Teavivre

Thanks again for the samples, Teavivre! Always appreciated! I’m always willing to try another ripened pu-erh, especially from Teavivre. They would definitely be my source for pu-erh.

Steep #1 // 8 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep after a rinse
I used an entire sample package of leaves. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to. The steep parameters say 10 grams, the sample size for sale on the site says 10 grams, but that could be for the 17 ounces they mention and not my 10 ounce mug. It looks like plenty of leaves: two big pieces and then some loose in the package. The cup doesn’t taste overdone anyway! The dry leaves look like a Yunnan with hints of yellow leaves in this pu-erh cake… that’s because it is a Yunnan. The flavor is nice, but probably not my favorite pu-erh from Teavivre. This deep red cup has a HINT of cedar flavor, even though I usually expect that from the raw pu-erhs. It’s very sweet though! But it’s still better than raw pu-erh in my opinion. It’s tough to explain what a pu-erh tastes like!

Steep #2 // 3 minutes after boiling // 2 min steep
This cup is much darker – it has lost the red color of the cup because it’s almost black. The flavor is the same, yet deeper as the leaves unravel. I really love Teavivre’s ‘Fengqing Zhuan Cha Ripened Pu-erh Brick Tea 2006’ and I’m considering buying a brick with my eventual next order. I can’t really remember why I liked that one SLIGHTLY more… but I don’t think it has that cedar flavor at all.

Steep #3 // just boiled // 3 min
Just like the second steep! The more I drink pu-erh (even three big mugs in a day) the more I WANT to drink in the same day! Such a value with pu-erh leaves too… since I never get that “oversteeped” flavor with them… the third cup it’s just getting more delicious. I love pu-erh because it has the ability to be super dark and robust yet still have a mellowness to it, that doesn’t seem to ever get astringent. It’s a nice change from black teas. I’m not sure why so many people are scared of pu-erh: they deserve a chance.. give at least one ripened and one raw pu-erh a try… Teavivre is the perfect place to start sampling them.

Thank you Angel & Teavivre for sharing samples of this year’s green teas. It is always a special treat to receive these teas, and they are always generous with the quantities. Since I had 2 of each tea, I shared the 2nd set with some friends from China that had not heard of this company. Needless to say, they were extremely impressed with the quality of the teas, and commented on how long it has been since they have had truly excellent Chinese green teas. I have bragged to them about Teavivre before, and now that they have sampled their teas, I’m sure they will be placing an order (if they haven’t already).

I thoroughly enjoyed my sample! So beautiful to behold, so tasty and fresh tasting. I don’t drink green teas as often as I used to, but this tea had me asking, “why not?”

This is my non-sipdown tea of the day. I’d like to personally thank Angel of Teavivre for sharing a generous sample of this tea with me. The parcel arrived a few days ago, & for my first sampling I followed the suggested parameters, resulting in a very potent vegetal tea, with a bit of a bite. Today I’ve been sipping it with shorter steepings, using my test tube steeper, for a more gentle cup. It’s the embodiment of spring itself: a beautiful golden brew that is crisp, fresh, & delicious.

As an aside, I completed my 2nd goal of the day, which was to get those 4 elderberry plants in the ground. Now on to goal #3, which is to run through the music for tomorrow’s weddings one more time.

Actually took the time to gong fu this tea and it sounds dumb saying it (I brewed EVERYTHING else in a gaiwan) but I was surprised what a difference it made. As per teavivre’s parameters I brewed this in a gaiwan open lided 3g/3oz water. Every single infusion was no longer the yellow color I was accustomed too but actually a very pale translucent green. I rushed through the first few steepings not taking note of the flavor other than different than tall glass brewing, much sweeter and no astringency or bold dragonwell bitter brothy taste I was expecting. The last steeping I actually focused and got a cooked zucchini flavor which was quite pleasant.

I put more value in this tea and will try gong fu cha with green tea more often. Since the tea has arrived I have gong fu, tall glass and grandpa style brewed this I think my favorite is still generic open lid tall glass because I like my greens strong 90% time but an interesting experiment and a note worthy tea at just over $5/oz a strong candidate for a staple daily drinker.

Ordered a bunch of shi feng green tea from various sources and this “premium dragonwell” tea. Coincidentally only to find out this this is actually from shi feng as well the latest of the harvests I bought so far.

Today I had a mini shi feng flight without knowing this tea is indeed good but unfortunately I tasted this premium long jing after Jing Tea Shop QM shi feng AAA so it was definitely over shadowed by the latter. This tea was a nice bridge between generic “zhejiang” dragonwell and first flush shi feng. It had less sweetness and less complexity but more “tea taste” and the slight bitter/brothiness I look for in a dragonwell and personally find pleasant.

Can not say too much else it is a great example of dragonwell that could become a daily drinker if the price is right

This is a really nice jasmine green. I’m definitely enjoying it. I love jasmine green teas.

i received a sample of this from the ever generous angel teavivre a few days ago.

this is an uncommon dragonwell! with a 4 minute steep it packed more punch than many greens. there are hints of a tieguan yin… but also mixed with a fermented aspect of nuts. it also appears to my palate that there is more caffeine in this green than others.

very nice! quite unlike any other green i’ve ever had.

Backlog:

I love Fujian Black teas, so I was excited to try this Golden Monkey from Teavivre … I am always so impressed with the teas that I try from them. It has a rich, caramel-y taste with notes of cacao.

A very smooth tea from start to finish with a crisp, dry astringency toward the tail. Sweet, notes of earth, leather, fruit (apricot, raisins), caramel, chocolate, and notes of molasses. YUM!

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/23/golden-monkey-black-tea-from-teavivre/

From the Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box #2

I have wanted to try a Milk Oolong for a while now, so when I saw that this and the unflavored Jin Xuan were in the tea box I was excited.

This is good. Really good. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s a pop of fruitiness followed by cream. The tea feels thick but not heavy, and it’s very smooth and silky. I’m surprised by how sweet this is, but at the same time it’s not too sweet which is good because it allows the buttery notes from the Oolong to be tasted. This was great from start to finish, and that’s just the first steep.

I’m probably condemning myself to a sleepless night, but I want to try several steeps of this and see where the flavors go. And then I have the other Milk Oolong to try. And then there are the 12 or so other teas in the tea box I still want to try. And then there’s….

Dry leaves smell sweet and have a slight hint of hay/foliage. To taste it’s a bit sweet, pleasantly nutty with a hint of grassiness. Maybe a hint of roasted leaves. Longjing is my first love of green teas. I still have some of this from last year’s picking and this smells and tastes much “brighter” than the year old tea.

Another sipdown of a splendid China green from our friends at Teavivre. This Lu Shan Yun Wu has really won me over and may now be my favorite green tea!

On my wishlist… Looking forward to the new harvest!