78

This is a review of the 2015 harvest from Teavivre. Not a bad Tie Guan Yin, but I don’t think this is better than their normal Tie Guan Yin so I don’t understand the “Nonpareil” qualification. This one has a more complex aroma, like buttered spinach compared to the straight-up buttered toast of the Tie Guan Yin. However, this oolong only lasted 2.5 steepings for me (the 3rd steeping was pretty watery, a thrown white flag). That’s pretty weak for a premium oolong.

Will try the other sachet before I put money behind this rating, but for now I’d wager that the 2014 harvest of this tea was way better than the 2015.

Flavors: Butter, Spinach

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 147 ML

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Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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