Teavivre

This is the last of the teas for me to try from the Taiwan Oolong trial pack that I won in Fall (thanks again Angel!!) and I’ve pretty much enjoyed them all (some more than others but that’s to be expected.). It’s surprising to me since I would never have considered myself an oolong lover previously but I’ve found that I really do enjoy them.

Dry this tea presents a fresh green scent with many sweet floral notes and a slight roasted (almost nutty) undertone. A quick rinse, followed by a 25 sec steeping gave me a bright yellow-green colored liquor.

With my first sniff of this freshly brewed cup I got so many warm, roasted nutty (but sweet) notes that I was truly surprised. Given how fresh and floral the dry tea was I couldn’t believe that this was the same tea. I will note that as it cooled those sweet floral notes started to shine through. The flavor was sweet and mellow, with just enough floral notes to give some nice highlights to the flavor profile with some deep roasted notes underneath.

The second steeping was also for 25sec, and while the color and scent profile were similar the flavor had deepened in this cup. My first few sips tasted of roasted nuts with the floral highlights only showing up in the finish. As it cooled the floral notes started to come forward sooner but this cup as significantly deeper and darker in flavor than the first. The mouth feel though, still light, was creamier too.

The third (30 sec) and fourth (60 sec) gave similar cups, gold in color with a sweet rotated aroma and a few fragrant floral highlights. I noticed a few dark vegetal flavors in these steepings which mixed well with the sweet floral notes that have been consistently present in this tea. The mouth feel while full and creamy was still quite light.

The last two steepings (70 & 80 sec) also gave similar cups, light gold and subtle in fragrance and flavor. A nice balance mix of floral and vegetal, roasted yet sweet; not overly complex but at the same time not too simple either.

I found this to be a lovely, well rounded oolong; definitely a good introduction to this type of tea. Though I still prefer the Oriental Beauty I could see keeping some of this on hand when I’m looking for something floral.

I kept meaning to get to this sample from Amariel but I always kept reaching for something else instead. Last sample from her from the summer. Thanks!

I’m not getting that much maltiness like others are, but perhaps because when I think of malt I think of Assams and Laoshan Black, so in comparison, there is almost no malt in here. Also, I immediately pick up on smokiness and earthiness instead, perhaps because I’m not that into smoky blends to begin. Yes, it’s not nearly as smoky as a Lapsang, for example, but it’s palpable, and in the forefront.

This Keemun is also on the astringent side. Not my ideal flavour profile, especially for unflavoured blacks, but I appreciate it. Nevertheless, I look forward to trying more of Teavivre’s in the very near future.

it was OK. but i did not know i had to discard the first steep (infusion) so it tasted like trees and shrimp. I’ll be sure to do it right next time

I found a little packet of this tea on top of my microwave this morning and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I had friends over last night for dinner and the new MarioKart DLC (yes, we never grew out of it), and the gin and tonics devolved to whiskey shots. Lemme tell you, this is not a morning for coffee or anything harsh.

I’ve reviewed this tea before, so I’ll keep it simple. It’s soothingly gentle, smooth, and floral. Exactly what I need right now.

Ooh, a Fujian oolong! I have developed a serious love for this tea region over the years. One might say almost a fetish.

The leaves are rolled up into much tinier nuggets than the other two I’ve tried in this tasting. They are of the same consistency, however. Mottled dark green and lightly floral scented. I copied ashmanra and gave the leaves a quick rinse before hitting them with boiling water. Even though I’m coming down with a cold, I could smell with delight that this was going to be another creamy oolong.

The water was a light greenish yellow after two and a half minutes. When I put the leaves in my mesh infuser, they were barely enough to cover the bottom. Steeped, they practically fill it to the top! They fluffed out much more than I thought possible. Each leaf is whole, hardly damaged at all by processing. They’re narrow and pointed at the end. Maybe an inch long.

The flavor is definitely buttery and a tad vegetal. I’m getting hints of flowers, too, especially in the finish. Is it possible for a tea to be floral and vegetal at the same time? Because I think it is. It’s not as creamy as the Ali Shan, but there’s definitely some cream flavor there.

Lucky me: I found a sample of this tea among my New Zealand travel stash. Is it my favorite Mao Feng? Perhaps. I shall restock!

Today I bid a fond farewell to Teavivre’s Huang Shan Mao Feng, having enjoyed fifteen sessions of this fine China green with a mild demeanor at once vegetal and ever-so-slightly sweet.

No cause for sadness, however, because this packet was produced on 4 April 2014, so I presume that the 2015 harvest is right around the corner!

A lovely two-glass tetsubin of Teavivre Huang Shan Mao Feng was the perfect follow-up to today’s lunch of a third of a Ciabatta split lengthwise, toasted and slathered with a lobster-seafood cream spread before piling baby arugula high and then smashing the two sides together into a sandwich.

Same pale greenish-yellow, slightly vegetal but very smooth liquor as before—only even better after this meal!

No new revelations to report from today’s two-glass tetsubin of Teavivre Huang Shan Mao Feng. Just the usual song of praise: Yum!

Today’s first TOD (tetsubin of the day) was Teavivre Huang Shan Mao Feng. I used a bit more tea this time (5 g for 17 oz) and steeped for only about two minutes. The liquor was pale peachy green, and I literally gobbled up both glasses.

Second infusion to follow later this afternoon…

I now have a full bag of Teavivre’s Huang Shan Mao Feng Green tea with a production date of April 4, 2014, so I know that this is a new tea to me. I reviewed the 2013 before, but today’s pot is of the fresh tea from the spring of 2014.

I noticed that the leaves are lighter in weight and color than many Mao Fengs familiar to me, including last year’s Teavivre crop. The leaves are also quite a bit longer than most Mao Fengs. They are crinkly, long and thin, creating a large volume for a small weight. This is a good example where a scale can come in handy since attempting to measure this tea by volume would be tricky indeed—there’s a lot of air space!

The appearance of the dried leaves led me to predict that the flavor would be less vegetal, and it is. I find the taste to be more smooth and buttery and light, not at all like dark cooked vegetables (as with some green teas, including some Mao Fengs…). The texture is also quite nice: like satin ribbons rolling over the tongue. This texture I have come to associate with haute green teas in general, as it greatly enhances the drinking experience.

For today’s tetsubin, I used 5 grams in 22 ounces of water at 79C steeped for about three minutes. The liquor was very pale peachy green, and I could see tiny white filaments floating about inside the glass.

I’m already looking forward to the second infusion—plus many more fresh pots on the way!

(Blazing New Rating #41)

The flavor of this Huang Shan Mao Feng from Teavivre is a lot lighter today than I recalled. Which is strange, because I thought that I had nearly doubled the leaves! Anyway, it tastes good. Maybe I got the brew right today: cooler water, short steep.

The liquor was more brown than green but quite pale, and the flavor was smooth and subtle. In fact, it did not really seem like the same tea. I have another generous-sized sample from Teavivre (thank you!), so I’ll definitely be exploring this tea some more in the future. After today’s brew, I feel compelled to increase my rating.

It’s funny, because my success with green teas seems to have much more to do with me than with the tea itself. There are so many ways to make mistakes, and so many variables involved.

For today’s pot of Teavivre Huang Shan Mao Feng, I used a full tablespoon because of all of the space between the crispy and knotty leaves, rather like the roots of a huge tree which I encountered while digging a final resting place in my backyard for beloved HRH Emperor Oliver on September 16, 2013. But that’s another story.

This batch has the same cooked vegetable aftertaste—similar to severely overcooked green beans, and the liquor is more golden than green—veering even a bit toward brown. I’m not sure that adding more tea for the pot will help since I don’t like the scent of this tea that much either. There is a darkness here which matches well the idea of knotted tree roots in a forest.

I’ll try again.

I doubled the dose of leaves in my infusion of Teavivre Huang Shan Mao Feng, and the result was much better. I still find a taste of green beans in this single source Mao Feng, and I do not like it as much as the Green Tips full-leaf blend from Tazo, which seems to have more body and oomph to it.

The taste of this Mao Feng is light and thirst quenching, and I’ll experiment with further infusions later today…

second infusion: this brew was quite delicious. better than the first!

third infusion: starting to lose its oomph…

I brewed up my first pot ever of Mao Feng today, this one being Huang Shan Mao Feng from Teavivre. The dried leaves look wiry and and smell vegetal. The liquour was extremely pale yellow and the flavor so light that I concluded that I underleafed this pot. I’ll try again with twice as much…

second infusion: I tried this with half the water volume of the first infusion and found that while the liquour was quite a bit darker—albeit pale golden yellow—the taste was still extremely faint. I’ll try again soon… The spent leaves smell a bit like green beans.

Hello and happy holidays! While it’s a little belated, it has been crazy in my life. I had surgery on Christmas eve and have looked forward to drinking some tea. I decided to start with this one because it sounded so interesting. This is another sample I received from Teavivre, so thanks once again! :)

After steeping this tea, I took in the amazing smell of the warm, wet leaves. It definitely smells like a nice sweet oolong. The taste of this tea is very similar. It has a floral sweetness and smoothness to it that really complements the natural sweetness of the oolong leaves. It is a new and different kind of tea that is one example of the types of tea that keep me so interested in trying as many as I can. This relaxing tea was a great choice to come back to after my crazy, heavily medicated holiday.

I am so thankful for Teavivre’s review contest, I have won a 5 tea sampler pack and that makes me really happy this morning!

So to honour them, I have decided to drink one of my favourite of theirs.

This is my best everyday Tie Guan Yin. By everyday, I don’t mean this is average tasting, I mean it’s affordable enough to drink on an everyday basis.

Cause this TGY is absolutely fabulous, it competes with some of the most expensive ones I own, for a fraction of the price. It is everything I love about high mountain oolong. Floral, buttery and sweet, but also juicy and refreshing. There’s a pure crystalline mineral quality about this tea. I get hints of vanilla also, which makes this cup so very creamy and yummy!

Its name is representative, it truly is a TGY King!

I searched a long time before settling on this tea, I tried lower grades TGY to see if they could make a decent cup for a daily basis. But I quickly came to the conclusion that quality is proportional to the $$ you are willing to pay. That was until I got to try a sample of this wonderful tea.

It is almost at par with another one I buy in much smaller amount but would cost $60 for the same quantity!

Thank you Teavivre, no wonder I keep coming back for more :-)

And congrats to all the other Steepsterites who have won something in the contest!!