in stock, but each time I have, they’ve been all sold out! I was very lucky to receive some from Invader Zim. Thank you so much!

The scent of this tea is lighter than expected. It reminds me a little bit of golden monkey tea. Something like sweet potato and flowers. It’s actually very delicate and soft!

Sipping… how interesting! I taste very light notes of flowers, and something darkly sweet and leathery. Sometimes I think I have a grasp on the flavors I am tasting, but before I know it, they slip away. They’re present, but not strong enough to really be defined. The finish is sparkling on the tongue. Very beautiful.

So this marks the end of the sample Lena gave me to try – and I’ll miss it. The leaves held onto their flavour through four steepings but after that I reluctantly decided that the tea was mostly spent. I probably could have made more tea out of the leaves, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. So I elected not to try and squeeze every last drop of flavour out of the leaves, lol.

The flavour never became harsh or astringent, and it managed to be floral without getting that overly perfumed-flowery quality that I’ve noticed in some oolongs. At the same time it had a slight vegetale flavour that was more of a ‘cooked greens’ flavour rather than ‘raws greens’. There’s also something about the taste that makes me think of warmth and comfort.

This is a very nice tea ladies and gents.

Honeysuckle! YES! That’s gotta be it! :) I can smell it and taste it after realizing just what it was I was smelling and tasting.

This is a cute little diddy! yea…I called it CUTE!

It’s warm and fuzzy…cute lil leaves with a matching taste and scent. Lovely. Delicate.

I think I can taste a little apple-likeness, too…interesting.

It does remind me of spring and that is EXACTLY what I need on these COLD – bitter-COLD winter days in the snowbelt!!!!! YAY for Rishi Ancient Yellow Buds!

This came in my monthly sweepstakes set and it doesn’t disappoint. I’ve tried a couple of yellow teas but this one has the subtlest and sweetest flavors. It reminds me of honeysuckle flowers but also has a wonderful apple flavor, almost like a honey crisp. It’s not overpowering at all and is a great substitute when you want green tea but aren’t in the mood for vegetables. There is a great thick brothiness to the tea as well and the leaves really hold up to multiple steepings. Other people mentioned it and it’s true, there is a wonderful breadiness to this tea, like soft french rolls with butter. This will have to be on the buy list.

This tea is so rare..It is sad that so many do not know of this tea. Its just amazing! The taste is so refreshing and so subtle. If you have never tried this tea. YOU NEED TO DO SO ASAP!

I am so glad after a long day a successfully cooked dinner and a movie I am able to relax with a cup of tea. Did I mention my Rishi order came in today Yay! So I decided to start out with this one since it seems fairly light and I would like to be able to go to sleep at a decent hour (not the party animal I use to be).

Anyway on to tea this smells not blatantly apply but I could kinda smell apple in the dry leaf. The dry leaf or bud is beautiful not unlike silver needle as the description suggests and I do agree with them.

I have to agree with my pal Lena on this one I don’t dislike it I don’t get much taste out of it but it’s subtle and I like it for some reason. Usually I like in your face but I wasn’t expecting that out of this tea so I wasn’t disappointed. It’s nice not something I would serve to someone who doesn’t normally drink tea because as I already stated it’s very light. I like it and I don’t know if I would reorder at this time but if I find myself craving it I will up the rating a bit or if second steep totally rocks.

I’ve finally emerged from my job vortex long enough to actually get back to Steepster.

I’m predominantly a black-tea drinker, so this was my first foray into yellow tea. But I figured that since three of my favorites teas are made from the same ancient Assamica tea trees of the Mannong Manmai Reserve in Yunnan, China (Rishi’s Golden Yunnan, Golden Needles and Rishi’s Earl Grey), I figured what could be bad?

This tea is good, but I didn’t find the taste so unique. While yellow teas are supposed to be less vegetal than green teas, I found the taste very reminiscent of some senchas I’ve had. The tea holds up very well to multiple steepings. In fact, if you follow Rishi’s steeping instructions, the second steeping lost none of the tea’s flavor.

The brewing instructions are a little complicated, especially if you don’t have a gaiwan as Rishi suggests. I used a Pyrex measuring cup and a saucer as a cover. It worked just fine. Overall a nice tea.

Wow, just…wow. This is truly a fantastic and unique tea. The leaves are beautiful, and the aroma is powerful and reminds me of dried apples. That dried apple smell continues into the flavor, and the tea has a little zest at the same time. As much as I like ordering new teas and avoiding repeat purchases, this is something that I might have to keep stocked on my shelf.

Also, as an added bonus, the second steeping keeps a remarkable amount of the original flavor, and is not weak at all (though given the absurd amount of leaves needed per cup, perhaps this is to be expected). The third steeping came out a little bitter, but the flavor definitely remained. I’ll adjust the water temp and steeping time on the third steeping next time, and hopefully this will kill the bitterness.

Sweet scents of apricot and honeysuckle are surprisingly pronounced considering this is a completely unflavoured tea. It defies logic.

The taste is delicate and feminine without being overtly flowery; perfectly delightful much like the nectar of honeysuckle with the added depth of premium white tea.

Sublime. (seriously).

Rishi’s Ancient Yellow Buds is light, airy bliss. The pale-green and yellow leaves look like they’ve been artfully crafted and loved for. Sticking your nose in the dry leaf, I sense a baked sweet potato meets spring-breeze fusion. The wet leaf is a toasty version of the dry. Nothing too exciting… thus far. But here comes the star of the show, the liquor.

The pale-yellow brew is deceivingly complex. The smell from the liquor is that of a honeysuckle/apple medley. A gentle and soft sweetness is present. An early spring day where life curiously comes out of hibernation. Upon sipping, the tea is comprised of floral and mild-apple notes. The mild-apple notes have a slightly sour tone, almost like the apple peel of a granny smith. This creates an interesting dynamic between floral spring elegance and an autumnal fruit. Very pleasant. Upon swallowing, a sweet honey-like taste lingers at the tip of the tongue and at the inner-edge of the lips. The slight-sour notes of the apple with the sweet honey-like aftertaste strikes a great, harmonious balance.

A very unique tea. Definitely worth trying.