Teavivre

I have been making a lot of cold brews, and I decided that I really, really, like oolongs cold brewed. I had been using flavoured oolongs, so I thought I would try something straight.

But I failed to take into account that I had been using quite roasty, more oxidized oolongs. This one didn’t turn out so great. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted like a delicious greeny oolong, buttery, nutty, smooth. But something about it cold just didn’t work.

Would be happy to drink this one hot any time, not so much cold.

I love the story behing monkey picked oolong. Although I am sure that monkeys never picked this oolong, I am going to continue to believe it!

This oolong is sweet and floral, almost jasmine smelling. It also tastes sweet and floral. There is a slight creamy taste to it, but not the same as milk oolong.

Delicious.

I only used 1 tsp.

The dry leaves of this oolong are dark, but you can see white bits (which I presume are the tips). The leaves are also more clumped together.

The tea liquor is dark, brown with a light reddish tinge. It smells roasted, a bit nutty, and there is still a slight green tea vegetal scent.

The taste is sweet, roasted, nutty, delicious.

I only used 1 tsp.

This oolong style is close to a green tea in taste and apperance. There is a slight sweet taste, and a smell similar to dragonwell. Thanks teavivre for the sample, this is one I enjoyed and will probably buy in the future.

Mmm, I tend to favor more subtle black teas, and this one fits the bill nicely.

Dry leaves: The leaves are small, black, and wirey with lots of gold/orange fur. They have a sweet citrus and sweet potato aroma.

Brewing: This tea definitely brews best (IMO) at a lower temperature than most blacks. The wet leaves have a rich aroma of chocolate and fall leaves. In early infusions lots of golden hairs piled up on my filter, almost clogging it.

Tasting: The flavor of the tea has a nice balance of sweet and salty characteristics. The early infusions are mild but brisk with notes of chocolate, sweet potato, peach, and charcoal. Surprisingly cool feeling for a black tea. Later infusions mellow out with fresh flavors of lemon juice, edame, clover leaf, and jaggery. The taste is sweet and slightly nutty throughout.

Thanks Teavivre for a great sample!

Oo-oo-oolong. This is an awesome oolong.

The leaves are rolled into small balls and are a dark jade colour. Very little smell to the dry leaves.

Brewed there is a jasmine/floral smell. The tea liquor is bright yellow. It tastes clean, slightly flowery, some sweetness to it. No vegetal taste to this one. I used 1 tsp for 10 oz so it feels light.

This is one of the best oolongs I have tried. I recommend it to anyone interested in oolong or those who already like oolong.

I only used 1 tsp.

I had this earlier today, and it tasted really good after it had cooled. So I popped a cup of cold brew into the fridge for a few hours. But it wasn’t as good. It was a bit sharp as a cold brew, not as creamy. Definitely more vegetal than floral. I think next time I will brew it hot and just let it cool to room temperature.

Received this one from Teavivre’s free tasting activity (back in November). Thanks Teavivre for being so awesome!

I have had this one before and quite liked it. The dry tea is varying shades of dark green. The leaves are rolled into small but loose balls. I brewed this one western style, 1 tsp per 8 oz for 1 minute.

The brewed tea smells sweet and floral. There is a dairy-type smell. I associate it with fresh unpasteurized milk. It smells creamy.

The best way I can describe this tea is fresh, bright and sunny. The liquor is thick and creamy. There are definitely sweet, floral notes. But it is not perfumey or bitter floral. It reminds me of edible flowers that you get in baking or salads. There is a very slight vegetal component to this tea but it is very slight and sits underneath the floral flavours. I would not say this tea tastes like milk, but it has the sensation of creaminess in the mouth. It is thick, slightly sticky in the aftertaste.

I took a sip after this one cooled and the first thing that came to my mind was green tea milk shake. I want to drink more of this cold.

The leaves have unfurled but not completely with the first steep. Definitely will be able to get more steeps out of this.

The dry tea has hardly any smell. I think I am detected a smell similar to dried milk protein. While steep the tea leaves unfurl beautifully.

The brewed tea is a bright yellow colour. Has a slight vegetal green tea smell. There seems to also be a flowery or jasmine smell to the tea.

The tea tastes vegetal, creamy, milky, there is a sweet and very slight, almost spicey taste to it. Very minimal aftertaste, mouth-drying, but not astringent.

I only used 1 tsp for 8 oz (instead of recommended 3-4tsp) and I think that was strong enough for my liking.

Definitely enjoy milk oolongs.

The dry tea looks like small, dark green nuggets. The smell is strongly vegetal green tea. I am getting a hint of the ginseng.

On brewing, the smell is very strong also. Moreso green tea than oolong. The tea brews a solid dark yellow colour.

The initial taste is vegetal green tea. It is smooth and thick. There is a little kick of ginseng towards the end of the sip. It gets sweeter the longer it sits. It gives a great warming sensation.

The nuggets of this tea only barely unfurled on the first steep. There are many more steeps to get out of them I think. I steeped for 1 minute the first time, but I think I would go less time and do more steeps on subsequent tastings. There is a ginseng type aftertaste that lingers for a long time.

I have found that I quite like oolong teas and am attempting to try many different kinds. I am finding I like my oolong a bit more oxidized, more towards black than green.

Free sample from Teavivre

This dry tea smells so beautiful. It has a pleasant jasmine scent. The downy jasmine balls are perfectly rolled, all uniform, beautiful colouring. As they are brewed they unfurl perfectly. There is a slight downy look to each ball which makes me think of recently hatched chicks. So cute…can tea be cute?

The smell of the brewed tea is very strong jasmine. I was a bit worried because the scent was so strong. The colour of the liquor is a dark golden colour with a tinge of pink.

The taste of the tea is wonderful. There is a jasmine taste but certainly not as strong as the smell.

This is a great tea for the appearance, the smell, and the taste.

I ate too much Halloween treats and I feel gross.

So I am drinking this tea and my tummy is starting to settle down.

This was most likely a free sample from Teavivre. I have a giant box of free Teavivre samples. Angel was so nice to have contacted me a long time ago and invited me to take part in Teavivre’s free tasting activity. Every so often Angel sends me a box filled with samples. She is so awesome!

This is by far the best long jing I have had. It always tastes fresh. Slightly cabbage-y or spinache-y, whatever you want to call it. But it is still smooth and buttery.

My new favorite way of brewing this up is kind of gongfu and kind of western. I put the whole 7g package of tea into a strainer then into a latte type mug (like a 12-16 oz). I brew it up with less than boiling water for maybe 20-30 seconds. I make a few steeps out of it but the first one is always the best.

And now the trick or treaters are here!!! I have to go.

Signing off.

Having this today at work after my sencha fiasco yesterday. It is delicious.

I feel like I am playing word association here but this is what is coming to mind: sweet grass, sweet boiled cabbage, poppies, tulips, canola flowers.

I am finding this one to be quite naturally sweet. Not my preferred after lunch green tea (at work I always have a small 4oz teacup of green tea, I just put a few leaves in the bottom of the cup and sip around them), but it sure is good. I have two small sample packs from Teavivre, at work they will probably last me a few weeks.

The dry tea is beautifully light but vibrant green. The leaves are not broken. There are no stems or sticks or little bits floating around.

Any suggestions on a good Japanese sencha (my preferred after lunch drink)?

I decided to try the cold drip method again. This time I used a straight green, instead of a flavoured one. I had the ice dripping over the tea in a strainer, then the liquor draining into a mug. I didn’t want it to get too strong so I didn’t want the ice, tea leaves, and liquor to be all mixed together in a pot.

It actually turned out not too bad. The tea was very rich and buttery. Slightly sweet. Felt very thick.

Free sample from Teavivre.

Immediately upon opening the package, the smells of this tea hits you in the face. It smelles like buttery, green tea.

The smell of the brewing tea is delicious. Buttery and creamy notes. Slight hint of salt and sweet. Also the faint smell of roasted nuts.

The tea liqour is thick and heavy, feels weight-y in my mouth. Tastes like buttery, creamy green tea. There is slight salty flavour. Reminds me very much of a sencha.

As it cools there is a more roasted nut flavour, and definitely becomes more sweet.

I brewed for 1 min. I like my greens a bit lighter, so next time will brew for 30-45 sec.

This is my first dragon well and I am very impressed.

It was a stressful Monday, so when my coworker offered to pick up lunch from a fast food chain that shall remain unnamed, I accepted (and guiltily slid my homemade soup back into the fridge). Not a wise decision. Rescue me white tea!

This is like the soft-spoken cousin of the jasmine dragon pearls green tea. I found the jasmine flavor a lot milder in this tea, and extremely well balanced with the white tea. You can taste the jasmine first, followed by the sweetness and delicate hay-like flavor of the silver needles. As much as I enjoyed the dragon pearls, I think I prefer the softer jasmine flavor of this one. Thanks Teavivre, from me and my tummy.

Tea was okay but very too light for me. Those with a palette for extremely light flavors may enjoy this far more. It was decent though and I enjoyed it.

I’ve found that with multiple infusions, this one can get a little too vegetal for my taste. I’m somewhat sensitive to that taste, so I’m only able to enjoy a single steep… which is really a shame, because that first infusion is quite good.

Holy smooth oolong, batman! It tastes like an oolong should, and it’s almost… dare I say, buttery? A great option when I’m not feeling the flavored teas.

I used this tea as my first try at gung-fu brewing in my new gong-fu teapot.

I did 4 steeps. In each steep I got different flavors, flavor profiles .Overall it was a slight sweet flavor with slightly vegetal notes. I was so focused on trying the tea and the process of gung-fu brewing that I forgot to take notes at every steep!! (oops) I got really into the pattern, the close control over temp/time, and the process.

Luckily, I have enough tea from my Liberteas Sample Box packet that I can try this again gung-fu or my conventional manner when I get a chance.

Overall an enjoyable sweet, honeyed taste.

Also, I discovered I LOVE the process of gung-few brewing. Now, even though I JUST got the teapot I want a gaiwan! Oh, tea as a hobby, you will be the reason for no $$$ in my bank account!

I received this as a sample from Teavivre. Like most of the other tasting notes, I find this tea quite heavy on the hibiscus. I generally don’t mind some hibiscus, but this is just a bit too much for me.

This tea brewed up a beautiful maroon colour.

The tea does have a fruity flavour, it is tart, but not bitter. Not terribly sweet. I could have added some sweetener but was honestly too lazy to get up and get the sweetener.

Thanks to Teavivre for the generous samples, much appreciated. This was a mild silver needle. Pleasantly buttery, with hay/grass and cucumber notes most apparent. Following recommended steeping with 1 1/2 tsp its flavor was quite subtle, so next time I will try it with 2 tsp.

This is my first experience with milk oolong so I really did not know what to expect or write.

The dry leaves were tight small balls of what I would discover to be large full leaves with a light oolong smell.

The first steep went for 2:45 at 212 and produced a dark gold liquid. The tea is a smooth sweet milky taste with a mellow oolong backing. This is a really interesting tea but I am not sure exactly what to say about this one haha. I am not too much of a fan of flavored teas of any kinds but I think if I were in a mood for one, this would be one I would like.