Teavivre

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Recent Tasting Notes

92

Dry Leaf: Has a Lovely all natural jasmine flower scent.
Wet Leaf: Has a light natural jasmine aroma with a slight vegetal smell in the background.
Liquor: Golden in color with a nice brightness to it and good clarity.
Taste: This tea has a light feel to it, with a touch of sweetness and a subtle jasmine flavor playing in the background. This tea also has a smooth body to it.
My Score/ Over All Opinion: 92, This teas in my humble opinion is comparable to Souvia’s jasmine downy pearls ( see that review) I would have gave same score but I feel it deserves a bit of an edge since their is a huge price difference between the teas. Also I want to add above says march 2011 production and my review is on the June 2011 production which may cause a slight difference in reviews.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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89

Dry Leaf: Has a vegetal smell with a milky or creamy component in the background.
Wet Leaf: Gave off more of a light vegetal smell.
Liquor: Stayed consistent with a yellowish color it was bright with good clarity.
Taste: This tea had a vegetal taste while extremely hot but, as the tea cooled there was a floral note that came to the top with a slight milky or creaminess in the background. This taste was fluent with the several steepings I did.
My Score/ Over All Opinion: 89, I did enjoy this tea but, in my humble opinion I would like to see that creaminess/ milkiness be amped up naturally of course and not chemically. But, I can say this tea had a natural taste to it which is a good thing. I also want to add that above description says production may 2011 and my review is on the June 2011 production which may cause slight differences in reviews.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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84

Sipped this one extensively over last couple of weeks and wrote a review on my blog:

http://dobricajevi.blogspot.com/2012/03/keemun-grade-2-grade-1-hao-ya-teavivre.html

Copy-paste the content in Google Translate and translate it as Croatian.

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84

I had a cup of this one after few weeks. I kinda missed it. I’m raising the score on this one (81 → 84).

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84

I drink a lot of tea, but I usually forget to write notes.
I’m under 1/3 of 100gr bag of Premium Hao Ya grade of this tea, so now I’m trying to get it even with other two grades I purchased. What sometimes bothers me with TeaVivre’s Hao Ya grade is that it’s somewhat too light bodied and tends to lose part of its aroma when prepared with bottled water other than I usually use.
Keemun Grade 1 has more of a character, even little bitter possibly due to brewing it in tall inox thermos and thus water breaking some leaf and releasing bitterness. It’s really cold in Bosnia these days so I’m getting the feeling that water in my usual glass teapot is cooling down faster than it should and the end result isn’t satisfying. Moving on.

As I said infusion presents itself as more robust with a dash of bitterness and yet it feels light as it goes down the throat. I really can’t feel roasted notes but I do get some of that of steamed vegetables. All in all it’s pleasant for my palate, but I’m not making any ‘wows’ , an this cuppa can pass as breakfast tea for me.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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62

This is an interesting tea that I tried many different ways. I tried high heat and low heat at various temperatures. It had a distinct taste that was noted with malty tones. It has a robust flavor without overwhelming my pallet. I am not a giant fan of the flavor, but it is quality. This is a quality representation of this tea.

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89

I love how “shabby chic” White Peony tea looks like, unstructured and lacking in formal rules. The leaves look like they just woke up and didn’t have time to fix their hair yet!

Fluffy, some large and some small, oddly shaped, it’s beautifully disorganized.

Brewing it never fails me. It’s one of those I always go «Ahhh, yes, here you are, it’s been too long…» cause I usually shy away from white tea during winter but drink lots of it during summer season, cold or hot.

I am using the Gaiwan, I don’t measure or weigh it cause it’s too light, I just completely fill the vessel, it’s simpler.

It smells and tastes like hay warmed by the sun. It has beautiful notes of stone fruit, maybe apricot, and I also get some cucumber.

The second steep is always the best, it bursts with sweet melon juiciness, more stone fruit, hay still present.

Very relaxing and warming, a solid tea I can always rely on.

Welcome back to my life Bai Mu Dan!

Cameron B.

I really enjoyed the Bai Mudan I tried and I will definitely be trying this brand as well. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Teavivre. :)

I’m very interested in the whole gaiwan / gong fu mechanic but I really have no idea what it entails. I guess it’s something that I will have to do some research on and try in the future!

sherapop

Good description of this “bad hair day” tea! ;-)

TheTeaFairy

Cameron, I don’t think you can go wrong with Teavivre!
Here’s a link I like a lot for an introduction to Gongfu brewing methods. I love it cause it also shows non formal methods to make it accessible to anybody, (if you don’t own a Gaiwan or a gongfu pot). All Verdan’t videos are fantastic, I have learned a lot with them. Hope it helps you and gives you a direction :-)

Lol, sherapop, I always think “bad hair day” when I look at it ;-)

TheTeaFairy

Always nice to see you Mr. Draper ;-)

Cameron B.

Thanks so much for your help, TheTeaFairy, I really appreciate it! :3

TheTeaFairy

Awww, you are so welcome Cameron, anytime :-)

chadao

Sounds delicious! If you like bai cha (true “bai hao” white tea) like Bai Mu Dan, then you might also like its cousins, Shou Mei and Bai Hao Yin Zhen. Shou Mei is usually more robust, but still with that hay and delicate fruit flavor. Yin Zhen, you may have tried it, its delicately sweet and luxurious.

TheTeaFairy

Thanks chadao :-) I love Silver Needle…I bought Shou Mei only once in form of a cake (also from Teavivre), it reminded me of some Sheng I’ve had. Was that what you were referring to?

chadao

Not quite, I’ve never actually heard of Shou Mei in cake form. I was thinking more along the lines of this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoumei_tea
http://www.sevencups.com/tea_shop/Shou-Mei-Organic-White-Tea-2013.html

TheTeaFairy

Thanks for the links…here’s what I’ve had before, just FYI:
http://www.teavivre.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Shou+mei

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89

No work today, I have the whole day just to myself, and I chose to spend time on Steepster. Oh! how I wish I could spend more time to read reviews, and write more often myself! But life has other plans for me right now …

So I seize every opportunity that presents itself to take a break from my crazy schedule and sip a good cup of tea. I tell you, tea protects me from insanity! People around me know, tea is my religion, a sacred temple, an escape, a source of inspiration and meditation. For an over achiever like me, it means a lot.

I look out the window, I enjoy watching birds, trying to find seeds that fell from the feeder in the snow. I live in the countryside, not too far from the big city. Nature, just like tea, brings a much needed balance to my life.

Today, the sky is gray. February can be depressing around here, winter taking its toll I guess… But I like this kind of atmosphere, it leaves lots of room for melancholy to set in and take its rightful place. I put on the music of ELLIOTT SMITH, Miss Misery is playing and I realize how much I have missed him since his death. I really need his music today.

I want to honor this moment with something special. I recently received my order from Teavivre, it’s the perfect time to try this white Peony. I am a bit skeptical but positive feedback from some of you gives me confidence. I don’t know much about whites, and the ones I have tried so far never fully seduced me…until now!

First of all, as many others, I am impressed with the quality packaging that Teavivre offers, it’s the best I’ve seen. From the get go, you know that what’s in there was treated with all the respect it deserves. I open the bag and I discover long leaves of a pretty green color, the pouch is full as the weight of this tea is very light.

My first steep is one minute. The infused leaves have a strong smell of hay and spinach. The liquid is a light golden color. The taste is sweet and slightly grassy, with hints of freshly cut hay and a flowers. Everything is very subtle, but far from being boring!

The 2nd infusion (2 min) is completely different! Not as sweet and grassy, but with distinct notes of apricot (is this possible?) It’s fading, but the hay is still present. Not much flower notes this time around. I really love the experience so far. I now realize that I had never drank a white tea worthy of the name before.

Teavivre, thank you for introducing me to this new standard of quality.

I will from now on refer to this tea as my ELLIOTT SMITH tea, the one I drank in honor of his beautiful music legacy …

Note: the 3rd infusion is lighter, the apricot is gone, but the floral is back. Still tasty, but I’m not sure it can stand a fourth time…

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73

A lovely study tea, since I can just plop it in a mug, continue pouring on more water when I drink it up without really worrying about steeping times, and stare at it every so often. Straightforward pleasures!

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73

My first note about a flowering tea! You might have guessed that I used the “random pretty and relevant word” method of username choosing rather than naming myself after my favorite tea.

The main draw of this tea is definitely the appearance, and it is rather pretty. However, it’s rather tasty as well — I’d call it vegetal (and despite the several flowers that are present, there’s no real floral taste). As I tend to do with flowering teas, I never took the tea out of the glass, and as I’ve come to appreciate in others, that doesn’t hurt the flavor except at the very bottom of the glass. Perhaps because of this quality, the taste isn’t horribly complex; I would choose this only if I was in the mood to watch my tea blossom, since there are plenty of more typical teas that taste just as good if not better.

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100

Wow!
I never rate or review a tea while I’m still drinking it, but in this case I must make the exception.

First off, thank you Angel at Teavivre for this amazing sample! I cannot begin to express how delighted I was when you contacted me. I was already checking out your website before you generously offered to send me samples. And now I’m definitely buying more from you!

This is the first pu-erh tea I have ever tried. I was a little shy about them from seeing how they are these little discs of aged tea. I thought for sure I was going to mess up the brewing of this tea. For once, I admit I was completely wrong!

This morning before leaving for work, I grabbed the bag I received from Teavivre. I also grabbed my box of paper filters & headed to work. Once at the office, I got myself settled & decided it was time to try this tea. I would have prefered to make it at home, but I woke up late today…come on…the Super Bowl last night was a great game & my guests didn’t leave till after midnight. There was just no time this morning to properly brew this tea!

The smell…Earthy with a hint of fish. Everyone already warned me about that. No big deal. It’s the taste that I’m interested in.

The taste….the first sip is to test the water temp. The second really gives me the feeling of if I’ll like the tea or not. I not only like it, I love it!

It’s wonderful!

I can’t explain other than to say it’s a great flavor with a warm feeling to it. I can’t quite place the exact taste, but it’s good. I dare say it’s a plain black tea without making it sound boring. But it’s a simple flavor that isn’t overly thought, yet it is wonderful!

And while I’m still in the middle of the first cup, I’m already looking forward to a refill.

Well done Teavivre. This is a new favorite! I’m glad I took advantage of the holiday discount & ordered more!

FYI…my order was received on time & in perfect condition!
For those that haven’t ordered from Teavivre, I highly recommend you give them a try. Great tea + great customer service = a happy tea drinker!

Now if you’ll all excuse me…I’m off to finish this amazing cup of tea.

SunnyinNY

Read my personal blog note about this tea….
http://teatimewithsunny.blogspot.com/

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100

Please, disregard the terribly unsophisticated slurping and glugging sounds coming from my direction. This tea is so damn good, I can’t help but drink it as fast as the temperature allows.

Oh. My. Goodness. I’m in love. This sample was courteously provided to me by Angel Chen. It is my first time drinking this tea, and it won’t be my last. Oh, no, it will not be. To start with, I’m really impressed with the packaging. Details on the label! Harvest date! How long it is good for! Source! It makes the tiny little part of me that is detail oriented swoon (granted, it is a small part, but swoon it does). Also the double bagging is definitely nice, though it does conflict with my more eco-friendly side, as others have noted.

The flavor of this keemun is wonderful. Granted, it is only my second keemun, but I like it more than the Teavana one I had previously. This one is robust but mild—does that make sense? It strikes me as a gentle flavor, but very much there. I don’t get an overly smoky flavor from it (I’m still adjusting to smoky teas), and I imagine that I get hints of chocolate and wine. I think I might find it woody if I could only shake my association of “woody” with “piney”. Earthy. A bit, not like a pu-erh (maybe what I think of as earthy is actually woody. I don’t know).

Anyway, the upshot? I’m going to be ordering more. Once I drink down some of my stash. I can’t wait till that day. Also, I can’t wait to try the next Teavivre sample. Thanks Angel!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
TheTeaFairy

I am discovering Teavivre teas right now, and I am so impressed so far. Thanks for this review, this tea will be in my next order!

Camiah

I definitely recommend this one. I also noticed that as it cools, the chocolately/cocoa-y note became more apparent. Delicious.

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83

This was a very different experience for me as the only other puerhs I’ve had were all Sheng. Regardless, I went into this with a mostly open mind, and the results were pretty great. After properly washing it out a bit, I did the first true infusion, which resulted in literally black tea. The aroma was earthy, very earthy, but not in a bad way. The taste was actually much better than I expected, without a hint of the “muddy pond” taste that some lower-quality shu apparently has. It is interesting how it is a bit sweet this quickly, and it is certainly above-average. That being said, I am a bit ambivalent about the taste. Sure, it’s got a few things I like, but it’s not something that I would go out of my way to have again.

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 0 sec

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91

Thankyou so much teavivre for sending me this sample, I will definitely be buying this again.. the smell of this tea is absolute perfection, I can’t taste it as much as the smell.. but it’s ok.. I love the milky malt aroma of this..

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72

I was not really sure about this tea. It is pretty to watch. I almost wanted to do a time lapse video of it. The smell is floral with a jasmine backing to it. It tastes just like jasmine bubble milk tea that I get from one of my favorite tea shop where I went to school. In the past I have not had great experiences with blooming teas, so this was a nice turn around.

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85

This isn’t sweet per say but it’s rather smooth…I didn’t really expect that…but I am glad that it IS. The floral tastes on the tongue are nice, gentle, and not perfumy-bitter floral flavors and I LOVE that!

As it cools a bit it is a little sweeter! I like this! It’s dandy!

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95

This is an outstanding Tie Guan Yin. Sweet, floral with hints of vegetation. A beautiful infusion. Incredibly smooth, with a buttery quality that gets better with each subsequent infusion. Remarkably fragrant, it is a pleasure to inhale just before taking a sip.

Truly a delight, this Tie Guan Yin!

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89

Tea of the late afternoon…..

First of all, “Happy Friday”! I am so thankful the weekend is here. Secondly, thank you to Teavivre for sending this sample along with my first order. (I will just let you know, that I am becoming a huge fan of this company!)

The tea: I have had white teas in the past, but they have mostly been flavored versions. And I probably sweetened them, too. This is a good one because it is good all on its own, no added flavors, no need to add sweetness. It is light and has notes that are both floral and slightly vegetal. It is lighter than my favorite green tea (Premium Dragon Well), and really reminds me of Spring. A very good offering, and since I need some white tea in my life, I will order this at some point. Definitely my favorite white to date. (I have had at least 2 unflavored whites, but they did not impress me much.)

Right about now, I should be asking what Teavivre puts in their tea to make it so good! I think it is excellent, fresh tea, and excellent service.

About 3 tsp tea (it is fluffy!) in a 15 oz mug, about 180 water for 2 minutes. No additions. (I love teas that are great plain!)

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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72
drank Blueberry Fruit Tea by Teavivre
639 tasting notes

How is it already August 8th? Time is flying! My daughter is over six months old now. She’s getting her first two teeth. They’re coming in together and I think it’s causing her a lot of grief. They’re taking their sweet time too. Only the tips have been visible for the past few days.

I held on to this tea for years thinking I could enjoy its caffeine-freeness during pregnancy. Well, pregnancy came and went a while ago and this tea is still around. There’s no time like the present! Might as well enjoy the rest of this now.

The brewed tea aroma is mouthwatering and tart. Yes, I can smell the tartness. It smells like blueberries, raisins, and hibiscus. The flavor is SUPER tart! Think about the tartest hibiscus tea you’ve ever tried and this is probably tarter. The flavor gets stronger the cooler the tea is. This is somewhat wine-like too.

On another note, I’ve finally started to lose weight after the birth. I’ve lost 20 lbs so far and have about another 20 to go to be able to fit back into my wardrobe. I’ve hit a big milestone this week. I’ve lost enough weight that I can wear my wedding rings again! Yes, I was literally so fat that my rings didn’t fit. I forgot how beautiful my engagement ring is. I really really missed it! I can’t stop staring at it. Now that I can wear my wedding rings again, I feel so much more like my old self. Losing weight is a necessity for me. I’m so glad I’m halfway to my goal!

Flavors: Blueberry, Hibiscus, Raisins, Red Wine, Tart

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 3 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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72
drank Blueberry Fruit Tea by Teavivre
639 tasting notes

The dry “leaves” smell amazing! Just like blueberries and raisins in a berry trail mix! Eight minutes later and the brewed liquor is a deep purple. The aroma is more subdued now than before.

I ate a bunch of fresh blueberries before I brewed this tea so I could compare the tastes. My first tiny sip of this tea was tarter than the entire bowl of fresh blueberries! It does taste like blueberries, but that’s more of a secondary note. When it first hit my mouth, it was pure tart hibiscus.

I know this doesn’t actually have any hibiscus in it. But it might as well. Still, this is waaaaay better than the herbal teas I’ve had that do have hibiscus in them. It’s a significant improvement. If you like tart, you’ll love this! But it’s not the blueberry tea I’ve been searching for.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more
SimplyJenW

Roselle is hibiscus….. I am not a fan of it, either.

CHAroma

It’s so tart it’s almost salty!

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86

It’s been a while since I had this tea, and as I decided to work my way through my remaining samples, I picked this one. It’s pretty good, and it’s certainly a lot better than most Jasmine teas that I get at restaurants, but it’s not great. It’s sweeter than some jasmine, but I still prefer my Japanese greens.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 45 sec
TeaBrat

Me TOO! :)

Joshua Smith

It seems to be a trend that the Chinese invent something, and the Japanese refine it. They did it with green tea, bonsai, single-edged swords, ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement), and probably a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.

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86

Thanks to Teavivre for the free sample of this tea! I accidentally oversteeped the first infusion, so it had a bit of astringency in it, but it was a surprisingly small amount when compared to some Jasmine tea that I’ve had. The aroma was a very nice jasmine scent, but it wasn’t overpowering. The taste of the tea is hard to discern underneath the astringency, but I do taste something flowery, which suggests that that taste will be fairly strong if I don’t oversteep the next infusion.

Okay, I was REALLY careful with the second infusion, using degree water and steep for exactly two minutes. The result was a cup of tea with a nice sweet flowery flavor, with not even a hint of astringency. This is the second be jasmine tea I’ve had to date (after the jasmine pearls that I got from Teavivre back in November).

Interestingly enough, the third infusion with this tea was exactly the same as the second. I don’t often find green teas with this type of longevity (they usually only last for four steepings), but I figure that I will get at least five infusions out of this tea, which is a pleasant surprise.

I lost track of what steeping I’m on, but rest assured it is at least number six. I brewede this infusion at a low termperature, like 140 degrees, and the resutl was pretty goo. I actually forgot about the tea, so it was infusing for somewhere between 6 and 10 minutes before I took the leaves out. The resulting tea is still a bit flowery, but the generic green tea taste is beginning to seep in. Interestingly enough, there is no astringency, even though it was a VERY long infusion, most likely due to the low water temperature and the high number of previous steepings.

All in all, this is a very good tea, and certainly better than a lot of Jasmines that I’ve had. I’m seriously considering using this to replace my Yamamotoyama jasmine, given that this has a better taste and lasts longer.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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