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My second sampling of TEAVIVRE samples arrived today!!! So excited! Thank you Angel and TEAVIVRE so much for your generosity!!
This was my first sample to try.
I used only 2tsp of leaves instead of 3-4 because it looked like way too much, I am glad that I did because there was hardly enough room in my infuser.
Dry, this tea smells very vegetal, I was a little worried at this point, I am not the biggest fan of really vegetal teas.
Steeped, the leaves also smell very vegetal, but then when you take out the leaves, it smells much sweeter and more floral….weird, but good!
1st steep: very fresh, earthy, vegetal, with notes of floral and nuttiness (not the usual butteriness I am used to in oolongs). I also get a little sweetness and a very full mouthfeel (I like that!)
2nd: 3minutes, sweeter and possibly creamier, less vegetal, my favourite steep for sure
3rd: 4 minutes, not vegetal, but the creaminess and sweetness is starting to deteriorate, still a good steep though
4th: certainly weaker, but still maintains a good mouthfeel, and light enough to have in the evening without being up all night, hopefully….
Overall, I really like this, a very different green oolong than I am used to.

This was one of their valentine’s teas, but I just got around to buying it in April.
This was just meh, I could certainly taste the chocolate, but it tasted like a cheap bitter chocolate. I don’t think the rose really melded with the flavour either.
That is ok, there are many other good black teas my favourite local shop stocks!

I tried this with 1.5 teaspoons instead of 2 because I wanted to see if it would hold up. It does! I think I like this even better than last time I had it. I steeped it for 7 minutes at 95 degrees so that is probably why. Longer steep than I am used to.
This tea is so complex with lots of different notes….caramel, maple, apple, popcorn!….just plain yummy.

Smells like pomegranate, but there is no fruit, I do see rose petals and probably marigold petals.
1st steep: It is alright, I get a pomegranate/blueberry taste mostly. It still smells wonderful.
2nd steep: 95degrees, 4minutes, this is a weaker version of the first steep
I put the rest in the fridge to try cold—-it is alright, Pom Power from Davids is definitely better.
As Indigobloom and Aisling of tea mentioned, it does leave a dry cottonmouth taste in your mouth as an aftertaste.

This was actually very fruity and tropical smelling! Very good for coming from the Bulk Barn.
1st steep: very fruity, I mostly get mango and pineapple with a little coconut, with the oolong flavour in the background.
2nd steep: 95degrees, 4minutes, same fruity taste but more oolong flavour coming out, not the best oolong base, but still alright.
There is no fruit bits in here though, just flower petals, so I found that kind of weird.
But really, at this price, it is fairly worth it…..35g for $1

Tried this again, but this time I put 1 tsp of pearls instead of 6 measley pearls. What a difference.
The brew is now light yellow instead of slightly tinged water and it tastes so much better.
These pearls are not as good as TeaVivre’s but they are still slightly sweet and not overly perfumey like some jasmines are.

This brew is much better than the last one when I made it with boiling water and it was a bitter mess.
Colour: warm golden brew
Smell: like sunflowers!
Taste: I definitely picked up on the rose note as well as the black and green teas. The other floral hints were a little lost to me. Somehow, like a couple of other people have mentioned, I got a peach/orange taste. Too me, I didn’t like this because I was expecting it to be floral. I guess I am trying to see, I was hoping it would taste more floral and less peachy. Does that make sense? lol
Still good, but the peachy flavour is a little fake tasting and weird

I tried this cold brewed and didn’t really like it…..but then….I tried it in a smoothie….delicious!
1 cup cold brewed tea
1-1.5 cup frozen strawberries
1 small 100g yogurt container
So, all this week, I have been making a tea smoothie for lunch….very healthy and delicious! Does anyone else make tea smoothies?

Note: I paired this with a tad bit of vanilla green
Smell: very refreshing minty
1st steep: very smooth, minty, refreshing, almost a smooth creamy quality. I guess the creaminess might be coming from the vanilla.
2nd steep: 85degrees, 2.45minutes, brewed then left in the fridge to cool here since it is such a nice sunny day today, tastes delicious and refreshing, just as good as the hot first steep!
The only thing that kind of turns me off of this tea is that it is mint oil and flavours instead of actual mint leaves. That is too bad

I have had this for awhile but have only rated it now.
I like the green murky water, it is fun and different, if not a bit gimmicky.
It smells wonderful and fruity.
It tastes sweet, a nice relaxing dessert-like tea. I am certainly also getting the slight nuttiness that others have mentioned.
I am glad that it was brought back for a short period and I got to try it but I won’t be too sad when my 50g is gone either.

This is the first decaf black I have had. It is interesting. The black base tastes a little different than usual blacks. I am certainly getting the peach taste in this tea.
I guess I just feel like something is missing from this tea. haha….I guess it is the black tea!
I still like it and will certainly finish the 25g I have.

Yum
Dry leaf smells like a fresh peach
Colour: light yellow
Smell: light peach flavour
1st steep: very delightful. I get the green and white tea tastes. At first, I could taste the peach and the chamomile seperately but then they blended together for a nice smooth taste.
2nd steep: 85degrees, 4minutes, less peachy and more chamomile taste with the white showing through more and the green less.
I can see this one becoming one of my favs from my local tea shop!

One thing that I love about green/white blends is that the second steep hardly ever tastes the same as the first. I like that!

This is nice and smooth.
It tastes very similar to DAVIDsTEA Read My Lips. I would have to say it is a little creamier but less chocolate-y that DT’s version though.
Colour: nice light brown/yellow
The smell is just divine…..and the taste is good too. Light notes of chocolate, I taste a little of the black tea, and the mint coming forward in each sip.

Smell: just like an earl grey
Colour: a nice yellow
1st steep: Surprisingly mellow taste, with the white tea taste peeking through. I definitely get the earl grey taste but much more mellow and slightly sweeter with the little creamy touch from the yogurt.
2nd steep: 90degrees, 4min—still citrusy, but less earl grey tasting. It is still sweet with a hint of creaminess
I will certainly re-buy this one

This is pretty fruity, a nice light white tea taste.
There is a slight chemically aftertaste though.
I will have to try this cold-brewed as well to see how I like it

This tea is great. Soothing on the stomach. Very refreshing!
I can see this tea being great cold-brewed and to mix with other teas.

This was kinda meh. The flavours melded well together, but nothing really stood out for me. I do get a little tangerine taste but I would like it to be stronger. Maybe I will try a longer steep next time.

This was ok.
It was orange-y, but there are so many better citrus teas.
Such as chocolate orange pu’erh, that one is way better, so I wouldn’t get both of them.

This tea is yummy chocolatey goodness.
Who knew you could get such yummy chocolate taste for only 15 calories. It is quite sweet, certainly doesn’t need sweetener. I certainly do get a cake taste, but I would say more like chocolate cake batter than cake.
This is good, but like the other cupcake teas, I wouldn’t drink them everyday. I might get a small 25g bag to have on hand for a while for my “treat Sundays” when I always have a chocolate tea in the morning!

Colour: light brown
Smell: dry—amazing, brewed—still smells great
Taste: I think this tastes more like neopolitan ice cream than ice cream cake. Like others have mentioned, I am especially getting the strawberry ice cream taste from it. I don’t think I could drink this everyday, but nice for a sweet treat.

It does leave a scum on the cup though, and leaves lots of little particles in the bottom of the cup. That is a little off-putting.

This tea is really cute to look at with those colourful sprinkles.
It smells really sweet, a little apprehensive about it being too sweet.
Colour: reddish brown
Taste: sweet but not too sweet. I get a liitle bit of cake flavour, but also butterscotch/vanilla. I guess it tastes a little like icing.
I certainly wouldn’t drink this every night, but nice to have something sweet when I really feel like having dessert.
This is certainly a more calorie-wise choice than real cake!

This is a bit spicy, and I am not a regular chai drinker.
I have to be in the mood to drink it.
This is decent but there are other chais I would prefer. I did finish my sample though.

Backlogging: I finished this bag off and haven’t written anything until now. So I haven’t had it for awhile but wanted to log it.
This isn’t as sweet as I thought it would be. It is a tad bitter and astringent but I do really enjoy it.
It does smell very yummy vanilla.

I tried this cold-brewed and now I get a little bit of Rocket candy taste. This is much sweeter brewed this way, good for an iced tea I guess! Yum
I should have got more when it was around I guess because I am almost out.