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I finally decided that I’m not going to put it off any longer and that I really, really wanted a rose tea. Today is the day I’m trying the ripened rose pu-erh mini tuocha.

I did a few seconds rinse followed by a short one-minute steep with a two minute steep waiting for me in my little red tea pot.

First, the tea is so dark it looks like coffee in my tea cup! I didn’t realize how light the teas were that I had been drinking until this morning, but this settles it. If nobody knew better, they would think I was drinking black coffee. I also enjoyed watching the tuocha fall apart in my french press. The rose on top of it also grew as it steeped which was lovely to look at when I re-filled it for the second steep.

The first steep of this is really, really mellow. It isn’t very strong at all. Instead it is rich and very slightly earthy. Just enough there to remind you that it is a pu-erh. I think the rose might have lightened up the taste, but I don’t taste it yet. Just lovely and smooth pu-erh.

I think if I gave this cup to my Dad he would drink it without realizing that it wasn’t coffee because it kinda tastes similar to it. Less bold than the brand he drinks of course, but it could pass off as a nice morning cuppa to some coffee drinkers I know. And it is so smooth that they could drink it without milk or sugar.

I’m starting to taste a slight malt as I’m reaching the end of my cup. I only brewed enough for one cup with the first steep, so once it is gone it is gone. But I’m really liking this mysterious malty flavor that popped up. I wonder if it will show up in the second steep or not.

The second steep has to be even darker than the first steep. There would be no question about it. If somebody saw me drinking this, they would think I was drinking black coffee out of a china tea cup. I think I can smell a tiny bit of rose with this cup. Just a touch. Maybe the rose will be more present in this steep.

The second steep tastes a lot like the first, but I think I am picking up a floral taste. Everything is blended together so well that I am having a hard time separating one thing from the other. Complex indeed.

There is a slight bitter twang at the back of my throat, but it isn’t unpleasant at all. A very dark taste that lightens up and reminds me of roses. Ah ha! That is where the flower taste really is. I can taste the roses lightly in the sip, but that bitter twang lightens into that smooth floral rose.

The more I sip it now, the more apparent the rose in the back of my throat becomes. This is why you need to be patient when drinking tea and that why we need to slow down to really taste what we are eating. I think I might be in love and I am so glad that I get two little tuochas per pouch.

I might try a third steep later after I enjoy my little second steep pot full.

Thank you for letting me try this Angel and the Teavivre team. I never would have ordered this by myself and letting me sample this has opened up a new world of pu-erh beyond what Numi offers. And I think I like it even better now.

Wow, I forgot how strong bagged teas can be. This one was steeped for only three and a half minutes and I even put milk in it. And it is decaf (by accident) and I still think it is strong. I needed a good black tea for in the mornings now since I’m working weekends at McDonalds, but I didn’t expect an English Breakfast to wake me up as much as an Irish Breakfast.

I am going to be prepared for the weekend now!

Awe. Last steep isn’t as strong as the third one was. I knew I should have let it steep longer than four minutes for the last one. Oh well, I knew this had to be a staple when I did actually brew it the next morning and then went back to it after I got back home from my fiance’s house. It is still nice even though it is a little weak.

I think this might be becoming one of my favorite oolongs. I keep picking it up when I feel upset or when I want to relax or even when I want to have something that will comfort me as much as a hug from my beloved. I just have really save feelings when drinking this and I don’t know why because I never had anything like this when I was little.

I used a little more leaf than usual and the taste was stronger. It wasn’t the normal cracker taste though. It was nice and bready, but it also had a delicate sweet aftertaste to it that I enjoyed a lot. There is probably several more steepings left in this and I might have at least one more before I get completely in bed, but I will probably have more in the morning with breakfast.

I relaxed with a couple of pots of this tea this evening. It was delicious! It didn’t have much kick to it, but it was nice and mellow. It was slightly sweet and it tasted lightly of veggies but it wasn’t as much as some of the green teas I have tried in the past.

I could see having this to drink daily when I wanted a green tea but I didn’t want an overly complicated one. I think this would go great with just about any meal. I also think it would go fantastically with a small dish of red bean ice cream.

I only have a little left, enough for one more cup probably, so I’m going to save it for when I have some time to enjoy it. On one of my days off! First steep at two minutes and second steep at three minutes with water that just started to make some noise in my kettle.

My roommate ended her stay with a few cups of monkey picked Tie Guan Yin. She said this one was the heartiest of the teas she had, but also the most comforting. I have converted her to the use of the french press as a tea steeper. She was asking where I got mine and I could see that she was thinking of picking one up. I also gave her several tea companies (including Teavivre on the top of my list since she loves the tea so much)

Thank you Angel and the rest of the Teavivre team for having awesome teas that I am able to convert my friends with! I am almost caught up with my backlog of tea sampling that I fell behind on.

Backlogging number 2:

We had this tea as well. It was the last of the sample so I made four steeps out of this one. I think it tasted better when I used more leaf so if I get this one again, I will have to remember that I like it with a good bit of leaf the best. I will miss it though. It was my last yunnan in my limited tea stash.

My old roommate from college came over and we totally had tea time several different times! This was the first tea we had. (mostly because I don’t remember which tea we had for dinner that night). She loved this one and said that she never thought that oolongs could taste as good as it did. I think I might have converted someone to the oolong side of tea!

I didn’t get to have my leftover leaves in the morning, so I am having them now. My feet are so sore from work, but it feels good to have a job again.

The third steep still tastes like buttered toast to me. I am getting a little more of the floral that I tasted in the plain Tie Guan Yin, but the baked flavor is still strong! It tastes really good. I think I might have found a new favorite oolong for a while.

I needed that smooth, sturdy pick-me-up today.

I have successfully completed my first training session at McDonalds. I am so excited to actually have a job again and I don’t care that it is a small, part time job. It will show that I actually have initiative to work after college and will look good when I get ready to look for a bigger job or to go back to school.

So, I decided that I was going to make a pot of this to have after supper and then another pot to have after showering and before going to bed. I was expecting this to be a green oolong this time, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw the delicate light brew after two minutes.

I poured out my first cup and smelled toast. Yes, my tea smelled like toast. Then I tasted it and it tasted like dark toasted toast. The taste is mild and the toast taste is really pleasant. It is hovering somewhere between toasted and baked cracker. Though if it is more like a baked cracker then it is the whole wheat kind with sesame seeds baked into the cracker.

It is actually really nice and mellow. It was the perfect tea to have after having a smoked salmon open faced sandwich for dinner, so I guessed my tea choice perfectly. I will have to update this note after I have my second steep to see if the flavor has changed in any way.

Second Steep It tastes a lot like the first steep, only there is something a little creamier in this one. And I am getting more of a nutty taste to this one too. Creamier and nutty. It is tasting a little like the dark oolong than the regular Tie Guan Yin that I had a few days ago. This would be a good one to have when I want the boldness of a dark tea without having the dark tea. I might have to save the leaves and have the third steep in the morning with breakfast!