Dorothy

Maybe my tastes have changed, but when I made a cup of this today I was very disappointed. All I could taste was jasmine! The green tea was mild, uninteresting and dull. I realize that this is jasmine green tea, but the words GREEN TEA are also there. So I guess if you are crazy about jasmine this isn’t such a bad tea. But maybe you should just brew a cup of jasmine by itself.

I don’t like this tea anymore, but the good news is that I have friends with less discerning paletes that will enjoy some free Dragon Pearls. ;)

200ml glass teapot, 1 1/2 generous teaspoons, 2 steeps

I have not had much of this since I originally bought the sample set, so I made a cup to start off my afternoon. The first cup made me remember why I enjoy this tea so much. It’s a very unique flavour I only experience with dan cong type teas, and made even more special because it’s a black tea. I highly recommend this tea if you enjoy the honey orchid flavour dan cong tea, or want a very different black tea experience.

If I have enough time, I’ll probably try this with a few short steeps later today.

200ml glass teapot (mostly filled up), 2 tsp? (long leaves are hard to scoop in!), 2 steeps

Tried this again with several short steeps, and one long steep. Last time I logged this, the water I used for the short steeps was too high.

Starting with the short steeps, I can taste a sweet honey caramel flavour right away, with a bit of something zesty. The flavours were fairly consistent with the first 5 steeps, but the tea body is mild.

It started winding down at the 6th steep, and I started to taste the original water flavour on the 8th steep. I had a bit of hot water left so I made a 9th steep, which wasn’t very flavourful but not bad at all, just weak. The change in water temperature, really helped turn this from a “meh” experience, to a good one.

Then I used the rest of my tea leaves for a long steep. Which is always a bit hard with this tea, I always have a hard time using a teaspoon to measure it out. So I had to use a scale.

I think it’s kinda funny how different the two methods turned out to be. Here the tea liquor is much darker, with much of the flavour from the other method but with stronger black tea base. I realize a longer steep makes stronger tea, but here it made a big difference for me.

Overall, I like Bai Lin black tea but it’s usually a bit too sweet for me. Even with my bias, I love the flavours these leaves have to offer. This particular one has a lot of golden buds, which lends itself to a beautiful short steeping experience. Looking forward to trying my other Jing Tea Shop samples.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp?, 9 steeps (30s +10s resteep)
&
200ml glass teapot (filled most of the way), 2tsp?, 1 steep (but prob more after I upload this)

Lately this has been my go to tea in the morning. It’s a bit rough and harsh, but I like that sort of thing when I wake up. ;)

Usually I just do 2 steeps, starting with 1 min and then either 2 or 3 minutes for the resteep. The suggested 3-4 minutes for the first infusion is way too strong for me. If I were the sort of person that puts milk or sugar into tea, this one would be a candidate. Unfortunately I usually hate added sugar and I am lactose intolerant. So I adjust steep times to my liking.

I’m about 2/3’s the way through this bag, and I still pretty much feel the same as when I drank my first cup. It’s a nice tea, but I primarily bought it to try something new and develop my palate.

See previous tasting note for more comments on the tea flavour.

200ml glass teapot, 1 generous tsp, 2 steeps

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Yesterday I prepared this with one long steep, and now I’ll try out multiple short steeps. I think this approach to tasting tea gives you a good understand of what the tea leaves have to offer.

With the initial steep, I picked up on notes of pumpkin spice, grains, sweet honey (not too sweet though), other spices. The liquid had a very silky smooth feel to it.

The flavour continued to strengthen over the second and fourth steeps. It never became too powerful or overwhelming. The black tea base has a nice flavour to it, it was a bit sweet, floral, and earthy.

After those, the flavour started winding down. The fifth had some notes of chocolate, cinnamon, with a slightly weaker flavour than the previous steep. Sixth steep was soft, light and still a bit floral.

Finishing off with the last two steeps, I could begin to taste my original water flavour. But it still had enjoyable qualities from the previous steeps (sweet, earthy).

At the end of all this, I took a moment to look at the leaves in my gaiwan. They were a nice brown colour, and although mostly comprised of broken leaf, there is no “tea dust”. This one turned out to be a fairly good resteeper considering the leaves are not whole.

Now that I’ve tried the two steeping styles, I think I prefer the longer western style. It has a richer, deeper tea flavour and takes advantage of the broken tea leaf, because that type infuses flavour quickly (more so than whole leaf).

This is one of the Teavivre samples I’ve considered purchasing because the price and flavour makes it an excellent every day black tea. I’ve certainly had much worse black tea and for more money.

100ml gaiwan, 1 sample pack (2 tsp? 5g?), 8 steeps (rinse, 45s, +15s resteeps)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Down to my last sample from Teavivre to try. For now I’ll prepare it with one long steep, and then later on in the day with at least 8 short steeps.

I was pleasantly surprised with this in my morning’s cup. I’m picking up on lots of flavours; something floral, pepper, lychee, chocolate, honey, spice (makes me think of pumpkin spice to some extent), and of course a good black tea body.

200ml glass teapot, 1 packet (2tsp? 5g?), 1 steep

By the way, I went on their website to check out some info on this tea and I saw that they had some new stuff in stock. When I spotted the Oriental Beauty @ about $15 USD for 100g my eyeballs nearly popped out! I have no idea how good it is, but usually their tea is at an already excellent price to flavour ratio. I’m seriously very tempted to put in an order. There is also some DongDing and Jin Xuan Milk Oolong. I hope they keep stocking more tea from Taiwan. :D MmmmMMMM yeah!

I was down to the last 5 grams of this sample pack and I hadn’t brewed this with short steeps yet, so I did that. This one turned out to be a super resteeper, so I’ll try and keep the tasting notes simple.

Steeps 1-4: I was a bit surprised at how consistent these initial steeps were. The leaves give up a lot of flavour even within the first 30 seconds. It builds up to some very bold flavours at the 4th steep. The flavour was familiar black tea, with bold peppery caramel, and a touch of floral notes.

Steeps 5-8: As pretty typical of this steeping method, starting at the 5 steep I start to lose a bit of flavour. But if it didn’t taste so good I would stop. Anyway, it wasn’t until the 8th steep that I started to even notice the original flavour of my water, but the tea liquor is still a darker orange colour.

Steeps 9-14: I felt that so long as the tea liquor colour was dark enough, and the flavour enticing that I would keep resteeping. With each steep, I began to notice the original water flavour more and more. However the tea flavour was prevalent up until the 12th steep, with the 13th and 14th having a nice hint of flavour. The last cup was still a light orange, and still more flavourful than some other black teas I’ve resteeped just 4 times. ;)

Currently my cupboard is crowded with tea, but still I am very tempted to buy more Ying De Hong Cha. I bought this in a black tea sample pack to further my experience with these sort of teas. When I buy samples, I usually like to try a lot of teas and then only select a few to buy in larger quantities. This particular tea has definitely charmed me and I will buy more when my tea cupboard shrinks a bit.

100ml gaiwan, 2 generous tsps, 14 steeps! (rinse, 30s, +15s resteeps)

Wow, this is my fourth tasting note for this tea. I usually just make one if it gets the point across or if I don’t change the steep parameters much. Anyway, today I am using my gaiwan to quick steep this tea.

Drinking the first cup was a treat, I tasted something tangy, malty, earthy, kinda sweet and with familiar black tea flavour.

Second cup continued to get stronger, with a new flavour sneaking in which I couldn’t quite describe. It gave me a nice resonating sensation throughout my body. (Sometimes I feel like great tea rings me like a bell!)

Not much change with the third steep, except the flavour is stronger to the point where it gets pretty bold.

The fourth steep is my favourite. Along with the familiar flavours there is an emphasis on cherry, with a bit more tangy/zesty going on, and an amazing sort of menthol sensation with the aftertaste. At this point I took a break to brew more water, and that sensation stuck around quite a while. Very pleasant.

With such a good experience from the last cup, the fifth while good… couldn’t really top it. The main quality I liked about this one was the reduction in the boldness of the tea. Three and four were a bit “in your face”, kinda boldness and this one is more friendly.

Flavour in the sixth cup shifted a bit, again I can’t really describe it well enough but it was a different feeling. Still tastes enough like a good cup of tea.

Finishing up with the seventh and eighth cups, I can finally taste the original water. (Usually this is my indication of where to stop.) But the brew still has a nice light, zesty, tea flavour going on.

I’ve had this tea in my cupboard for a while now, and today gave me a lot to reflect on. I think this tea comes out too weak or delicate if you use too much water, and today’s session with the gaiwan was my most pleasant. My favourite thing about this tea is the sensation it gives me, along with the combination of interesting flavours. It does a good job of keeping me captivated. Overall, a charming black tea with sweetness that does not overpower the wonderful earthy flavour.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 8 steeps (45s + 15s resteeps)

Now that I’m down to the last few grams of this tea, I’ve come to appreciate rose flavour. Whereas initially, I was a bit put off by how floral this tea was. If you’re looking for a more in depth review on the flavours, check my previous tasting notes. Anyway, it’s not a tea I’m in love with but overall I found it to be a very positive experience. This tea, along with a cheaper one from the same province have really peaked my interest. So I’m looking forward to trying more black tea from Szechuan in the future. :)

Looking at the CS website, this tea is “sold out”. However if it becomes available again, I recommend trying it if you enjoy black tea with strong floral notes.

160ml water in a 200ml glass teapot, 2tsps, 2 steeps

I recently bought a yixing teapot as an early Christmas gift to myself. ;) With the intention getting to know that sort of teaware, and to drink much more oolong!

So far I am pleased with the initial results, because whenever I brewed this tea in my gaiwan, I think the tannins were a bit too bold. So while I enjoyed the flavours, it always seemed a bit unfriendly. But with the new tea vessel, I don’t have that problem anymore. It gave me a much more soft and balanced experience.

Anyhow, the tea description is spot on. Besides the familiar flavours I expected, it’s a very mouth watering tea. I find it easy to relax and daydream while I sip. Yesterday, when I also had this, the flavour lingered throughout the day. So overall I think this is a very memorable and easy tea to like.

125ml yixing teapot, 2 tsps, 4 steeps (30s, +15s resteeps)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

This morning I tried a long steep with a lower temperature to see if I like the flavour change any better.

I noticed it doesn’t have such a profound “tea” flavour, and it tastes more green obviously. With the second steep, I’m already preferring the higher temperature/lower steep time. The flavour is different with the temperature change, but not in a way I prefer.

I think it’s funny how differently my other Bai Mu Dan behaves with a low temp (it’s good). Perhaps I’ll have to try my CS stuff with a high temperature sometime. Anyway, I like Teavivre’s batch at 95 Celsius the most. I love the feeling Bai Mu Dan tea gives me, but it’s definitely more of a spring time thing for me.

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

This is a follow up to the last tea tasting I did. Before I did 4 short steeps, today I’m just doing one long steep.

One of the first things I noticed, is that it has a familiar “tea” taste. Then fresh greens, melon, something a bit muscatel, with a very fuzzy, velvety texture going down.

Overall, I think I prefer the short steeps but it tastes good either way. I have 2 more sample packs, so I might try brewing those at a different temperature to see if I like it any better. Because I’ve tried this type at 75 Celsius before and enjoyed it even more.

Brewed in a tall glass (about 6-8oz of water), one pouch (5g?), 1 steep

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

I generally like Bai Mu Dan, so this tea didn’t have to try hard to please me. If you’ve never had “plain” white tea before, I highly recommend trying it out at some point (from your retailer of choice obviously). My experience with flavoured white tea and this regular stuff is different. I like both, but Bai Mu Dan has a lovely spring greens feel to it.

Tonight I made 4 quick steeps, which all generally had nice notes of cantaloupe, fresh greens, pepper, honey, tea “fuzzyness”. The last steep was my favourite, and hubby enjoyed sipping alongside me.

Next time I’ll try a longer steep in a bigger tea vessel.

100ml gaiwan, one pouch (5g? 2tsp?), 4 steeps (45s +15s resteep)

Backlogging

Repurchased this because my hubby’s sinuses bother him during the colder months. The combination of peppermint, ginger and black pepper does the trick for him. Plus I believe the hojicha is a bit lower in caffeine, so since he works late it’s okay to make a pot of this when he comes home.

Personally, it has definitely grown on me. Not a favourite, but I like the spice combination. Some of the other teas you can get for the sniffles have ingredients I don’t like. Such as Gail’s Cold Remedy, which has lemon grass (gross!).

So overall I like this tea, but if I drink it too often it can rub me the wrong way. I increased the rating from last time, because it’s a cold season staple in our home.

Lately I have been really digging the short steeps for black tea. I’m also inexperienced with Bai Lin black tea, so for comparison I made two batches to test short and long steeps.

For the first tea session I made 8 short steeps at 95 Celsius. I’m not sure if it was too hot or if the steeps should been a bit longer, but I was not too impressed with my results. Because of the variables, I can’t really nitpick the tea for any faults. Moving on…

I wasn’t sure if the water temperature was appropriate, so I set it down to 85 Celsius and let this steep for 3 minutes. The aroma from from the teapot made me think of fuzzy black tea and lychee. Within the first couple of sips I got a good idea about what these leaves are all about. Quiet, soft, fuzzy, black tea flavour, with a bit of spice, maltiness, sweetness, and lychee/melon notes. The last sip and the aftertaste is a charming.

Now I feel that my initial short steeps were not too weak but perhaps at the wrong temperature. To me this tea is nice, but the flavours do whisper to you. Not the sort of tea I would seek out, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless. I will reserve rating this tea until I’ve experimented a bit more. Usually my opinion changes slightly when I reach the end of the tea pouch (which is typically favourably).

Out of the black tea samples I bought from Jing Tea Shop, I still like Dan Cong Red Tea the most.

Short steeps: 100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 8 steeps

Long steep: 160ml of water from 200ml glass teapot, 2tsps, 1 steep

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

(See previous tasting note for a more thorough review)

I couldn’t get to sleep so I made a big pot of puerh with one of these tuo cha. Even with the extra water, it still full on flavour and tastes very nice for ripe puerh. If you’ve ever been burned by this sort of tea before, it’s worth checking out. There is NO chemical or fishy flavour here at all.

2-3 cups of water in a big teapot, 1 tuo cha, rinse + 3 steeps

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

For anyone that has watched my steeping habits, you know that I love to resteep tea. So I was excited to see that on Teavivre’s webpage for Yunnan Dian Hong that you can resteep it 12 times! To ensure the best results, I contacted their representative on Steepster for the steeping parameters. For the short steep method, I should start with a 3 second rinse, and then steep for 30 to 45 seconds, followed by 10 to 15 seconds for each resteep.

So for today’s tasting session I chose to start with 30 seconds and then add 10 s for each resteep.

Moving on to describing the tea; inside the tea pouch I noticed very fuzzy black tea buds that have a caramel aroma.

After the quick rinse and steeping, I tasted the first cup. It was a touch sweet like honey, spicy, earthy and overall light bodied.

More familiar flavours presented themselves in the second cup. The third cup sort of “blossomed” into what I consider typical flavour for this type of tea. Very smooth and comforting Yunnan black tea goodness.

The fourth steep was remarkably sweeter than the rest, and I am definitely picking up on the initial caramel notes I sniffed in the bag. After this cup I sniffed the gaiwan before continuing on with the resteeps. For some reason the scent reminded me of banana bread and grains.

Moving on, the fifth and sixth steeps seemed a bit more floral, both in taste and aroma. These were hearty, heavy bodied, full flavoured brews. The sixth gave me a wonderful resonating feeling.

Seven and eight started progressively getting lighter, but with the sweetness staying pretty consistent. The eight steep felt somewhat different on my tongue, I can’t quite describe it but it’s not a bad feeling.

Nine to eleven were dominated by sweetness. I can still taste the familiar flavour of this type, but it is not in full force.

Finishing off with the twelfth steep, I can start to taste the flavour of my water. With hints of black tea, sweet, earthyness. Is this still black tea? Well it still tastes like it, but obviously after this many steeps it is like a distant memory of tea.

I highly recommend this tea for those of you that enjoy resteeping. It’s a very tasty, smooth, black tea that works hard to please your senses. Like most of the teas Teavivre carries, they are an excellent price to flavour ratio. :) And a final note, I’m very impressed with these steeping parameters for the gaiwan, and I can’t wait to try it again with my other excellent black teas.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 12 steeps (rinse, :30s, +:10s resteeps)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

(This is mostly a follow up from my last tasting note.)

Prepared this in a larger vessel today, it’s not exactly standard teapot size but close enough for me because I drink by myself. ;) The brew was not too bitter or overwhelming at all. It’s not delicate like the pearls, but continues to be a solid jasmine green tea. Personally I always find jasmine green tea to be easily enjoyable, and this one is no exception.

200ml glass teapot, 2 tsps, 1 steep

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

For my first attempt at steeping the tuo cha I’ll be using short steeps. In another tasting entry I’ll try out the western style (long steep).

That being said, my first sip was everything I expected it to be. Dark, smooth, earthy, ripe puerh with no nasty chemical taste.

Of course the tuo cha didn’t break up in the first stage, but with a little pushing from the gaiwan lid it fully unfurled on the second steep. It was a little bitter at first, but I guess that’s because it unfurled. ;) Anyway, the rose flavour starts to come out here, it goes well with the earthy nature of puerh.

At the third and fourth steeps, the bitterness subsides and the rose stands out even more. I might resteep it some more, but I expect the same flavour to come through anyway. Ripe puerh is pretty a consistent resteeper after it breaks up.

100 ml gaiwan, 1 tuo cha, a rinse and 4 steeps

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

I decided to drink this today since I already tried the other jasmine green tea. Anyway, looking and sniffing inside the pouch my expectations are met. I think the aroma from the other tea was a bit more enticing, but maybe I’m just having a jasmine overload. ;)

The pearls did not unfurl on the first steep, but nevertheless it was an enjoyable peek at what the leaves were capable of. Delicate green tea, light jasmine flavour, a bit of spice, and an overall smooth experience.

On the second steep, they unfurled a bit more. The green tea has a nice flavour, not bitter and still delicate.

Third and fourth steeps brought more of the same flavour, with the addition of a menthol/mint feeling.

Fifth steep was enjoyable, but I mostly taste the jasmine.

I finished on the sixth steep, which was quite mild but still had some flavour. It could resteep more but I feel satisfied with these six.

So far I prefer Mo Li Yin Hao ever so slightly, but both are very solid jasmine green teas. If you prefer something nice to show guests, I recommend the pearls in a glass vessel. And the delicate nature of this tea would definitely be good with fruits, salads or desserts. Personally I love this sort of tea with Ontario coronation grapes (too bad they’re out of season now!)

100ml gaiwan, 1 generous tsp, 6 steeps.

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

I’ve tried a few different jasmine green teas, and the aroma of dry and wet leaves from this sample got me excited. It made me think of moss and plants after rain.

Onto drinking the stuff, the jasmine is very strong, followed by spice, green tea flavour, and lingering floral aftertaste. Everything is very sharp on my tongue, and the green tea stays comforting and not bitter.

Second steep brought out more jasmine, with the green tea staying strong. My final third and fourth steeps still were tasty without becoming bland.

Looking forward to playing with the brewing settings with this sampler and comparing with the Jasmine Pearls. So far I really like this one, it’s the best loose leaf jasmine green tea I’ve had.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 4 steeps

_{see previous tasting note for more}

I used extra leaf today, so about 2 teaspoons I believe. (It’s hard to measure these long wiry leaves). So my full parameters are: 2 tsps of tea, 120 ml of water, 90 °C, 2 minutes, prepared in my small glass teapot (full volume is 200ml but I never fill it up like that).

The brew retained that familiar flavour from my first experience, but it also transformed into a more charming, rich, thick body.

I only purchased this as a 15g sample, but the leaves are making a very good impression on me. It doesn’t make me feel obsessive to buy more, but I am definitely growing more fond of it with each sip. Today’s parameters worked well, so I’ll probably stick with it for the remainder of this sample pack.

edit: Stopped at 6 steeps again. 1 to 3 had a nice thick body, 4 to 6 had good flavour and a dark liquor.

Looking inside the tea pouch, there are long black leaves with bits of golden colour. They’re a bit of a pain to measure out, and due to their length I decided to use the gaiwan. I intend to steep the heck out of it anyway, so it’s a good tea vessel. ;)

Sniffing the wet leaves and the tea liquor, I’m sensing an intoxicating aroma, rich body, notes of raisin, honey.

Onto drinking the stuff, I love how thick and rich the body tastes. Then noticing a “fuzzy”, earthy nature, with notes of chocolate-malt, spices, and a hint of something zesty. It’s a very smooth experience from first sip to moments after the cup is empty. All the flavours work together in harmony.

edit: Stopped at 6 steeps

Just within the first cup, this is giving me a fantastic first impression. Mouth watering flavour, with citrus (grapefruit? orange?), spices, zesty, honey, and a touch of floral notes. Very flavourful, sharp notes and a familiar dan cong body.

It pretty much met and then exceeded my expectations. I bought this in a sample pack which includes 4 other black teas. This is my first experience buying from Jing Tea Shop and I am very pleased so far. With the airmail option, it even got here quickly: 9 days from China to Ontario. Woot woot :D