Organic Hangzhou Tian Mu Qing Ding Green Tea

Dry: Lovely long, thin dark green leaves attached to a stem with one bud. It is so light and airy that the 7g sample really filled the infuser. Smells fresh, grassy, mellow, and vegetal.

Steeped: Clear very light green-amber liquor. The hot aroma is very green, fresh, and savory. Although this takes up most of the infuser, it didn’t really expand at all so no need to use the extra large one for space.

Taste: This one reminds me a LOT of Dragonwell, maybe a touch less potent and a touch more creamy. Not a sweet base at all, instead a flavorful (and a touch buttery) green tea veggie soup with a tiny bite at the end of each sip. I can’t decide if I liked this one or the Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea more out of the green tea sampler, but both are quite enjoyable for the green tea fans out there.

This is another sample sent to me by Angel and Teavire for review.

I’m not sure I enjoy green tea as much as blacks or oolongs, but this is pretty good. If I was a green tea lover, this is one I’d keep stocked up on. It’s creamy and smooth in texture. The strongest flavor I get is butter and some thing much like spinach. A floral sweetness shows up next. It’s not perfume-y or soapy. It reminds me of smelling fresh flowers growing in the neighbor’s yard. I guess it’s not powerfully floral. It really has a quite a sweet after taste. Not a bad cup at all. :D

Sheesh, my IRL tea cupboard was a hot mess! I think I’ve got a handle on it now but I found teas I didn’t know I had.

This was one of the teas I’ve had for a really long time at the bottom of my sample drawer. It is pretty old, but as I looked over my old tasting note it reminded me so much of that yummy Obukucha that I was willing to try it and see how it measured up.

It smells kind of fruity, which has me worried because even though it was sealed that is definitely scent contamination. I know that sometimes dry leaf smell contamination doesn’t necessarily affect flavor so I’ll press on.

Once the hot water hits the leaves a starchy sweet vegetal scent emerges. The leaves, initially a dull green, turn the light bright green of Lima beans. This reminds me strongly of dragonwell more than the brothy spinachy sencha. Tasting bears this out. This is dragonwell’s cousin for sure. Savory but not overtly salty, hints of earth rather than ocean. I had in the past tasted fruity undertones but they are not present now.

Still, for its age this was really good and flavorful. A great example of what I like in a Chinese green.

Free sample from Teavivre

Opening the packet I am struck by a strong grassy aroma that reminds me of a Dragonwell. Initially the dry leaf looks flat like a Dragonwell too, but then I look more closely and see that it is actually curled on the edges with colours ranging from yellow-ish green to a mid green colour.

Brewing the tea reveals a pale yellowish green liquor with a buttery feel and a grassy/nutty flavour. It is mellow with a sparkly aftertaste, and less pork-chop-in-ya-face than the Dragonwells that I have tried. Yes it is slightly meaty but there is more of the good, light grassiness about it and the aftertaste lingers nicely.

Another good tea from Teavivre and worthy of keeping some in stock for when the mood takes.

This came with my last Teavivre order of teas as a sample. I went a little overboard buying greens so I have not touched the samples much. ;)

Sniffing the lid of the gaiwan after the rinse step. I’m picking up on a strong buttery and slightly smoky (or similar) smell.

First steep tasted much like I expected; boldly vegetal and buttery. There is also a biting sort of characteristic. Not quite bitter,but it still pulls on my senses like bitterness. (in a good way)

Second steep was milder but slightly more bitter and astringent. Overall tastes very “green” and flavourful.

Third and fourth steeps were both great, with the latter beginning to lose some flavour.

Overall I like how bold the green, vegetal flavour gets. However it’s not one of my fav green teas. There are aspects of it I like, others not so much, but still an enjoyable experience. I prepared it in a gaiwan, so I can’t comment whether or not it’s any better in a teapot.

100ml gaiwan, 3g of tea, 4 steeps (rinse, 30s, 50s, 1m20s, 1m40s as recommended on their website)

The dry leaves are thin and needle-like, with a bright vegetal smell. They unfurl into the cutest little yellow-green leaves. The brewed tea is a very, very pale yellow. As in, you can barely tell it’s not water. But it sure doesn’t taste like water! This is wonderfully vegetal and buttery, without being too heavy. There’s a nice dry aftertaste too. This easily gave me two good steeps. I probably could have gotten a third, but I’m trying to make a dent in my stash. As usual, high marks for Teavivre. Many thanks to Alysha for the sample.

Protip: Teavivre’s sample packages always have more than one serving but aren’t easy to reseal. Luckily, the labels on Teavivre’s sample-size packages peel right off and stick nicely to a tin or baggie! Most people have probably already figured this out, but I thought I’d share for anyone who hasn’t.

I have come to my last sample in this round of Teavivre’s latest offerings. Let’s see if Teavivre has batted 1,000 again like they have with samples in previous rounds…

When I opened the sample packet, a very strong grassy aroma escaped into the air. It was not unpleasant. It was like the smell of a freshly mowed putting green after a Summer sun shower.

I steeped the long green leaves for two minutes at 195 degrees. A pale green liquid emerged at the end of the brewing cycle.

The taste of this tea was light, fresh, and grassy. There also was a slight hint of sweetness beneath the leafy flavor. There was no bitterness to the taste and a light and fresh aftertaste lingered on my palate.

Like the several other Teavivre green teas that I have tasted, one word best describes the flavor of this selection: FRESH. All of Teavivre’s green tea offerings have a just picked taste that makes you think the leaves were harvested this morning.

This is yet another exceptional tea from Teavivre. I can’t wait to see (and taste) what they come up with next!

Thanks to Angel and Teavivre for another nice sample.

Although I have not tried lots of green teas,Teavivre has done more to get me to appreciate green tea than anyone else. I’ve already had great results with their Dragonwell, Jasmine, and Xin Yang Mao Jian.

This tea is completely new to me. I really appreciate that Teavivre seems to be producing more organic teas.

The dry leaves are bright green and similar in shape and length to pine needles. The pleasant aroma is vegetal in nature. Brewed leaves are a bright, almost kelly green and contain more of the vegetal scent. Liquor is translucent and a pale greenish yellow in hue.

The flavor is more of the vegetal-cooked spinach is the flavor it most resembles to me. The tea is slightly sweet and a touch savory. It is smooth with zero bitterness or astringency-don’t let it cool too much though. Also note the recommended brew temp of 195 instead of 175 which is common on some of their other greens.

This is a nice refreshing cup on a hot day. It is really light. The tea was plucked in March of this year, so the antioxidants and nutrients are probably a little higher in this fresh tea-just the thing you need in summer.

Another good job by Teavivre.

This is just a short note to say I decided to experiment and put 8 gms from sample packets in 16 oz cold water for cold-steeping. 5 hrs later, I tasted it. Whoa! This packs a punch when steeped this way-very bold vegetal taste. I don’t know if it’s spinach or green beans. I do prefer this hot though. Cold, I had to dilute it a little and sweeten it, I guess being so vegetal didn’t go over for me as well in an iced tea as it did in a hot tea.

This sample was generously provided to me by Teavivre. Thank you Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.
Dry Leaf: Has a sweet vegetal or even grassy aroma.
Wet Leaf: Has a fresh vegetal aroma with a very slight nutty aroma.
Liquor: Was pale in color or a yellowish green.
Taste: This tea was smooth and watery in the mouth. There was a light vegetal flavor with a touch of sweetness and splash of something floral maybe orchid but that would be a wild guess. You also may get a very light nutty flavor too.
Overall Opinion: I give this tea a 89. I think this is a very fresh and clean green tea that is very enjoyable. I think people who enjoy Long Jing would also enjoy this type of tea in my humble opinion.
Vessel: SAMA DOYO Kungfu/Gungfu teapot. 7grams for 220ml or 7oz. of water in the inner cup of pot.