Thank you for the samples, Teavivre! Another solid black tea from Teavivre. The dry leaves are very unique — they look like wild tea with HUGE, wiry leaves, tangled together in shades of black and gold. The scent of the dry leaves have a hay-in-the-field quality. The flavor is a little like that as well, with a medium flavor strength and starchiness (like sweet potatoes!) I’ve been really enjoying the sweet starchy aftertaste of black teas lately! The first time I had this tea, I didn’t think I used enough leaves. But I think because the leaves are so huge (the biggest leaves I’ve ever seen in a tea) the tea has a lighter flavor from the big leaves, just like a CTC tea has a stronger flavor because of the tiny leaves. But stronger does not mean better. Since I probably used a teaspoon more on the second steep session, the steeps were richer in flavor, though still tough to pick out individual flavor notes each time. Simply a satisfying black tea. I think I used close to Teavivre’s parameters minus a teaspoon. I wouldn’t say this is the best black tea from Teavivre, but it is VERY hard to decide which is the worst.
Steep #1 // half of a sample for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep