Teavivre

I am a relative newcomer to the world of Mao Jian, having tried only one other example of this tea. What I can conclude on the basis of an induction on two cases is that I do like Mao Jian! Teavivre’s variety, Xin Yang Mao Jian, has a distinctive dried leaf form, with long, thin, spindly leaves which look a bit like twisted ropes with some silk threads interspersed. Lots of shadows and light—and very attractive to behold!

I brewed about 4 grams in about 16 ounces of water for about three minutes. The resultant liquor is a somewhat darker shade of yellow with a hint of green. The flavor starts out seeming somewhat robust and vegetal but as it settles on the palate it becomes more smooth and soft. My packet contained some smaller particles which passed through the sieve, so it’s possible that the tea would be less robust if I filtered those out.

For now, based on this initial experience, I can say that I am happy with this tea—a fine lunchtime brew! I am looking forward to a second infusion of the spent leaves, which are redolent of further Mao Jian goodness to come…

The tea leaves are long and twisty, varying from dark to light green. This tea smells like tomato (especially the dry leaves- I find them extremely fragrant) and brewed it even tastes a little tomato-y. I am really enjoying this tea! This flavor holds well through at least one more steep.

I received this tea as a sample from Teavivre. Thank you again, this tea is super fresh!

Tried this one again last night, hoping to nail it down a bit more.
I just poured the entire sample bag into my steeper, and left it for 2 min. This made a potent cup, I figured no way would it not slap me in the face this time! All or nothing!

So I drank it, and tried to really figure it out.

It reminded me if the smokey aspect of Queen Catherine, except something about this one was more pleasing to me, it seemed brighter, a bit fruitier or fresher somehow, and the smoke was only a hint. I didn’t hate it, but I still think I preferred the Mao Feng.

Interesting tea, just sorry I couldn’t describe it better! Thanks Angel!

I guess I reviewed this before and didn’t have much luck.

I am grateful that Angel sent over more samples of this for me to try, because according to everyone else’s tasting notes, I should definitely give it another go.

I need to try it again to really form a proper opinion, I still feel so ignorant compared to everyone else. “wheat toast with honey, cocoa notes with a campfire in the distance…”… yeah. I don’t get that.

All I could really compare this to was the Mao Feng Keemun, which I really liked. I found this one to be much less sweet, and I didn’t get any cocoa notes, personally. But I think my bar for cocoa notes in straight black tea has been raised up to the Verdant Laoshan Black level, and so anything less is hard for me to discern. (I used that word twice today, WOTD!)

First impression, a tiny bit of smoke, slightly bitter…. mineral?? I don’t even know what that means. I wish there was a tea school near me so I could learn to train my tongue. But I guess that would just entail someone telling me what I’m supposed to taste, me nodding with a blank face while getting really mad that I still just taste straight tea. What’s in this cup?? TEA. Also in that cup. Still tea, guys.

I can note a difference between different types of tea (like, darjeeling vs. assam vs pu-erh vs oolong, for example), and when there’s a painfully obvious flavour profile, I’m all over that (LB, or a tea with vanilla beans cut in – G.O.)… but LAWDY do I ever have troubles catching specific notes in a tea like this one.

I am truly envious of all you “whole grain toast with honey slathered on top and a mug of hot cocoa in front of a campfire” people!!!

But that being said, I know I’ve come a LONG way. And I always know when I love a tea, I just can’t always verbalize WHY. Someday, tongue. You and the brain will be on the same page.

I will try this one later, I would like to write a better review for Teavivre!

My very first Keemun tea……

Uh.

I am not really noticing much smoke, but perhaps I should’ve steeped for 2 min rather than 3, because this cup is super bitter and hurts my teeth :/

Sour.

Blech.

I will have to try a resteep for 2 min to see what happens.
Not an awesome first experience so far!

ETA resteep for two min @ 95 degrees wasn’t as bitter by far :)

These leaves are so fresh, bright and pretty. I just love the way dragon well looks, but this one especially. The scent of this tea is rather mild – quite vegetal, a little buttery, soft. Sipping… I like this one a lot. I taste creamy snap peas and minerals in the finish. I also detect some leafy cut grass long after I’ve sipped. All of these notes are quite soft and delicate, though. It’s not a tea that hits you in the face. What I am enjoying about this one is that it’s sweet, smooth and quite drinkable. I’m nearly finished with the cup and I feel like I’ve just started! Thank you very much, TeaVivre, for a sample of this tea.

sipdown! farewell December tea :) Not sure that i’ll get through January’s teas this month as there are a LOT of them, but it is nice to at least know that when there are months that i’ve purchased less tea, i’ll make up some of that time. I’m really just doing it to be conscious about drinking my “older” teas even though i realise some ppl would love to have cupboards as “fresh” as mine lol.

I have quite enjoyed this one, though the reality is, i’d prefer 50g quantities from teavivre more than 100g in nearly every instance. Otherwise i start to feel like it’s too much to drink up. :) Not sure if i’ll reorder this one even if it is a lovely tea, ONLY because there are others i prefer more from Teavivre :)

I’ve enjoyed this one while i’ve had it, but after 100g i think i’m ready to relegate this to less desirable than the keemun i love from teavivre, but still a good tea that i would be willing to split if other friends wanted to share. lol sound good? :)

my other morning tea! So many teas to drink and so little time. Since the house is still a disaster, i can’t get to my puerhs and explore those today so i’m focusing on some of my “older” teas to keep working on drinking those up heh. I have lots of samples as well that i might spend time with today if painting allows for it. I enjoy this tea from teavivre though it’s not my favourite. it’s got a great morning tea flavour in my opinion so i’m rocking it. Almost time to wake the beast! lol

mmm morning cup of tea that was just perfect. This isn’t my favourite teavivre tea but there’s something about this one that i really like as an average every day sort of tea.

I’m so confused as to how/why there’s no rating for this one from me as i’ve had it a few times now. Oh well, picked this in the morning to kick things off because i had a house to clean up after having a bunch of ppl over on friday. We still have painting and things to do before we can start putting things on the wall and really getting in to the last of things with the move, but it’s slow going with everything being crazy at work and trying to actually enjoy our weekends occasionally lol.

this is a fantastic tea. I really like the malty tones in this one and the smoothness of the tea itself. Glad i picked up a bunch of this one from Teavivre, i really do love their black teas :)

I picked this one up at a teavivre sale and haven’t yet had a chance to open i and enjoy it. I think i meant to share this one with the ladies of the BBB Box, but now who knows what i’ll share – i do see that both of them haven’t tried this version yet so maybe there’s hope for sharing this tea! lol Sadly, i don’t recall much of my involvement with this tea today as i was distracted at work with trying to clean up some things urgently. it’s been a day. But i came home ON TIME mostly so there’s that…and the weather is nice so really…hard to complain :) More to come on this one as i drink it more!

According to Teavivre this tea was picked in August 1, 2013 so the tea has been sleeping for a long time. So first I breathed on the dry tea to wake it up and was promptly greeted with a milky, interesting smell.
With the tea now awoken I steeped half the 7g free sample pack I received in hot water. Upon sipping my cup I loved the sweet taste, like honey, and how creamy it was. It was perhaps less creamy than the Superfine Taiwan Ali Shan that I also sampled prior, the Qing Xiang Dong Ding I thought had a very subtle “harshness” to it, that i associate more with green tea. Overall, the taste is very kind and forgiving.
After two hot steepings like this I put the wet leaves in a sport shaker with cold water and put it in the fridge. At this point I took the time to appreciate how pretty and large the green leaves had become.
After a few hours cold steeping, I got a luscious ice tea out of the already-used leaves. I’m impressed by how much flavor there is within this oolong tea! The round, sweet and mild taste really lends itself to making ice tea in my opinion, and there is a mild hazelnut taste as an added bonus. Because the leaves are so large, it was really convenient for me to sip on the tea straight out of my shaker without the need to strain the tea. I also got a second similarly heavenly cold brew out of the leaves.
Overall I’m really pleased with this tea, it is now my favorite oolong tea so far. Thank you Teavivre for the free sample!

I anticipate many infusions will be able to happen with this one, which is my favorite thing about oolongs and pu erhs. Even if they are a bit pricier at first, the quality can’t be beat, you get a bajillion cups out of a teaspoon, and each cup is a different flavor.

I smelled a lot of mineral and nutty scents when this was just done steeping the first time, but tasted a mostly mineral flavor. The second infusion is a lot nuttier, and is starting to have a floral/slight fruit taste to me. I love that, and am looking forward to those flavors coming out more in later infusions.

The Leaf: Dark brown to black throughout the pile. medium curl, leaving most of the leaves long and straight with only slight bends; a few are curled almost into balls. The scent is nice and strong, having a roasted, sweet, creamy smell.

The Brew: The liquor is a nice golden brown; bronze. The aroma is bright with the same roasted sweet smell of the leaf. It almost is metallic smelling; it has a certain clip in the aroma, if that makes any sense. The taste is definitely creamy, partially from the mouthfeel and partially from the flavor. It’s very soft on the tongue and has a roasted character, making it seem like a caramelized cream-based drink; the flavor and sweetness are much lighter of course.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Nice dark green and light green mixed leaves. The scent is quite strong and very nice; sweet, slightly flowery, and fruity. well curled and rolled up.

The Brew: The liquor is a nice whitish-green, but crystal clear. The aroma is quite apparent with fresh sweet notes and almost a melon character to it. The taste is not strong, but not light either. It’s almost as if I’m drinking very light, less sweet, melon juice, maybe with a hint of cucumber.

I drink all of my teas cold.

Phoenix, rise again in my tea mug. It has a baked bread, and raspberry scent. Got a little wood in the dry leaf. The flavour is kinda toasty, with hints of raisins. Mild raisin toast, perhaps. There is a nice, mild sweetness. (Goes well with anime and farming games.)

Thanks for the sample, Teavivre.

I recently got this as a sample, but I’ve already tried it.

There is a nice floral scent, and some fruit- perhaps lychee. I get more lychee in the flavour, and some green grapes. Much more fruity than I remember. Went very well with my breakfast (French toast). Thanks to Teavivre for letting me try this again.

This is the last of my new Teavivre samples. It smells so good… like malty cocoa. The flavour tends toward grape. Reminds me a little of wine somehow. I might need a few more cups… for uh, science. And tasting purposes.

~Dry Leaf
Appearance: Light green, large pieces, little dust
Scent: Hay, grass

~Infused Leaf
Appearance: Opened up after 1st infusion, little color loss
Scent: More intense grass, hay, now floral, vegetal

~Liquor
Color: Light green, clear
Aromas: Subdued vegetal, floral, grassy
Taste: Smooth, floral, light, sweet, buttery; almost like a sencha
Texture: Full body, thick, little astringency throughout all infusions

~Summary
This was my very first “spring tea” and I was hooked once I opened the bag and smelled the fresh, tender leaves. The floral, sweet, and grassy notes certainly dominated this tasting experience. This dragonwell almost reminds me of Japanese greens, like sencha. I doubt that I can go back to aged dragonwells without being reminded of how wonderful the spring cup can taste. There is very little astringency throughout all three infusions and the intensity of the flavor seems to maintain a respectable intensity.

My first tea of the day. It smelly like I’m having citrus fruit salad in the forest. I liked the dark orange colour of the .liquor. The flavour is woody, with the tang of tangerine.

Backlog from last night.

Teavivre gave me 3 packets of tea to sample, one of which I gave to a friend. Of the two remaining, I used a whole packet to brew it in my gaiwan about a month ago. Now, I’ve opened up the last remaining packet.

I must say that of all the jasmine teas I’ve tried from Teavivre, this one is my favourite. The jasmine here is beautiful and strong, but not overpowering with the metallic taste I’ve found in some jasmine teas. Here, the flavour is sweet at the back. This is just such a gorgeous tea.

I steeped it twice, both times for two minutes, and got a beautiful clear yellowish liquor that shaded down to dark green as the tea sat in my mug. The flavour was clear, sweet, and jasminy, with a somewhat thick mouthfeel but otherwise very fresh and relaxing.

I don’t consider myself a fan of white teas, so it’s doubly lovely to find such a gem.