Dorothy

This is my fist time trying a yellow tea. So going into this purchase I didn’t know what to expect. Due to amount that came with my order (10g), I decided to prepare it with short steeps.

Initially when going through the rinse stage, I sniffed the gaiwan lid and picked up on a unique aroma. It’s really hard to describe, but from my tastings it’s like a butter and honey combo.

Then, throughout the steeps I got a nice crisp, heavy butter, sweet, creamy, and vegetal flavour (similar to sugar snap peas). With the third steep having a lovely honey and butter flavour.

Overall I’m very impressed. Even though this is my first chance trying yellow tea, it seems very different from the other usual types. I don’t have the budget to indulgence on Jun Shan Yin Zhen, but very happy I had a chance to try it.

Steep parameters:
100ml gaiwan, 5g tea, 3 steeps and rinse (45s, 30s, 30s)
_{(I tried past 3 steeps but I didn’t enjoy it as much)}

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

Sniffing the tea liquor, I got the impression this would be too sweet. But with the first sip, it’s much more toned down. There are a lot of enjoyable flavours here; malty, honey, spices, marzipan, grains, raisin, chocolate. They’re all very mellow and underwhelming though.

The following second through seventh steeps didn’t really impress me either.

To try and get more flavour out of my cups, I did both a western steep and another short steep (with more leaves). Both attempts were unsuccessful. To be truthful, I just couldn’t get into this tea at all.
And overall I while enjoyed the sample, it couldn’t compare with some other Oriental Beauty teas I have tried.

Steep parameters:
100ml gaiwan, 4g, 7 steeps and rinse (30s, 45s, 1m, 1m10s, 1m20s, 1m30s, 1m40s)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

First steep exceeded my expectations. It’s very floral of course, but not in an obnoxious way. And there is an almost menthol like refreshing sensation with each sip.

Second through fourth steeps were very consistent in flavour. But on my fifth steep I started tasting some nectarine (fruit) notes along with spices.

Sixth through seventh steeps were still very flavourful with a nice touch of sweetness.

I have not gone out of my way to try many tie guan yin teas, but this one really impressed me. I’m not even sure what else I would expect from this tea. Just an amazing experience all around. :)

100 ml gaiwan, sample size, 7 steeps and rinse

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

I’m in a green tea mood today, so I tried my next sample: Liu An Gua Pian.

With my first sip, I was picking up on spicy taste mentioned in the description. It’s really pleasant, and gives the tea body a nice “warm” feeling in my mouth. Next, I was tasting a lot of the characteristics I expect in a green tea (vegetal, sweet). Maybe I used more leaves than I should have, but the tea body had a lot of flavour.

Second to fourth steeps were pleasant, with a consistent but milder strength. There is some bitterness, but it seems to blend well with the other flavours.

Overall I liked this tea, and I downed my cups pretty quickly. Sometimes I prefer a delicate green tea, but this one had a lot of interesting flavours going on. Very happy I had a chance to try this, and I’ll brew some western style another day.

100ml gaiwan, 4g sample, 4 steeps (rinse, 30s,1m,1m30s,2m)

Edit: I prepared this later as western style (with Teavivre’s steep guidelines. It’s much as I expected, but not as flavourful. So short steeps are still my preference with this one.)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

I’ve been having a lot of good result’s with Teavivre’s steep guidelines. So I prepared this in my gaiwan at first, and tea mug later on.

My first through third steeps were very light and subtle. It had a refreshing, sweet, vegetal and slightly fruity aroma. (Unfortunately it was a type of vegetal flavour I don’t enjoy.)

And just to experiment, I also used my second sample to try it out western style. But really, I didn’t notice too much of a difference.

Overall, I couldn’t get into this tea. I tried, but there’s something about the vegetal aroma that displeases my palate. But aside from that, the other subtle flavours were pretty good. So I’m not a fan, but if you enjoy this sort of green tea it might be worth a try.

100ml gaiwan, 4g sample, 3 steeps (rinse,30s,1m,1m30s)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

This is my first time trying a high-end/more expensive dragon well, so I chose to prepare it as Teavivre’s suggests.

First steep tasted very delicate, light, buttery, vegetal, sweet (with some cinnamon background) and crisp. I couldn’t detect any off-putting flavours.

Second through fifth steeps were consistent, with the flavour building up in my mouth at each sip. It weakened very gradually, which was enjoyable.

Overall, I had high expectations and this tea met them. Can’t say I’ve tried a lot of dragon well teas (or high end ones for that matter), but this one really pleased me. Definitely worth trying once.

As a side note, I really like the flavour so I went ahead and prepared my second sample “western style”. It’s still really good, but I prefer short steeps (plus I love watching the leaves in my gaiwan).

Steep parameters (Teavivre’s recommendations):

100ml gaiwan, 4g, 5 steeps (rinse,20s,40s,1m10s,2m,2m30s)
(spot on directions, it turned out wonderful)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

Just received Teavivre’s samples yesterday, and this is the first one I picked out to try. Good black teas always have a special place in my heart, so I was eager to taste this. I’ve also been wondering for a long time “what IS tan yang black tea like?”.

My initial steep tasted; fuzzy, sweetness/caramel, earthy.

Second to fourth steeps started to really build up a strong earthy flavour, that had a nice roasted, woodsy, syrupy, and slightly floral background.

Fifth through tenth steeps maintained that strong flavour, only weakening slightly with each steep. The last cup was still very flavourful considering it was the tenth.

Overall it met my expectations. Teavivre’s steep guidelines were spot-on, I enjoyed the flavour brought out in the shorter initial steeps. What I liked about this tea, is that held onto a strong flavour throughout my steeps. That being said, I’m not impressed with the level of “charm” Tan Yang brings, and I’ve tasted similar teas with different names (this is a really minor point, not meant to be taken as negative).
Compared to the other black teas Teavivre sells, this is probably my second favourite (first would be their Yunnan Dian Hong Golden Tip). If you enjoy resteeping your black tea a lot, this is a very good option to choose.

Steep parameter (as suggested on their website)

100ml gaiwan, 5g sample, 10 steeps: rinse(10s),5s,5s,10s,20s,30s,35s,35s,60s,2m30s,3m30s

It’s really starting to get hot and humid where I live, and preparing this cold steeped overnight really hit the spot. I like how the chilly water brings out a refreshing flavour of the floral Bai Mu Dan.

Also, it really helps me get through a lot of 2012 purchases so I can buy the current year’s stuff. ;)

Steep parameters:
6 tea spoons of tea leaves, 1 liter jug of water, steeped for about 15 hours in a refrigerator.

Now that it is spring, I working my way through all the green and white teas I own. There is about at third of this tea left since my last purchase.

Comparing my initial feelings with today’s just after drinking some. I have to say it met my expectations, and turned out to be a very easy tea to brew. Whether steeped long or short, I didn’t have to adjust my method to produce a tasty cup. I like the soft, mellow vegetal flavour with a bit of floral and sweetness in the background. It was a very relaxing tea to have on a mild spring afternoon like today. :)

Purchased some time ago, this is another tea I own that I forgot to leave a review.

First steep: tasting a lot of qualities that I expect from this type of oolong. There’s this kind of sweet-astringent flavour, slightly floral aroma, and the satisfying creaminess of an oolong.

Overall I enjoyed the tea. It’s nice to drink something besides tie guan yin when I want an oolong. My personal preference is to use a bit more leaf than I usually do for ball style oolongs.

Steep parameters:
500 ml glass mug, 3 tea spoons, 3 minute steep

Purchased some months back, I’ve steeped this quite a few times but haven’t written a review yet.

I had a lot of expectations leading up to my first steep. This was only my third time trying a Sun Moon Lake from a different company, but it has such a charming and unique strong flavour. But all my worries were washed away the first time I tried Nuvola’s SML. It’s definitely the real deal, and it’s not too weak either.

Tasting this tea again today, it still fulfills my expectations. I don’t drink it very often, and usual reserve it for special occasions or for a treat.

_{Steep parameters: 100ml gaiwan, 5g leaves, 6 steeps (30s, 45s, 1m, 1m15, 1m30, 2m)}

This is the last YS black tea from my order that I’ve yet to review. I don’t frequent Steepster as often, so the thought of logging tasting notes slipped my mind. That being said, I’m looking forward to getting some new YS teas this year. :)

Here’s my tasting notes on a short steep of Yi Mei Ren (2012):

First steep tasted smooth with that “fuzzy” mouth feel. There is also a hint of fruit and black tea flavour.

Second steep brought out a new astringent flavour (I can’t describe the actual flavour so well).

Final and third steep was a really satisfying and strong cup. More of the tea body came out, along with the previous notes.

Overall, this was probably my second favourite out of the five I purchased. Not an amazing resteeper, but still pretty flavourful in short doses or a long steep.

_{Steep parameters: 100ml gaiwan, 5g tea leaves, rinse and 3 steeps (30s, 45, 1m)}

Since December 2012 when this was purchased and sipped, I’ve gone through about 2/3’s of the bag. The website description is pretty spot on; spices (cinnamon) and a sweetness are very present in each sip.

Observations from my steeping today, brought up a lot of old memories I’ve had drinking this. It’s a very flavourful cup, but it doesn’t perform so well with short steeps (kinda stretching if I go past 6 short infusions). The spices notes are wonderful, and they give off a nice “warmth”, but I still prefer their Jin Die tea over this for that particular quality.

Overall it’s a good tea and my expectations were met, but there are other teas from Camellia Sinensis I’d order again over Luku Hong Cha.

Steep parameters:
500ml water, 5g tea leaves, 1 steep (4min)

Today I short steeped this three times. Overall it had a light, mellow, refreshing quality and a “typical” black tea flavour.

Normally I prepare this western style, which is better for a stronger flavour. My husband enjoys taking this tea to work, along with the other black teas we ordered from YS.

Steep parameters:
100ml gaiwan, 5g, rinse + 3 steeps (30s, 45s, 1m)

This tea sample was included along with some other teas I ordered from Nuvola a couple months ago. Unfortunately it was placed in box with a bunch of other samples and small batches of tea, so I never got around to trying it.
(Since I only had a sample of it, I figured that short steeping Oriental Beauty would be a great way to savor the tea.)

My first through fourth steeps were; sweet, mellow, smooth, floral, a bit roasted and reminded me of cantaloupe melon.

Fifth and sixth steeps were still pretty good, but the sweetness had faded.

Overall I really enjoyed this Oriental Beauty tea. Somehow I expected it to be too sweet, but this one had a nice balance between flavour and sweetness.

Steep parameters:
100ml gaiwan, 5g sample, 6 steeps + rinse (15s, 30, 45, 1m, 1m30, 2m)

I’ve had this tea for a while, but never got around to writing a review. It was purchased along with four other black teas from YS, many months ago. This one was always enjoyable prepared either western or eastern style. Not an amazing resteeper, but pretty flavourful.
This was my first “purple” tea experience. And overall it was a pleasant experience, but it definitely impressed my husband a lot more.

Here are some quick notes about my short steep session today:

First steep- Light, fruity (melon, grapes), refreshing. Acidic-sweetness at the back of my mouth.

Second steep- Fuzzy-fruit flavour all over my mouth, not a deep or heavy black tea body. Pretty light and delicate.

Third steep- The flavours have mellowed a bit, but much of the original notes are still present. For me, this is a nice cup to end on.

Steep parameters- 100ml teapot, 5g, 3 steeps (rinse, 30s, 40s, 1m)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

First through seven steeps were consistently bold in flavour. I enjoyed how potent the liquor tasted. Lately I haven’t been drinking any strong black teas. This one had a very bold, earthy and malty flavour.

I’m looking forward to trying this western style (probably steeped in a mug). That being said, bold black teas are not my favourite. They’re not something I’d drink all the time, but it’s still a pleasant experience.

100ml purion teapot, 2tsp, rinse and 7 steeps (with Teavivre’s suggested times: 10s, 20s, 30s, 50s, 1m10s, 1m30s, 2m)

Edit: tried this western style, and it’s still quite nice and bold.

_{Sample provided for review}

First through sixth steeps were lovely. There is a deep, rich, earthy and roasted aroma. Very soothing and calming. It seems like a great tea to drink during the colder months.

I’m thankful for the chance to try this tea from a vendor I didn’t know about previously. They’ve certainly piqued my interest. I’d definitely think about ordering some different teas in the future.

100ml gaiwan, 5g, rinse and 6 short steeps

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

This is my second time brewing this. Previously I used short steeps in a gaiwan, today I’m using a glass mug (about 400ml). I know everyone is not interested in short steeps, but I enjoy comparing a tea using both methods. For people that have read some of my previous tasting notes, you’ll notice that I typically short steep all of my black teas. Usually I prefer the flavour of that method, but I also enjoy the additional tea ritual steps. ;)

On the taste of today’s brewing results:

My two steeps came out pretty mild, which depending on your Keemun preference is good or bad (good for me). With the familiar flavours of its type coming up very subtly. I really enjoyed how the floral flavours were mild, while the spices were a bit stronger.

Overall I liked this Keemun tea because the flavour wasn’t bold and in my face. That being said, I am still not a big fan of this type of tea. If you like Keemun, but want more subtle flavours this is a nice tea to try. But if you prefer a bolder cup, Teavivre’s other Keemun teas fulfill that role better.

400ml-ish glass mug, 4-5g, 2 steeps (3m, 6m)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

First steep, very smooth, velvety, light liquor, with the familiar Dragon Well flavour.

Second and third steeps, bolder in taste, there is also this almost fuzzy texture on my tongue.

Fourth and fifth steeps, the flavour has weakened a bit but is still enjoyable, and a bit of astringency if present (but not overdone).

Overall I really liked this Dragon Well tea. Teavivre always provides really nice green tea samples, and it’s given me a new appreciation for that type of tea.
Next time I brew this sample, I will use my competition cups to compare the Premium Dragon Well (which I purchased) with this one. After that, I’ll try it western style in a teapot.

100ml gaiwan, 4g-ish (sometimes my digital scale fudges it), 5 steeps (rinse, 20s, 40s, 1m10s, 2m, 2m30s)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

After trying this with short steeps, I brewed it in a teapot today. The result was a bit different, and better in some ways. I noticed a lot less strong charcoal flavour, and more of a smooth and sweet liquour.

Overall I prefer the flavour of short steeping this, but it’s still nice from a teapot. If you drink a lot of tie guan yin western style, drinking this da hong pao might be a nice change of pace. It’s a very different experience, but still a good cup of oolong.

I’ve never really been charmed by da hong pao before, but I can see why people like it. With my limited experience tasting this type of tea, I cannot vouch for it’s quality. That being said, I didn’t find any of the flavours to be off putting.

400ml, 5g, 3 steeps (1m, 2m, 3m)

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

The first through sixth steeps were actually pretty consistent in flavour. Sometimes Keemun black tea is a bit harsh or almost bitter, but this one was very nice and mellow. Just the right mixture of usual Keemun characteristics, earthy, malty, and hints of spices.

Overall this is one of the better Keemun black teas I’ve tried (which isn’t a whole lot, maybe about 6-7 now). Throughout the six steeps, it never became bitter or too strong. That being said, I’m not a big fan of this type of black tea but it still managed to exceed my expectations. I’ll have to try this western style sometime with the rest of my samples.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp (4g-ish), rinse and 6 short steeps (from their website: 15s, 30s, 45s, 1m10s, 1m40s, 2m10s)