Teavivre

I drank a cup of this with lunch today, and it was quite tasty. Nutty and buttery and so not a boring grassy green tea. I almost oversteeped it but it suffered no ill effects. I really enjoy having a tea like this with my lunch… it almost serves to make everything else taste better as well.

ETA: Apparently this tea is almost a year old, but it still tastes great. Guess its aging pretty well even for a green tea.

Grabbed a cup of this one to have with lunch… I had forgotten just how tasty this is. Nutty and light and delicious. I have to remind myself to grab these Teavivre greens frequently so I can drink them up before they start aging too much.

I was excited to get this one in my sample box because I recently tried a different dragon well and really enjoyed it. I am happy to say that this one has lived up to my expectations.

Thanks again to Teavivre for the extremely generous sample of this tea. There’s so much in the pouch! The leaf is bright and smooth, and it smells a bit grassy and a bit nutty and a touch buttery. Steeped, that lovely chestnutty aroma comes out, which reminds me so much of chestnut sweets from a chinese bakery. The liquor is a very pale yellow, only slightly darker than the white of the mug, yet it’s still a flavorful cup. Smooth, lightly grassy, but also nutty and sweet, this tea has a lot of dimensions to it. A really really tasty cup.

Today I lowered the steep time to 3 minutes and used a lower water temperature that yielded a beautiful, smooth and flavorful brew. Truly one of the finest teas I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. I am getting that fresh baked flavor with a lovely good morning tea buzz that is not over the top with caffeine. Teavivre should be very proud of this one….

This is my 3rd day in a row drinking a Golden Tea. When I opened the bag I was impressed. It really was unique. The visual and the aroma were both beautiful. I somehow, when I brewed this in my Gaiwan, thought I was getting a soft cocoa flavor with a hint of cream. It was a fascinating flavor. Absolutely splendid. More notes to come. Thank you Angel ….

I drank this next one (#44) yesterday, and then again this morning, and I almost let today get away without a note for it. But not so! Here it is, short and lame though it may be (I have been effusive about this tea in the past). It was deliciously sweet both times. LOVE.

I should really try to remember to keep my faves in the rotation more frequently. I haven’t had this tea in a long time and it’s a shame! Because it is so so delicious.

It was also a good idea to remind myself of the honey-caramel-grain notes in this since I have another bailin gongfu tea sample from Sil to compare it to. Today there is a hint of cocoa in this cup as well. It is smooth and sweet with a nice, well rounded body. I can tell this is fresher than what I was drinking before (the dregs of my samples) because it has more potency at the same steep parameters. Will have to keep that in mind!

Sipdown, 135. Sooo sad to see this one go out of my cupboard, but I know it will be back eventually in there eventually.

Not that I wanted to hasten its departure, but today I brewed this one with the whole sample pack since I have done that with some other black teas from Teavivre and wanted to see how it turned out. Delicious, of course! Less sweet and caramelly, though, so I think I prefer my usual, slightly weaker infusion. This one will be coming back, perhaps around the holidays!

I have to get to dissertation writing today, so this tasting note will have to be short. But I’ve already said plenty about how much I love this tea.

Malty, rich, honey-caramel; this is the black tea that made me love black teas. Before this tea, unflavored blacks were supremely uninteresting and untasty to me, but this changed that. For which I am very grateful!

After this cup, I will be down to one more serving of this tea, just as I am down to one more serving of Teavivre’s Black Dragon Pearls. Wish I could say it meant and order from Teavivre in the near future, but I really have to get my stash down before I move in a couple of months, so I doubt I’ll be making any tea orders besides matcha.

Well, I will enjoy it while it lasts, because it is delicious! Can’t wait to be able to order some more.

Now watch as I survey some of my favorite teas. Going back to all of these after two whole months away is interesting. On one hand it is a revelation, I can’t believe tea can taste that good (Malagasy tea is really that bad). I also pretty much forgot how all of my teas really taste. But on the other hand they are all so familiar, like an old comfy sweater, and when I sip them its as if I had just been drinking them the other day.

This one is easily one of my favorite blacks, and I am always astounded that it is so affordable and delicious. Lovely cocoa-caramel-grainy notes that I could just drink all the time. I think I have a couple more cups of this before I need to order more, although again I am torn by the want for my staples that are gone, and the need to drink the tea I have before I order any more. My stash is kind of astoundingly big, and I think my new goal is to drink it most of the way down before I move in 4 months (this time moving out of my office, too, which is where all my tea stash is).

I wanted to come back to this tea since it really was pretty much the tea that sparked my interest in unflavored black teas. I’ve tried a lot lately and this one has always been in the back of my mind when trying them, but the memory of it was starting to get muddled.

I love the honeyed, caramelly notes in this tea. It’s a bit grainy, and a tiny bit chocolatey, and a tiny bit sweet, but not nearly as chocolatey and sweet as the Fengqing Black Dragon Pearls I had yesterday. Still, I need to boost this way up in my ratings because it remains one of my favorites after I’ve tried quite a few varieties. This one really exhibits the honey notes that I like in Fujian black teas.

The caramel notes in the Indian Nimbu this morning got me really thinking about this tea again. It’s obviously really made and impression on me! Not much more to say; still loving it.

Dudes, this is totally unprecidented. I tried this tea for the first time just a couple of days ago, but I’m already going back for another cup. This afternoon I was trying to decide on a tea and my mind just kept coming back to this one. I mean, me craving the same tea within a couple days of having it is not common anyway, but with an unflavored black? Never! Until today, apparently. Since this tea comes in little individual sample pouches I had used some from a pouch already and there was a little less leaf left in the pouch than I normally use. I didn’t want to open another pouch just for that, though, so I’m brewing it for 3 minutes instead of 2 (still within the recommended range) to see how it goes.

Annnd then I got caught talking to someone and it cooled off a lot (it’s still warm, but just), but you know what? It’s still delicious. I really wouldn’t have guessed that I would find an unflavored black tea that I like so much, but here it is. I have to say thanks again to Teavivre for sending me this sample, which I did not expect to like, and exposing me to these kinds of teas!

As I have no doubt mentioned before, I’m not much of a drinker of unflavored blacks. There are a couple that I have to admit are pretty tasty (Harney’s Golden Monkey, Teavivre’s own Yun Nan Golden Tips), but I still don’t seek out unflavored blacks often. But of course I accepted a sample of this one in my latest round from Teavivre… how could I not, with these reviews? I admit I was still skeptical that I would like it. The leaf is nice looking twisted strands with a scattering of golden tips, and it smells malty and dark and teaish.

This is another one that surprised me with the brewing parameters. 185°F for a black tea? If you say so. The tea came out a lovely dark amber color and again has that malty, sweet aroma. I have to say, alright Teavivre, you got me, this tea is delicious. It is smooth and tasty, with notes of cocoa, raisins, a tiny bit of caramel, a hint of honey, bready, malty… it isn’t actually sweet on the tongue, but it seems sweet, if that makes any sense. Also, this is very similar to the base of The Tea Spot’s Organic Chocolate “O” tea, even though they aren’t the same variety. A big thanks again to Teavivre for this sample; these opportunities really help me step outside my usual teas and experience things I wouldn’t have bought on my own.

So.. part 2 of the night comes, as well, from Teavivre’s sample pack.

So.. part 2 of the night comes, as well, from Teavivre’s sample pack.The Review.

So.. part 2 of the night comes, as well, from Teavivre’s sample pack.The Review.First things first, I don’t do well with green tea… i just don’t. i feel like i say this every time i post about green tea. we just don;t get along…now having said this…i do love jasmine.

So.. part 2 of the night comes, as well, from Teavivre’s sample pack.The Review.First things first, I don’t do well with green tea… i just don’t. i feel like i say this every time i post about green tea. we just don;t get along…now having said this…i do love jasmine.Dry leaf – after attacking the bags again i was bashed in the face with jasmine. This is not a bad thing though. When i drink a tea with jasmine, its meant to be a relaxer, so the stronger the better, up to a point. Steeped somewhere between 3:30 And 4:00 minutes.

So.. part 2 of the night comes, as well, from Teavivre’s sample pack.The Review.First things first, I don’t do well with green tea… i just don’t. i feel like i say this every time i post about green tea. we just don;t get along…now having said this…i do love jasmine.Dry leaf – after attacking the bags again i was bashed in the face with jasmine. This is not a bad thing though. When i drink a tea with jasmine, its meant to be a relaxer, so the stronger the better, up to a point. Steeped somewhere between 3:30 And 4:00 minutes.Brewed unsweet – Naturally sweet from the jasmine and very flowery. nice soft mouthfeel , creats a smooth blanket of warmth on the roof of my mouth.

Sweetened. With honey, Pulls the jasmine out with force, as well as the green tea flavor. Works very well with the honey.

I think, with a little bit of time, this may be up there with the only other green i like (casablanca twist by adagio).

Good Night All.

Thank you god for Teavivre. I received a sample of this in the mail today and i gotta tell you all…. it rocks. I haven’t reached out much as far as different companies for teas, and before today, besides Lipton and Twinnings boxed bags, i had not ventured past Teavana and Adagio. So… needless to say, i love this tea. It is nice and affordable and just perfect.
So.. with further a due: The Review.

Opening the bag is always interesting because the first hit of the aroma is always invigorating, however, I was almost disappointed when i didn’t smell anything when i opened the bag. it didn’t take long to realize that, upon looking in the first bag, i found several smaller bag actually holding the tea. i fiddled with those smaller bags and when i was done…PERFECT. The Aroma was out of this world. A bold, black mildly sweet and a touch spicy scent waffed into my face and filled me with joy. I put a teaspoon into my Tea-rex steeper and steeped the tea for 3 ish minutes at about boiling 212 degrees. After the steeping, the leafs we sweet and open and the liqueur was amber-gold color.

The first, unsweetened sip: Roasty and earthy, as would be expected from a black tea, nice and bold with a little peppery aftertaste ( but nothing like the Yunnan i’m used to.) Second sip, still earthy, little coco and a little spice but very much a bold tea flavor.

First sweetened sip (1 half teaspoon clover honey): In the dry leafs i detected a sweet aroma that didn’t come through in the unsweetened sip, but now it is brought to the front and center. Not to heavy but silky mouth feel and over excellent taste and aftertaste.

In closing, an Amazing tea, if i was better off with money, i would invest heavily in a good order of this.
Thank you Angel for your generous sample. I feel your generosity will work wonders for you and for you company.

Second review for TeaVivre’s samples.

I guess I should share how I brew my tea. Most of the time I brew it in my Noble travel mug from DAVIDsTEA (http://www.davidstea.com/accessories/travel-mugs-2/noble-glass-travel-thermos) and sometimes I brew a teapot using just a regular mesh tea ball (I don’t have a tea pot with a built in infuser, unfortunately). Anywhoo, on to the tea.

This was another sample I got from TeaVivre. After drinking the Pi Lo Chun I was in the mood for something a little sweeter, so I decided to have a cup of this. The dry "leaves"smell very sweet, almost like fake blueberry bubblegum that you get for a dollar at the store. The leaves are BEAUTIFUL, a vibrant pop of blue and maroon-y purple.

The brewed tisane is a lovely deep purple and has retained its scent. I added a little bit of sugar to avoid any tartness.

I LOVE THIS TISANE! It’s tart (but not overly tart to the point of puckering) with a little tang and a small punch of sweetness. It tastes EXACTLY like the description, and none of the pure fruit flavor is sacrificed like it is in so many fruit blends.

Very nice, this will be a cupboard staple from now on.

I used about 4 tsp. for about 12 oz. of water and steeped for 8 minutes and 30 seconds with boiling water.

Another Teavivre tea that I had twice. They really are just too delicious! This one (#43) is different from a lot of other Milk Oolongs, but it is sweet and creamy, and just a bit floral, nonetheless. It’s a robust tea and can take being western-brewed at boiling as well as a cooler temp.

Also, I has a sad because yesterday I broke one of my DavidsTea Perfect Mugs, the design from several falls ago with all the forest animals on it. :( They need to put out another design with owls so I can replace it.

I actually had a cup of this last Friday but it didn’t turn out quite like I expected it to. I realized that it was probably because I tried a smaller amount of leaf (2 tsp) and longer steep time (3 minutes) when in the past I had always used one sample pouch (7g, probably closer to 3-4 tsp) and 2 minute steep time. So this morning I tried closer to my usual parameters and it came out much better.

Nicely green and fresh, a little bit floral, and nicely creamy. It certainly isn’t a (flavored) sweetened-condensed-milk milk oolong, but I like it better that way. There is always something fake about many of those other milk oolongs to me. And this one is one of the naturally creamiest Jin Xuans I’ve ever tried.

Sipdown, 135. So glad to get another sample of this from Teavivre because even though I’ve tried it before, I really like it! Also it’s always nice to have teas you haven’t tried in a while to reassess your love of a tea.

This one definitely has more of a buttery/creamy smell to it than the Yezi Jin Xuan I just had. It also has quite a distinct taste from other Taiwanese oolongs, namely it isn’t as floral and has more of a creamy character that grows with each sip, and a very light sweetness playing around the edges. Still really enjoy this one, and it’s still my favorite Jin Xuan so far.

I couldn’t help it, I had to try this one right away in comparison. First off, the dry leaf smells much less strongly milky and creamy; it’s more fresh and green. You can certainly tell which one is flavored by smelling the dry leaf!

This one smells more floral as well, and I do have to say that I think this one has more of an inherant sweetness and creamy mouthfeel that is just not as present in the flavored variety. Though both are tasty, I do prefer this one. I think these two are very good illustration of flavored vs. unflavored milk oolongs and what shows up in each variety. The flavored was very similar to lots of milk oolongs I’ve had before… all flash in the high notes with not much to back it up. This one is more reserved up front, but overall sweeter and creamier when brewed the exact same way. I’m also interested to see how they both fare in gong fu (but that’s for another day!)

Last night when I got home from work I was very pleased to see a big box of tea waiting for me from Teavivre! My next round of samples arrived, yippee! (Also pleased to see: a packaged with new boots in it!)

This one was high on my list of teas I wanted to try from Teavivre because I love oolongs, and I especially love milk oolong, and I was disappointed that it appeared on the site after my first sample batch came. But lucky for me Angel Chen and Teavivre are exceedingly generous and they sent me another box of samples, this time including this tea. Thanks so much!

The steep parameters were pretty different than any other oolong I’ve come across, mainly steeping in boiling water. But I used those parameters anyway, because that’s what was called for. One of the other grad students came into my office right after I steeped it and remarked that this tea smelled good, and I would agree. It smells floral and creamy and buttery and vegetal.

This jin xuan definitely has great flavor. It’s buttery, it’s creamy, it’s floral, and it’s slightly sweet at the end. Really delicious. I will say that I think my concept of a milk oolong was a little warped by having ATR’s first… that is a fantastic tea, and indeed very milky, but it is a tieguanyin varietal not a jin xuan, which gives it a pretty distinct taste that’s different than other jin xuan oolongs I tried. For a while I would try milk oolongs and nothing could quite live up to ATR’s, but that’s because they weren’t playing with the same rules. When I adjust my expectations to what jin xuan milk oolongs usually taste like, which this seems to be a great of, I think I’ll be a lot more pleased with the other ones I’ve tried.

Many thanks to TeaVivre, my samples arrived today!

I was at a lost for which to try first so I flash-quized my dad and he chose this one. As many have raved before me, the packaging is genius-TWO DIFFERENT BAGS! Ingenious! I’ve made a mental note that if I ever start my own tea company, that’s how I’ll package everything.

The dry leaves are a mint-green color. They smell very savory, kind of like seaweed.

First steep- ~175 degrees (Fahrenheit) for 1 minute and 15 seconds. It’s VERY light, and when it’s in direct sunlight, it almost looks clear. The brewed tea smells the same as the leaves but not as strong. It’s very light, and has a savory taste. It has a slightly salty taste, and it’s very vegetal. Not really what I look for in a tea, but good for what it is. I’m not going to resteep these, but I will enjoy drinking this cup while it lasts.

I’m not too too big on savory teas, but I did enjoy the vegetal saltiness of this one, and I thank TeaVivre again for graciously sending me some samples! I’m excited to try the rest!