Rishi Tea
by TreeHugger on 01.12.05
If you care even the slightest bit about the tea you drink, first thing: lose the bag. Okay, once that’s done, you can actually see the tea leaves and start to appreciate each variety. And I’m not talking bout tearing apart Tetley bags. Check out Rishi. Now, that’s real tea.
Rishi Teas are artisinal, organic, ancient varieties that are hand-picked and hand-rolled. They are beautiful. Rishi builds a direct relationship with the farmers, so that they can guarantee great quality and a fair price. A fair price to the grower, at least—Rishi Teas are Fair Trade Certified. But because of the exceptional quality, they can put you back a pretty penny....
The “Dragon Well Reserve” comes in at $30 per ounce—yes, that’s almost $500 per pound. It must be a damn good tea. The “Gyokuro”, one of the rarest teas in Japan, is said to provide a rejuvenating sensual energy, is priced at $35.00 for a 50 gram bag. (A tea that comes in gram bags and provides unique stimulating properties? Hmmm…)
There are, of course, some less pricy picks—green teas, white teas, black teas, oolong, and mate and botanical blends. It’s a stunning selection, and their website is a serious tea education in itself. ::Rishi Tea [by Tamara Holt]
One thing to remember is that even with the most expensive teas, the per-cup cost really isn't all that bad, especially considering what people will pay for a cup of average bagged tea at Starbucks.
Consider this -- $30/oz. One ounce of tea can brew about 10-15 cups of tea (I'd argue you could get even more brewing the leaves 2-3 times). That's $2-3 for a cup of perhaps the finest Japanese green in the world. Compare that with a cup of bagged tea at a coffee shop which will run you somewhere around the same price.
Tea's a really economical drink, even the rarest, most extravagant kind. And, generally, you want to buy as little as possible as you can at a time so that it doesn't lose its flavor sitting in storage (in other words, you won't often find yourself shelling out $500 saying, "Gimmie a pound o' tea, pal!").
I think the link to Rishi tea is broken.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/%E2%80%9D
404 not found.
otherwise, a great blog! thanks.
Thanks for noting the poor links. Problem now rectified. Give 'em a whirl.
I just purchased the jasmine pearl and it is fabulous. I just happened upon it at Whole Foods.