Rishi Tea Giveaway!featured

Today marks the First Day of Spring! You know, the season when cherry blossoms bloom, pheromones abound, and people come out of the woodworks to frolick in the sun. Spring also happens to be when Rishi Tea’s organic white teas are hand harvested in Fujian, China.

 

These particular varietals are harvested only once a year in early spring when the first leaf sprouts and buds are at their peak of flavor, aroma, mouthfeel and sweetness. Oh spring beauty, how fleeting you are.

I saw Rishi’s beautiful handcrafted Plum Blossom Teapot on their newsletter and thought it would be the perfect prize for Lick My Spoon’s Very First Giveaway!

If you’re not familiar with Rishi Tea, they offer loose-leaf tea imported directly from tea gardens across Asia, made according to ancient artisanal practices using organic cultivation techniques and Fair Trade standards.

Founder Joshua Kaiser travels thousands of miles each year with his team of tea buyers to the diverse points of origin where the teas are harvested, maintaining the personal relationships developed over the years with farmers and artisans whose families have been making traditional teas for generations.

Rishi Tea believes that every tea has a unique flavor and style that reflects its origin, varietal, vintage and artisanal method of manufacture.

Now, on to the PRIZES!

Plum Blossom Teapot, handcrafted in Tokoname, Japan, a region renowned for natural ash glaze pottery. Tokoname’s ancient pottery kilns are thought to date back to the 9th century. Today, Tokoname teapots represent some of the world’s greatest and most functional teaware.

The handcrafted, hand-etched Plum Blossom Teapot exemplifies the iconic Tokoname kyusu. Highly refined clay and masterful technique yield an impeccably smooth, yet unglazed surface. The Ita-Ami (fine mesh stainless steel filter screen) gives this teapot superb function for premium loose-leaf teas.

(Diameter 3.25″, Height 2″ (not including lid), Approx. 8 oz by volume)

Nishi 1st Flush Sencha, Organic Japanese Green Tea is a light-steamed “asamushi” type sencha from the “first flush” harvest of spring when the highest quality tea is produced. It’s refreshing and brisk with a pleasant bitter-sweetness and greenish-golden infusion color. Its unique flavor comes from a special blend of unique Japanese tea bush varietals cultivated in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture.

To win these lovely prizes, simply leave a comment here telling me: What’s your cup of tea?

What interesting tea flavors have you come across, or what is your old standby? Winner will be announced next week on Friday, March 27th.

Update: Congrats to Danielle M, winner of Lick My Spoon’s Rishi Tea Giveaway!