Teavivre

How is it that I’ve not tried this one yet? I literally have no idea how that happened. Anyway, better late than never. I’ve also kind of come to the conclusion that I really need to work on reducing my cupboard to a more manageable level before I buy any more tea (how many times have I said that before…) because there’s some good stuff getting neglected and it’s not right. At least I’m back under 200. I’d like to get down to 50 before I really consider stocking up again. That would be a much more comfortable place for me.

I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup. It’s kinda hard to measure because the leaves are so big they won’t fit happily in my measuring spoon. To be expected, I guess, given that this is the full leaf version. The leaves themselves are a variagated brown-black-gold-cream, some more than an inch long, most with beautiful downy tips. I gave it 3 minutes in boiling water, and added a splash of milk because it brewed up so dark. That in itself was unexpected.

To taste, this has all the malty, sweet potato wonderfulness I was hoping for. It’s quite robust in terms of flavour – no watery black tea here! The initial sip is sweet and thick-tasting, there are some chocolate/cocoa notes (albeit fairly fleeting), and then in the mid-sip it’s really all about the yam/sweet potato, and that’s a flavour that lingers well.

I’m enjoying this one. When I next place a Teavivre order (which may not be for a while, but it’ll happen…) I’ll doubtless repurchase this one. I’d happily have a large bag in my cupboard as a staple black – it’s that good.

So, I’ve already had too much caffeine today, but the SO decided she wanted to try a green tea today and this is the one she chose. We couldn’t agree on this one from the get-go. She kept smelling things like rotisserie chicken and other dinner smells, I was getting roasted chestnuts more than anything else, which gave me high hopes for the flavor itself.

I followed Teavivre’s preparation recommendations for this one. She says it tastes like dinner. To me, it tastes like slightly bitter roastiness. Not getting the chestnut or nutty flavors the aroma had me expecting. Neither of us wants another cup at the moment, so I wait an hour to resteep.

The second steep is better, which leads me to believe I didn’t wash this quite long enough the first time around. Smooth in texture, lightly nutty in flavor and lightly vegetal. I guess I’m not used to the concept of the second steep being best applying to green tea. I now take the time to admire the very light golden liquor in my clear cha hai.

The third steep is also light and pleasant, and the leaves seem to have expanded nicely. I’m getting some buttery notes in this steep. Fourth steep is super light and what flavor is there is mostly buttery.

This tea taught me that it needs to be washed in order for me to enjoy it, and for longer than the recommended five seconds. It was a good learning experience, and I’ll finish up the rest of the sample, but I don’t think it’s quite up my alley enough to ever put in a full order of it.

Steep times:
20/30/45/60

When I smell this tea, I smell hot water from a bathhouse in India. Steaming hot water with scents of the earth that stew in a water tank before being heated through some pipes and being collected in a giant plastic bucket, which you carry off with you to the shower room to use how you please. A slight scent of Dettol soap. A scrubbed clean feeling, this how clean water can get, that you may find bubbling in a volcanic spring on the top of a mountain.

This is 90% an odorful tea, the 10% is in the taste. The taste is slightly bitter, that is all. Sometimes teas are for smelling, and the drinking is an afterthought, and that is okay. It was nice to be reminisced about the olden days, days of rajahs and ecumenical times.

Notes of scotch, only because the cup had scotch in it prior to the pouring of the tea.

This is a cool tea to drink in certain situations:

1. Right after you eat a pair of idlies and dosa and finish off with a mysore coffee, heavily milked up to the point where the milk denatures into thick buttery foam and there’s only so much of that to go around on a fall day. And you want to drink more milk. Then you can drink this tea, which smells like steamed milk, but doesn’t taste like much of anything but the slight tasting notes of:

Neem honey, asian pear-apples, pickled umeboshi, extremely watered down scotch, diet coke, cucumbers

2. When you want host a tea party where one of the events is a blindfold taste test and you want to include multiple different teas that could throw off your guests, and with the combination of dropping a hint of steamed milk earlier in the evening, you would find it a small victory when someone tasting this tea blindfolded would claim, “This is not tea, it’s milk!”

On the second steep, it still smelled like milk, but there was no taste anymore.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – September 2024 Tea #7 -A tea from China

 Finished some samples of this one.  It is a tea that I also have in an 100gram amount, so it definitely means I thought it was great.  I certainly can’t be buying 100grams of every Teavivre tea I think is great… that would be most of them.  So if I have 100grams of something, it is exceptional!  Otherwise it would just be about buying samples for the rare occasion I would like that great tea.  I’m awake right now, I promise.  I’m not even sure which harvest year this is.  It MUST be older though, since I started writing years on my Teavivre samples at least in 2018.  This one has no year written.  Teavivre is my favorite shop to buy Chinese tea, so it is fitting I am using a Teavivre tea for this prompt today.
2024 sipdowns: 70

Additional notes: I went right into steeping the harvest I bought in May 2016 the day after trying the 2018 harvest and can I say these seem like COMPLETELY different teas in taste? I knew my older harvest didn’t taste like squash (honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever described a tea like “squash” before, so I didn’t think the 2016 was like squash). I tried to steep this harvest with the same parameters. Even though the leaves look similar, they flavors couldn’t be more different. This one is DARK. The 2018 is light. This is dark or bittersweet chocolate (though never astringent), not quite wine as I described before because I wasn’t using 7 grams today. With hints of lychee which I don’t think I noticed before! Maybe that’s the “fragrant” in the name, the lychee? No squash notes like the 2018 and it certainly didn’t end up tasting like an Assam on the second steep. It’s Yunnan all the way. Raising the rating for either harvest from a 79. I like both harvests, the 2018 for the unique squash but this one for the darkness and lychee. Tea is weird.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 2 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Harvest: 2015 or 2016?

Additional notes: I tried to steep this one like in the tasting note I had for another harvest years ago, which was for an entire sample (then 7 grams – Teavivre would suggest so many leaves but I have since learned that around two teaspoons is a good amount for most of their teas, to my tastes anyway ), so I didn’t want to use 7 grams again. To be honest, I did like the deep wine flavor of the steep session from years ago. But that is too many leaves for one session. I used maybe 2/3 of a five grams sample: this time an understandably lighter flavor. A mahogany brew that does taste like a very fragrant yunnan, though not as deep and chocolatey as I like my yunnans to be. But I can taste the quality. Certainly a unique enough flavor profile from the other Yun Nan varieties that Teavivre carries. I’m tasting a very sweet malty squash flavor. I was trying to think of what it reminded me of, and it wasn’t until the end of the first cup that tasted minty that I realized it’s like a Ruby variety of leaf. Much different from the Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Tree from yesterday that mostly reminded me of a light Indian Assam, until the second steep of this when it did taste very similar to an Indian Assam… I think I oversteeped it and the lovely sweet squash flavor was gone. I don’t like this one steeped at four minutes. The first steeps were very different but the second steeps both tasted like Indian Assams. Who knows? It’s so interesting that all of the versions of Yun Nan from Teavivre could be so different (unless I oversteep the second steeps)! It’s no fault of the tea for my oversteep when GONGFU is in the name itself. Again, will have to steep the older harvest this way and see what happens.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 2 minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
Harvest: 2018

2019 Sipdowns: 59 (Den’s – Sencha Fuka-midori)

I bought this earlier in the year and I’ve tried it a few times. However, I should have noticed the ‘gongfu’ in the name and realized that was where the magic would be. I don’t steep teas with the gongfu method, I use the western method. I’m sure this one would taste much different using gongfu. All of those wonderful reviews from others sure set the expectations high! The leaves here are very large and twisted with hints of gold. The dried leaves have the scent of lovely dried hay. The flavor is neither a light yunnan or a dark yunnan. It’s somewhere in the middle. The flavors are tough to describe, mostly bittersweet chocolate with hints of wine. I guess I like a honey Yunnan or a deep dark chocolate Yunnan. This one is in between both of those flavor profiles, so isn’t as special to me as other teas (again, probably because I’m not using the gongfu method of steeping.) I have plenty of other black teas I love from Teavivre though.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // couple minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
Harvest: 2015

Very happy to receive this sample from Teavivre. Upon opening the package my nose was met with a wonderful sweet smell. It is almost akin to a cross between a Silver Needle and Bi Luo Chun. After steeping it quickly, the taste was also very similar to both of these teas. There are floral, sweet, and light tastes along with a new almost buttery and nutty aftertaste. The second steep brought some earthiness to the taste. Not a dirtiness like puerh, but rather just some hints of earthiness—almost like dry autumn leaves. There is also an increased amount of astringency. However, there is still a hint of sweetness and floralness like a Bi Luo Chun. Overall I really enjoyed this sample though. Excellent taste and aroma, not to mention the beautiful dry leaves.

The beginning of the cold weather pretty much always signals a return to Keemun for me, and it looks like this year is no exception. I think the rich dark chocolate and smoke characteristics are what pull me back towards it as soon as the mornings turn chilly. They’re not flavours I particularly crave in the summer, but now…

I started this year with the superfine fragrant, and now I’m trying this one. The leaves here are much shorter and a lot less tippy, but still thin and wiry in appearance. I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water, splash of milk.

To taste, this is mostly cocoa-like dark chocolate, slightly drying, with a light undertone of smoke. There’s also an edge of juiciness that reminds me of Taiwanese black teas. It’s strong and malty, quite sweet after the richness of the initial sip has worn off. I’m not usually a fan of anything smoky, but on this occasion I’m actually a fan. I think without it this would be a pretty one-note tea, but as it is it’s adding an element of depth that I’m really enjoying, and it stops it from crossing the line into too sweet/cloying. A pretty solid keemun, all in all, and one I’d be more than happy to drink again.

Well, last time I rambled I talked about my frustration with Ark, it seems that the internet’s really angry reaction to the canceling of the Halloween event made it very clear to the devs that this was a bad idea. So they delayed it, later this week I will get to play the event because I can’t quit this game, so I will play it. Of course, the delay of the event means that my plans for Halloween have been canceled so I have no idea what I am doing to celebrate today. Perhaps painting shall keep me occupied on this most spooky of days.

Today I am looking at an orb of goodness from Teavivre, their Yunnan Rose Dragon Ball, a tea after my own heart! Combining a Simao Dianhong with rose petals in a tightly rolled ball individually wrapped making it a really cute gift. Good for either western style brewing or gongfucha, it is a versatile tea, and since it is just tea and roses and no flavoring or oils you get pure rose taste and smell. It is no secret by now that I love roses in my hongcha, but often I find it has been blended with flavorings or oils and I prefer just straight up rose petals in my black tea. Unwrapping the ball and giving it a good sniffing, the aroma is quite pleasant. There are the obvious notes of rose, reminding me of rose water, gently sweet without being perfumey, along with cocoa, malt, and a touch of peanuts. The rose is not at all overwhelming and it is balanced with the notes of the Dianhong, which is good, frequently rose teas have overwhelming rose.

Such an elegant tea deserves an elegant gaiwan, so I used the audacious gold lady for this tea, it also works well since it is a larger gaiwan meaning more room for the ball to expand. The aroma after the first steep has notes of malt, cocoa, yams, peanuts, and gentle roses. The liquid is sweet, with notes of roses and honey giving it a nectar quality, along with cocoa and roasted peanuts. I find myself looking forward to drinking it!

This might be the most perfectly balanced rose Dianhong I have ever tried. The rose is gentle and light, never once overpowering the notes of the Dianhong, but also always being present so there is no mistaking it is a rose tea. That persistent rose note makes it suitable for someone like me who absolutely loves food and drink with a rose theme, but also making it suitable for someone who is only slightly a fan (like Ben, just an example.) Of course, it helps that the base Dianhong is enjoyable, smooth notes of malt and cocoa blend with yams and peanuts with a lingering honey finish. It is a classic Dianhong with all the familiar notes.

As is frequent with these teas that are tightly curled up into balls, the first steep is light, but the second steep is more intense, part of the reason a lot of people either have a longer than normal first steep or rinse the tea. Since I think rinsing would be a waste, in this case, I just go for a slightly longer steeping time. The second steep is still pretty intense compared to the first, stronger notes of all the ones present in the first steep, especially the rose and chocolate with lingering brown sugar and honey. I feel like this would be the perfect tea to drink on some romantic occasion, it just has that feel!

This tea goes for a LOT of steeps, I kept pulling flavor from this ball for a good twelve steeps, and at that point, I switched to just drinking straight from the gaiwan and refilling it as needed for several more refills. It was not a short-lived tea, definitely an all-day session, which was fine by me! There was not a ton of evolution between steeps, just light bit omnipresent roses and classic Dianhong notes til the very end. This tea evokes romance, summer gardens, and just general happiness, I greatly enjoyed my massively long session with it!

Blog and photo fun: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/10/teavivre-yunnan-rose-dragon-ball-tea.html

4g, 100ml gaiwan, 185F
Dry leaf – yam, malt, fruity
5/10/10/15/20/?/?/? I lost track of steep time. Happily it never suffered from my lack of attention. Tasted of malt, chocolate and yam. Very smooth. The flavors were very distinct and crisp and clean. 86
Thanks kiwidelight!

Another from the swap with DelightfulKiwi – sorry that I took so long to drink this. Same age as the last tea, with the same rate of deterioration of the tea.
The whole sample at 185F, 1:30.
Light taste, light color, light green something – I am unable to determine what this tastes like. Lettuce? Bok choi or cabbage?
No rating due to age.

Thanks for the sample kiwidelight!
4g, 100ml gaiwan, 176F
R/30/60/90 – except I didn’t follow this at all
20s – soft, smooth 30s, 60s – sweet, thick mouthfeel.
1minX3 – springy, creamy, light.

I enjoyed this !

Additional notes: I’m trying to recreate the same brewing parameters for this as I did the first time I drank it six months ago to see if it is just as delicious and it IS. Such a sweet tasting sheng. Almost like fruit juice. I love it. Maybe I’m brewing it perfectly. I would definitely stock up on this one — possibly during the Black Friday sale. I think it might be my favorite sheng. Raising the rating a couple points.
I’m also experimenting with drinking two teaspoons of Verdant’s Laoshan Black… it tastes basically the same as with one teaspoon. heh.

A lovely sheng pu-erh for yesterday, when the weather certainly couldn’t be enjoyed. That means it’s time for a three steeper! Ten year old sheng seems to be my favorite. (Or maybe most of the sheng from Teavivre is what I prefer…) The fragrance of the dry cake is slightly smoky/barbeque and there are hints of that in the flavor. But mostly, following my golden rule of raw pu-erh steeps: 30-35 seconds per steep, the flavor is very sweet for a sheng! So sweet it’s almost like a sweetener was added. The sweetest sheng! It is like the nectar of some kind of fruit. Unraveled, the leaves are huge in this cake. Even the third steep is smooth, when I was really testing the leaves only ten minutes after boiling. This is a great sheng pu-erh… one of the favorites that I’ve tried, though always difficult for me to describe.
Steep #1 // half sample for a full mug// rinse // 20 minutes after boiling // 35 second steep
Steep #2 // 25 minutes after boiling // 35 second steep
Steep #3 // 10 minutes after boiling // 40 second steep

This tea is perfection! I ordered this as my free sample, and I am addicted. It’s so lush. It’s like a well balanced white wine with it’s level of flavors. Peachy, buttery, and like the other two reviewers said, oats and hay are lightly present. Just a lovely cuppa tea! I want more….right meow!

I drank this hot, but after I have rebrewed it (which was just as tasty), I am thinking a cold brew (third brew) will be swell. I am wondering if there’s a tea like this out there with this same flavor. Just don’t want to have this be a special occasion tea! Teavivre, you did well with this one!

Tasty sweet tea with a fantastic flavor, very fruity. Can be intense for people without a sweet tooth. Shipping took a while.

Sample from tea swap

I’m particular when drinking black tea; however I tend to be very open to trying anything once, twice, thrice, or more, until I am able to come to the conclusion on whether liking or disliking a tea. This tea, on the other hand, is astounding. I mentioned to the wife that there are teas that could allow one to totally give up on bread—and here is one of those teas! I’ve recently discovered that, while drinking teas such as this, you kind of give yourself the notion that “This is bread, therefore, I do not need bread otherwise—” which may compel one to forfeit bread altogether, and solely drink bread-like teas.

The color of the dry leaf is nicely dark; the aroma has cocoa notes with a touch of yeast. The wet leaf, as it progresses, changes into a fine hue of scarlet; while the color of the liquor remains that color of scarlet throughout the session.

The body of the liquor is thick, coating the mouth/throat with a layer of solidity, almost—(dare I say it) like bread? I’ve yet to meet a tea where I’ve become “full” similar, but nothing like, drinking too much beer in a sitting or two, thus becoming full (that is until you’ve gone to relieve yourself).

Overall, this was a nice tea to have early in the morning. Fortunately, I’ve had it before I can no longer have a sense of smell due to the oncoming cold stuffing my sinuses with the unwanted “junk” it brings with it.

https://www.instagram.com/s.g_sanders1/

Side Note: Floral notes (roses?) after the 6th steep. I was unable to detect it, but the wife mentioned it.

Backlog.

Watching this tea bloom was a feast for the eyes. Using boiling water, the bulb slowly bounces around the vessel for a bit before gracefully sinking to the bottom to allow the beautiful flower structure to fully unfurl. It’s pretty tall so you want to use a large enough glass or teapot.

The flowers here are supposed to be amaranth and jasmine. I couldn’t taste the jasmine at all, but the amaranth dominated. The flavor of this tea is sweet, nectary, and honey like. There’s no bitterness to speak of even at boiling, a problem I’ve had with other blooming teas. But I didn’t really care for the resin like taste of the amaranth.

Prepared in a ceramic gaiwan. I followed the steeping times from the website: 15 seconds, 25, 35, 50, 80, 130, 210 (I tacked on a 10-minute last steeping to completely tire off the leaf).

I’m jumping on the bandwagon on having been taken by surprised by this hongcha. All of my expectations were flung out the window when I first evaluated the aroma, and then the taste of the liquor.

To begin, the aroma doesn’t undergo metamorphosis when the leaf is hit with heat and water. Overall it smells incredibly savory, like tomato sauce with dried oregano, rosemary, and basil. I’ve had wet leaf of black Bi Luo Chun smell like tomato and herbs, but this one has a much more complex aroma, and it was easy for me to pick out multiple specific notes.

The liquor – which is the color of deep gold – is clear, clean, and medium-bodied. For roughly the beginning two-thirds of the session, this hongcha resembles Oriental Beauty. Again, WHAT. I thought I would taste malt, sweet potatoes, and spice. But it has that fruity flavor that I associate only with Oriental Beauty. Very sweet and flavorful, practically like juice. Which fruit(s) I exactly can’t pick out since I haven’t had that many OBs. Later, the last few infusions taste more honey-like.

The session lasted only a morning but it was enjoyable. Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree Black Tea matched the mood created by today’s weather: gray sky, continuous rain, bright autumnal foliage, warm air.

I love Tai Ping Huo Kui. I feel in love with it a few years ago. It’s such a beautiful tea, with it’s long graceful seaweed look, and the flavors are buttery, sweet, creamy, and greeeeeen.
This is a wondeful green tea for people who prefer to avoid bitterness & dryness, because it doesn’t fall into those categories.

Thank you to Angel & Teavivire for the generous samples, which I shared with friends. My apologies for taking so long to get around to writing a review.