Teavivre

time for a full review:

so i decided to try it again, it for some reason was very good this time around.

when i open the package, it has a strong nutty smell to it :)

when i steep it, the aroma is less strong but still has that nutty smell. the taste is a bit like flowers but has more of a nutty taste.

Camellia is OK :) kind of a nutty flavor :P

Thank you Angel for this sample. This tea reminded me of the fact that I absolutely LOVE oolongs! It has been a long time since I’ve had a cup of one. I love the bits of white-yellow flower petals mixed with some stems and rolled deep emerald tea leaves. The first steep was very bitter. I think I steeped it too long. The second one was perfect. The nice nutty floral and the warm green oolong is great! This is a delicious tea! It can last several steeps!

Sweet and malty. I have just finished off the last of a tin of this, yet I note that I have only logged it once. Ah well, I should try harder in future, but I probably won’t! I liked this tea and will be adding it to the list of teas to stock up on again once my samples run low.

I wanted a black tea and have been drinking a lot of Golden Monkey lately, but I wanted something different so I opened my new(-ish) tin of Tan Yang Gong Fu. It was dusty like hay when you shake it out and had a slightly warm hay smell to it. It also stuck together a bit like leaves of hay do. It looked a lot like the Golden Monkey with the curly golden leaf mixed in with darker ones. “Looking good,” I thought to the tea, although the dustiness had surprised me. The liquor is dark red brown and clear and smells faintly malty. Although I used a lot of leaf, the aroma of the tea is still delicate but the flavour is quite direct. There is a hint of malt there, something of molasses and some cherry notes too. It is really smooth and there is greater depth than the Golden Monkey. It’s like the taste and aftertaste sink into your tongue and carry the experience all the way with them. I can actually feel this tea relaxing me, which is surely a good sign. There is a lot going on here and I think I need to drink more just to explore it further. Yes, that’s it. Better add this one to the buying list because I’m sure I shall want to explore it further when the current tin is done.

i plan to steep this multiple times & add notes as I go

aroma- light floral

Steep Time
1 min- quite bland & lacks taste
2 min- I think my water may have been a bit too hot,this cup was fairly bitter
3 min- A lighter smoother brew with no bitterness. I let the boiled water cool for 3 minutes instead of 2 before re-steeping the tea
4 min- smooth still lightly flavored
5 min- same as the 4th steep no change

tastes ok, kinda like trees.

a really nice tea! tastes similar to tevana’s strawberry cream white tea.

a good tea.

cons: the strawberry taste is a bit weak

a good tea.

cons: the chrysanthemum taste is a bit weak

Happy Mother’s day to all of you Steepster moms :-)

This morning, I’m thinking of my mother who is such a big influence in my life. This past year, she carried me through difficult times, don’t know where I’d be without her love and support.

So I chose a tea that reminds me of her beauty and loving kindness.

Jasmine is delicate, a beautiful flower that seems so fragile, and yet it will embrace you and comfort you every time you brew a cup.

My mom is not a tea drinker, but when she comes over, she always asks that I prepare a pot of “my special Chinese Jasmine tea” as she calls it.

My grandmother used to prepare Jasmine tea for us all the time, that’s how I started drinking tea at the age of seven! God bless her, my grandma is 88 and still very healthy and alert. That’s why Jasmine has such a special place in my heart to this day. She was using that loose leaf Jasmine black tea in the squared yellow tin with oriental designs on it. As a child, it looked like a magic box to me, it made me think of Aladdin!

I won’t be able to be with my mom and my grandma physically today, but drinking this beautiful tea this morning is like having both of them here with me.

See how tea brings people together?

This is my favourite Jasmine tea, it has everything I can wish for, and that’s why it’s the perfect tea to drink to honor the most important women in my life!

(See previous notes)

«Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…»

Rebecca, one of my favourite book by Daphne Du Maurier. I hardly ever read the same book twice, as I feel there are so many books to read, so little time…

But some are so well written, I just feel I have to revisit them, it’s like I miss them if I don’t, hard to explain. Anyways, this is one of those…like a good friend to me.

Perfect companion is this tea. I know I’ve reviewed it recently, but I can’t say enough about it. The aroma brings the most exquisite jasmine breeze, and it tastes fantastic. I can’t help thinking about the beautiful flowers, hugging the tea leaves at one point during the harvest process, infusing them with their aromatic scent. Still my favourite jasmine tea!

I love florals… but Jasmine is a hit or miss depending on how well it’s balanced, a bit like how overwhelming bergamot can be to earl greys.

When I discovered Jasmine Dragon pearls from Teavivre, it was a no brainer, favourite jasmine ever! Then later, this silver green became slightly superior for my own personal likings.

I had to play a lot with it in order to find my sweet spot. 85c, no more than 1.5 min on first steep. That’s how my cup gets filled with sweet jasmine blossoms just in the right amount, not soapy or too perfume like. When I close my eyes and let it invade me, Jasmine’s scent really fills my head with spring and summer thoughts…

Then I open my eyes, and realize how winter has invaded me instead! Not complaining, still beautiful, even though it’s such a looong season here!

This week, the mild weather brought Mr. Huge Raccoon around. He stayed as a tolerated guest for a few days, feeding himself on bird’s seeds before probably going back to sleep until spring.

And this morning, looking outside sipping on this tea, I was amazingly surprised by a new comer, Mr. Squirrel. Now why would I be amazed by a vulgar and common squirrel you ask? Well this Mr. Squirrel should be renamed Mr. White… Yes, a white squirrel. Don’t know about your part of the world, but we don’t see white squirrels around here. And it’s not of a whitish kind a grey, try a stunning beautiful winter white furry ball!

The strangest thing is, I don’t think it’s albinos, cause the eyes are not red, which correct me if I’m wrong, is one of the criteria.

You know how I love to post pictures and links, so here it is, not my greatest shot, but it was early and I zoomed in a rush, before I scare him away:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/11969474573/lightbox/

He escaped in the woods not long after that. Hope he will return…but maybe tomorrow will be Mrs. Deer’s turn, lol!

Love my country life!

Really good! i like how its a little spicy! :D

quite good with a hint of peppermint (what i think it also has the taste of)

if you like flower herb tea try this one and see if you like it.

tastes good to me. try it and see if you like it. its best to rinse it first and then steep it for 1 minute

I used my last three pearls, and while I’m sad to no longer have this tea in my cupboard I really enjoyed this today. Wonderful dark chocolate and baked bread flavors. It’s as tasty as ever, and I enjoyed this cup from start to finish.

Tea of the morning. I used four pearls and had a robust cuppa full of bread and malt notes. Definitely worth waking up for. I only have three of these pearls left, so my next cup of this will be a sipdown, but this will be reordered. No doubt this one deserves a spot in my permanent collection.

Tea of the morning. I don’t have many of these left, so I’ve been hoarding them. Today I was up eariler than usual and thought it was the perfect time to enjoy this tea. There are so many flavors going on in my cup: cocoa, malt, raisin, bread, and a surprising floral note that I’ve never tasted in this tea before. It’s not a strong note, but it was enough to make me wonder. Regardless this is a wonderful little tea, and I’m glad it was my wake up cup today.

Tea of the morning. I had two cups of this. The first was mostly cocoa and malt notes with some rich raisin flavor popping out as the tea cooled. The second cup still had the malty notes, but there was also leather with a sweet honey finish. Both cups were excellent and a great start to the day.

Also, I’m now completely out of Dragon Pearls! Not good!!!

Tea of the morning. I love having this in my cup. It’s chocolaty and fully of wonderful malty notes. Plus it has a thick rich feel to it which makes it a wonderful tea to wake up with.

Tea of the morning. This is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. It’s wonderfully malty and has rich, dark chocolate notes and a hint of sweetness. The second steep is sweeter than the first with notes of raw honey playing against the chocolate. Delicious.

The generous sample Angel at Teavivire sent me is almost gone. Another one I need to order!

This is such a rich tea. I am really loving the depth of flavor here. It’s nice and malty with a wonderful dark cocoa flavor. It is a bit dry on the back of my throat, but it is not an overly astringent tea. I’m glad this one found its way back into my cup. I forgot how delicious it is!

This was my first cup of the day and a great cup to wake up with. I guessed and used four pearls for my 10 oz. mug. It was a good amount of tea. It brewed into a wonderful dark liquid that smelled like crusty french bread. The taste was rich and malty with lots of chocolate-y notes. Excellent. The second steeping produced a cup the was more mellow and much less malty, but the chocolate notes were a bit deeper. Wow, this tea was a treat!

Thank you Angel at Teavivre for the generous sample! This one is going on my shopping list.