I bought this because 1) Teavivre had sent me a sample of theirs and I really liked it, although initially I didn’t think I would, 2) it was cheap, and 3) I really wanted to compare the two side by side and I knew I was buying some from Teavivre.
I didn’t have this side by side with the Teavivre version yet, but I will soon. For now I will give my opinion based on my memory of the other tea. I would not have purchased this tea if the Harney version had been my first sample. To be fair, I did steep it based on Teavivre’s instructions instead of Harney’s. Even at thirty seconds the sour bitterness was there, the kind one expects from a palate cleansing green tea. It was a oittle brothy, which was nice. But the most important part was missing. Teavivre’s Chun Mei had won me by the incredible sweet aftertaste that literally rises up in the throat well after the swallow. This one had none of that until the third four ounce cup that I drank, and then it was fleeting. I was hunting and hunting for that beautiful flavor that Teavivre gave me.
I am glad I got to compare these, but I must say I really prefer Teavivre’s Chun Mei by a wide margin. I will probably pawn this off on my daughter, who seems to like different greens than I do anyway.
