This is the final Tie Guan Yin in my set of free samples. (Thanks, Teavivre!) I steeped 7 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 120, and 240 seconds.
While the first steep is slightly floral, tangy, and vegetal, the tea really gains its stride in steeps 2-3, with strong grassy, butter, tangerine, orchid, floral, coriander, and tannin notes. Seven grams may have been a bit too much leaf, since the aftertaste is bitter and vegetal. By steep six, a lot of the fruit is starting to disipate, to be replaced by minerals and grass. The astringency is a lot more noticeable in this TGY than in the two others I tried.
Although this Tie Guan Yin had a promising beginning, it didn’t have the staying power of its two siblings. It was also the most vegetal of the bunch. While this would make a good everyday tea, I think TeaVivre offers better options at around the same price point.
Flavors: Astringent, Butter, Citrus, Coriander, Floral, Grass, Mineral, Orchid, Tangy, Vegetal
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Thanks for the thorough reviews of Teavivre’s TGY teas. I also got some gift cards etc. at the recent generous Teavivre promotion and was actually considering getting one of their TGYs and your reviews came at just the right moment.
I think Teavivre’s teas are quite solid and factoring in all of their promotions/sales are insanely cheap. I just placed an order and realized that it came out 3 times cheaper per gram than my last Yunnan Sourcing order – at about the same quality. Just crazy.
I’m glad you found my reviews helpful. You’re right, with their promotions and free samples, TeaVivre can be a lot cheaper than YS. I think their oolongs are hit or miss, with some being decent and a few being excellent (like the Anxi Monkey King TGY). I really can’t comment on their greens because I don’t drink a lot of green tea, and I haven’t explored much of the rest of their catalog.
Have you had any outstanding teas from TeaVivre that I should consider adding to my order?
Well, you green teas are Teavivre’s strength although it doesn’t do much for you. I think that their selection of Keemuns, Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong and Golden Monkey is also solid. Their oolongs and puerhs are uneven as you have already noticed.
Thanks for the thorough reviews of Teavivre’s TGY teas. I also got some gift cards etc. at the recent generous Teavivre promotion and was actually considering getting one of their TGYs and your reviews came at just the right moment.
I think Teavivre’s teas are quite solid and factoring in all of their promotions/sales are insanely cheap. I just placed an order and realized that it came out 3 times cheaper per gram than my last Yunnan Sourcing order – at about the same quality. Just crazy.
I’m glad you found my reviews helpful. You’re right, with their promotions and free samples, TeaVivre can be a lot cheaper than YS. I think their oolongs are hit or miss, with some being decent and a few being excellent (like the Anxi Monkey King TGY). I really can’t comment on their greens because I don’t drink a lot of green tea, and I haven’t explored much of the rest of their catalog.
Have you had any outstanding teas from TeaVivre that I should consider adding to my order?
Well, you green teas are Teavivre’s strength although it doesn’t do much for you. I think that their selection of Keemuns, Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong and Golden Monkey is also solid. Their oolongs and puerhs are uneven as you have already noticed.