Having been forewarned by the description that this tea had a slightly bitter taste, I prepared myself for something akin to a slightly-oversteeped black tea-astringency. On the contrary, I found that this tea was nothing like that.
Preparing a small, two-cup teapot of this Chun Mei, I noticed the sweet, grassy smell that wafted up from the packaging. The pale yellow-ish tea that resulted from the steeping yielded these same characteristics – sweet, yet grassy. The bitterness was there, but it was more akin to eating a slightly bitter herb, where the bitterness is almost an afterthought. It does not at all ruin the tasting of this tea but, rather, keeps it complex, to a degree.
Teavivre’s Chun Mei is a great tea to try, especially for those who enjoy lighter greens, such as Dragonwell. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea an 82/100.
