Teavivre

Omnomnom!

This is the 3rd tea I got recently from Teavivre and they have all been great and this one is no exception. It has a rich aroma, sweet taste and a wonderful freshly sweet aftertaste.

I was able to make 6 perfectly tasting steeps and the 7th one was mildly tasting so I threw leaves away after it. Steep duration varied from 1 min to 3 min.

I was quite amazed by how this tea looks – for a moment I thought I got a 2nd grade quality but that all faded away when I steeped it and tried it. It’s amazing. Bold, rich aroma, a bit smoky. Managed to get 7 steeps out of it ranging from 30s to 3 min.

An extremely good tea – sweet, but not too much, just a little to get your senses going. It’s smooth, it’s rich and it has a sort of sweet potato and raisin flavor to it.

I was able to get 8 steeps out of it ranging from 20s to 2min.

Highly recommended!

I got this as a sample pack with my Teavivre purchase and I must say that this is the best white tea I’ve ever had. I haven’t had many but still I love the taste of it. Definitely on my shopping list now! :)

Thanks Angel for the sample!

I just love it when a tea is good enough to outsmart the questionable water in my office. We had this hot water spigot which was already shady enough, but lately the water has come out smelling of unknown chemicals….so I have been using my trusty old Zarafina. It’s good but it generally handles black/dark teas better than green or white.

On to the tea itself….this one has a full-bodied bakey goodness that I love in a morning tea. I used the entire little bag (~7g?) for 16 oz of water and it was really good. It really caters to my need to have pastry-ish things in the morning without actually needing to consume a pastry. Also, as I accidentally found out, quite good cool/cold as well. Forgot a bit in my cup and when I came back and took a sip my first thought was “heh…cookie”, although I would have to go with a generic cookie as it didn’t taste like a cookie long enough to make a distinction. :P

Overall, quite tasty. I will probably end up bringing most of the rest to work. Part I will keep at home to test different steeping conditions.

This Pi Lo Chun is nice this morning, I needed a mild and somewhat gentle green tea to get me going today. Overall, Chinese green teas don’t seem as flavorful to me as Japanese green teas but sencha can really make me nauseated. Thanks again for the sample, TV.

Like others have remarked before me, I really enjoyed the beauty of these curled and slighty fuzzy leaves. The leaf in the bag smells very fresh and vegetal.

I decided to steep this for over 2 minutes, which may have been too much but Chinese green teas can be very light in flavor and I wanted to get more. I think the flavor this reminds me the most of is artichoke. It’s kind of vegetal, a bit nutty and also savory. Someone else remarked on it being like miso soup and it does smell a bit miso like in my opinion. I liked this fairly well, even a bit more than the dragonwell.

I’m having this after lunch and that seems like a good time to drink it. It’s got a very mild astringency that is refreshing to my mouth. Also resteeps fairly nicely.

(This sample was generously provided to me by Teavivre. Thank you Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.)
Dry Leaf: Has a earthy almost tobacco leaf aroma.
Wet Leaf: The aroma was a warm earthy smell again there was that almost tobacco leaf aroma.
Liquor: Had a dark reddish color
Taste: This tea had a smooth mellow earthy almost tobacco leaf taste the life of the tea.
My Score/Over All Opinion: 89, This tea was very smooth and mellow but I only got the earthy/ tobacco leaf taste all thru the tea no floral flavor as I was waiting for. Which is why I scored like I did.

(This sample was generously provide to me by Teavivre. Thank you Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.)
Dry Leaf: Has a malty smell with a nice sweet aroma.
Wet Leaf: I get a malty maybe even a toasty aroma with a sweet aroma.
Liquor: Has a dark amber and a nice brightness I would say.
Taste: I get a maltiness with a bit of sweetness. The broth has a little heaviness to it with a dryness. Also, I get a raisin flavor in the after taste.
My Score/Over All Opinion: 90, I think this one was a nice tea to drink specially if you drink a lot of green teas this would be a nice change of pace.

I tried this again today and moved the rating up a few points. I’m not sure that I will ever love keemuns but I am enjoying it more than the first time I had it, perhaps due to the gloomy rain we are having? still seems kind of bitter and smoky at the end…

Thanks to Teavivre for sending some of this my way as a sample.

I’m really not a fan of smoky teas so this was a hard one for me to review and appreciate. I do like the smoothness here and it definitely is not as smoky as some I’ve had, but for sure my least favorite of their 3 black teas I’ve had the chance to try. It’s really too strong for me. If someone would like to swap for this I will gladly find it a new home to someone who really likes this flavor. :)

I am enjoying this tea today courtesy of Teavire – thank you

I used slightly more leaf today than I had before (more along the lines of 2 tsp/1 cup and the results were more to my liking. I also steeped it for three minutes. Now I am picking up more of the gentle, nutty notes. Raised the score a few points also. Sorry for the short note, must be leaving home soon!

Thanks to Teavivre for providing this sample for me to try!

I’ve tried a few different Dragon Wells now and this definitely seems like one of the better ones. I am really fussy when it comes to green tea and have only found a few that totally knock my socks off.

This is light, vegetal and slightly nutty. Definitely not astringent which is nice! I felt like this brewed up a little too light for my taste even though I used 1 tsb. of leaf in my mug. Perhaps I’ll just never be a real fan of Dragon Wells. I did appreciate the soothing and relaxing quality of this.

(This sample was generously provided to me by Teavivre. Thank you Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.)
Dry Leaf: I get a wet cut grass smell I can even see someone saying hay too. Their is also some sweetness in the smell too. I also get a very faint floral smell way in the back.
Wet Leaf: I get a nice sweet vegetal aroma.
Liquor: The color I got was like a maple color.
Taste: I get a very mellow earthiness with a vegetal flavor like a green bean but their is a sweetness that is also there. As the tea cools the floral aspect of this tea comes out to play.
My Score / Over All Opinion: 90, I am new in the game of raw pu-erh but this tea was enjoyable and didn’t have that bit like I was expecting. However, I did play with this tea and steeped it over 2 minutes and the flavor did get more intense and there was that bit but still not as crazy as I was expecting. This maybe a good tea to store and age yourself in my humble opinion.

Sipdown…so sad :( but I have a different silver needle on the way hopefully soon for the time being.

Since it was the last I steeped it twice. I used the entire packet for one mug so it was pretty flavorful both times. I was definitely getting fruit from this, some kind of mix between watermelon and berries. Just a little pepper too, but mostly sweet hay notes. It got cold all of a sudden (or maybe not suddenly, I just didn’t know to expect it!) and this makes me feel like it’s back to a nice 70 degree day.

I’ll always love this tea because it helped me learn there are flavors to white tea, and it tastes best when it’s something so pure.

I guess because of having to read about silver needle so much lately, I really started wanting some again. And like I said last time I broke out the Teavivre samples I need to a) drink the latest ones I got already and b) finish these already.

I still can’t get over how flavorful this tea is even after a minute. It’s so sweet, with notes of hay and flowers. It feels bright and fresh.

I have been feeling pretty meh lately about white teas, so I definitely needed this one back in my life. I’ve been having flavored ones of course but there’s just something about the pure flavor of silver needle that trumps them all when you drink one.

Also I just learned of the end-all of Gangnam Style parodies. Mitt Romney style: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6830834/mitt-romney-style-gangnam-style-parody I think the shark has been jumped now.. (note I think there’s at least one f-bomb in there so just in case, here’s a warning, but it’s HILARIOUS)

I am so cold. Shivering even though my heat is set to 70. Time to bust out the fluffy comforter once again!

But until I wrap myself up to sleep, this tea is keeping me warm. And it tastes like early summer, which is interesting because the leaves look like frosted pine needles. It’s grassy and sweet, and really nice. There’s like a touch of fruit, and a touch of flowers in here too.

I have really enjoyed these white teas from Teavivre because they have helped me realize how white tea should be: subtle, yet flavorful. I will definitely keep drinking them.

(This sample was generously provide to me by Teavivre. Thank you Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.)
Dry Leaf: The aromas I got with this tea was a toasty or maybe smokey scent with a nice sweetness in there too.
Wet Leaf: There was that warm toasty sweet aroma that was still there.
Liquor: This tea is dark in color like a brownish red color.
Taste: This tea has a roasted taste with some sweetness to it but there is also a tart or tangy maybe even a sour aspect to this tea that gets you from the middle of your mouth to the back of your mouth. That taste does linger a bit. I find it very nice. There is also a smoothness to this tea also. Also, I did notice with each steeping and with the tea getting cooler that floral aspect would come out also.
My Score / Over All Opinion: 92, I have not had a lot of experience with this type of tea but found it to be very nice. I would also have to say anyone that enjoys dan cong tea i think will like this too in my humble opinion.

I am loving this Silver Needle. It is so fresh and fragrant, and I love the delicate complexity. Layers of flavor: floral, hay, grass, fruit, and a hint of sweetness. So wonderful, I find myself just wanting to sit and contemplate the joy it brings me to sip it.

This is why I love tea.

The first brew of this tea had an amazing floral note, and that is saying a lot coming from me. I hate floral teas. The first cup was an incredible start, and made me wonder how much better the second cup would be. This tea did not disappoint. The tea held up for many brews. I loved this tea.

It’s too cold outside. Of course I won tickets to an outdoor event taking place today so I have to spend the hours leading up to it drinking this tea.

I’ve never had a Tie Guan Yin before, and I don’t know why it’s taken this long for me to have one. I like it! It has a really full flavor, creamy and floral at the same time. It’s like a green tea with a really good punch.

I’m not at my own apartment right now and I hate that I’m having to use a T-sac instead to steep, but it’s kind of hard to carry a teapot with you when you’ve got to take a bulky winter jacket and boots to prepare for the next day. I’ve got plenty more so I can watch as the leaves unfurl as soon as I am back home!

I will still probably steep this again if I have time before having to go freeze. It’s reeeeeally good!

Sample provided by Teavivre.

By now I’ve used the entire sample I got from Teavivre. The dry leaf is light and fluffy, and pretty—it isn’t my first golden tip yunnan, but it is definitely the nicest looking, with those large golden leaves. It also smells yummy, vaguely sweet.

The brewed liquor is a dark mahogany brown, though I did steep it for a minute longer than recommended because this last pot was a little light on the leaf. The tea is not bitter at all, has a nice body and mouthfeel, nor is it astringent at all. The flavor is smooth and bakey, and some unidentified sweet delicious flavor that upon reading other reviews is like sweet potatoes. That’s the flavor! I also did pick up hints of caramel (not surprising, with the taste of sweet potatoes).

So far I’ve tried three of the teas that Teavivre sent me (I’ll have a review of their Bai Mu Dan in another day or two), and I love them all. I can see their teas taking up permanent residence in my collection.

(This sample was generously provide to me by Teavivre. Big thanks to Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.)
Dry Leaf: Has a light vegetal smell with a nice sweet smell that almost comes to the front of the tea.
Wet Leaf: Had a vegetal smell think green bean with a almost slight toasted or warm smell that had a touch of sweetness in the back somewhere.
Liquor: Was a pale yellow with a nice brightness and good clarity.
Taste: Had a light but fresh vegetal flavor.And as the broth cools there was a faint floral note in the distanced background with a lingering sweetness.
My Score/ Over All Opinions: 87, This tea was good but, I want more stronger orchid like fragrances from the smell to the taste. Which is what this tea is known for. I know this tea was produced last year so that may have changed the tea. I am curious when Teavivre gets a fresh batch for this year will the tea be different from my opinions on this one?