191 Tasting Notes

78

I received this one in a swap from TeaEqualsBliss. MMMM, strong, delicious strongness. Just what I need to get me up and going. I normally try not to have anything new so as not to spoil my tasting with food contamination (oh, who am I kidding. I have no taste!). Anyway, I was in the mood for something completely different, so I descended on my sample stash and picked this one out. I was kind of skeptical, looking at all those little tiny pellets of tea, but I am convinced! There is a bit of astringency, which isn’t too bad, and something vaguely bready about the scent. I’m drinking it sans additions, so it is good I only steeped it for two and a half minutes instead of the three plus that they recommend. Even at the lower than recommended steep, it is still plenty strong. I think the assam dominates the cup, with its astringency and maltiness.

Also, I have to say, I had this with grapefruit this morning, and the grapefruit completely knocked out the astringency and robustness of the tea. Taking a sip right after a bite of grapefruit was a completely different experience than taking a sip a few minutes after I had finished the grapefruit. It was mellow and smooth, considerably less in your face right after the grapefruit. Interesting, what tea and food pairings do for each other.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec
SimpliciTEA

Thanks for that extra bit about the grapefruit. Yes, interesting. That makes me want to start thinking more about tea/food pairings!

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100

Sample provided by Teavivre.

By now I’ve used the entire sample I got from Teavivre. The dry leaf is light and fluffy, and pretty—it isn’t my first golden tip yunnan, but it is definitely the nicest looking, with those large golden leaves. It also smells yummy, vaguely sweet.

The brewed liquor is a dark mahogany brown, though I did steep it for a minute longer than recommended because this last pot was a little light on the leaf. The tea is not bitter at all, has a nice body and mouthfeel, nor is it astringent at all. The flavor is smooth and bakey, and some unidentified sweet delicious flavor that upon reading other reviews is like sweet potatoes. That’s the flavor! I also did pick up hints of caramel (not surprising, with the taste of sweet potatoes).

So far I’ve tried three of the teas that Teavivre sent me (I’ll have a review of their Bai Mu Dan in another day or two), and I love them all. I can see their teas taking up permanent residence in my collection.

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100

Please, disregard the terribly unsophisticated slurping and glugging sounds coming from my direction. This tea is so damn good, I can’t help but drink it as fast as the temperature allows.

Oh. My. Goodness. I’m in love. This sample was courteously provided to me by Angel Chen. It is my first time drinking this tea, and it won’t be my last. Oh, no, it will not be. To start with, I’m really impressed with the packaging. Details on the label! Harvest date! How long it is good for! Source! It makes the tiny little part of me that is detail oriented swoon (granted, it is a small part, but swoon it does). Also the double bagging is definitely nice, though it does conflict with my more eco-friendly side, as others have noted.

The flavor of this keemun is wonderful. Granted, it is only my second keemun, but I like it more than the Teavana one I had previously. This one is robust but mild—does that make sense? It strikes me as a gentle flavor, but very much there. I don’t get an overly smoky flavor from it (I’m still adjusting to smoky teas), and I imagine that I get hints of chocolate and wine. I think I might find it woody if I could only shake my association of “woody” with “piney”. Earthy. A bit, not like a pu-erh (maybe what I think of as earthy is actually woody. I don’t know).

Anyway, the upshot? I’m going to be ordering more. Once I drink down some of my stash. I can’t wait till that day. Also, I can’t wait to try the next Teavivre sample. Thanks Angel!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
TheTeaFairy

I am discovering Teavivre teas right now, and I am so impressed so far. Thanks for this review, this tea will be in my next order!

Camiah

I definitely recommend this one. I also noticed that as it cools, the chocolately/cocoa-y note became more apparent. Delicious.

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This smells absolutely amazing on opening—rather like apple crumble; very intensely apple. I had high hopes for this tea, perhaps too high.

The tea itself is like a very light apple cider drink. I get light apple, and cinnamon, with a bit of almond in there as well. It isn’t as weak as some people had experienced, but not as intense as I was expecting. I probably should have used more—I only used 2 teaspoons for a 12 ounce mug.

Steeped for 7 minutes (oops!) at 95C with 2 teaspoons of tea for 12 ounces of water.

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drank Apres Ski by DAVIDsTEA
191 tasting notes

I was steeling myself for a less than pleasant taste experience after reading some of the reviews on Steepster of this tea. I was pleasantly surprised—I really liked it. The dry tea does have a somewhat offputting smell, but not so like garbage or rotten fruit like some other people have described. It was more of a heavy, earthy-fruity smell that I wasn’t expecting.

The tea itself was delicious—a nice black tea base that played well with the fig and cinnamon and orange. I definitely got figs and cinnamon, and every once in a while got a bit of orange. None of the flavors were inappropriately overwhelming—everyone got along. I’d definitely buy it, I only had one small sample from an earlier DavidsTea order. Maybe next holiday season I will.

Steeped small packet in 12 oz water for five minutes at 205 degrees.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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drank Copper Knot Hongcha by Teavana
191 tasting notes

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drank Copper Knot Hongcha by Teavana
191 tasting notes

I’m trying this one again, to see if it behaves better at different steep parameters. And the verdict is, yes! It does. More leaf and a shorter steep time led to a much better tea experience. It reminds me of Andrews and Dunham’s R29 Ceylon, a tea I’m quite pleased with as well.

The tea has a medium body, is not astringent or bitter-tasting, in fact, it seems a bit sweet. This seems a bit malty in the beer sense of the term, like when you homebrew and add the malt. Not malty like I see people use it to refer to assams.

Steeped 4 teaspoons in 1000 ml water at 195 degrees for 2 minutes.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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82

It has been nearly a month since I drank this one. Other than this morning’s Copper Knot Hongcha, this has shaped up to be a green tea sort of a day. Maybe I was in need of more calming vibes than my more typical day of mostly black teas could provide.

EC&M is a standard green, really quite lovely. I had it extra strong, with a three minute steep (Teavana recommends one minute) for a full bodied but not bitter brew. Just what I was looking for.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec
chadao

You give this tea the highest possible rating? Do you work for Teavana or something, or is your palate too naive to recognize a truly good green tea?

SimplyJenW

@chadao The worst kind of tea snobbery is the rude kind.

chadao

I apologize to both of you for the brutality of my comments. It was not respectful, nor was it becoming of a true tea fanatic. I hope you might forgive me for my words.

@Camiah: let me rephrase my disagreement with your rating. The only reason that I cannot give this tea anywhere near a 100 is because it tastes like an everyday green tea. At 15 dollars for 2oz, it is just not worth it for me. However, to each their own, and I hope you enjoy your tea ventures from here on out.

SimplyJenW

@chadao Perhaps this is the best green tea she has ever tasted and she has perfected the brew time for her palate. You cannot assume that everyone on Steepster has access to the finest teas on earth at the most favorable price. Sometimes what is local and easily obtainable is perfection.

chadao

@Cheryl. Fair accusation. No, I don’t work for Seven Cups, but I will admit, I do have a bias toward this company that introduced me to the finest Chinese teas in the world. I will also admit that I have something against Teavana. It seems to me that this company thrives upon selling low quality tea at ridiculously marked up prices, assuming the acceptance of a customer who knows now better, thus surviving on lies and duplicity. Once again, I will ask forgiveness for the harsh words in my first comment. However, I will not ask forgiveness for championing my opinions, which is something that we are all entitled to, and something that I will not rob anyone of (this does not mean that I will not explain why I disagree with other peoples’ opinions).

Again, though, you make a valid point of suspecting my ratings. I have only been on this site for two days.

chadao

I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was fighting with someone on here. I simply thought that I was respectfully disagreeing with the thoughts and opinions of others, regardless of my own naivite. Continuing this civil discussion…. I once again will state that I neither work for nor own Seven Cups. I work for a much larger, publicly owned tea corporation, essentially as a retail slave. I love my job, as weird as that sounds. I know the owner of Seven Cups, and she is the only certified Chinese Tea master to own a tea shop in the States. Naturally, her products support her certifications. She spends 3-4 months on Chinese tea farms, selecting only the best teas to bring home to us silly Americans :)

Anyway, Cheryl, your posts indicate that you know something about tea. Could you possibly recommend me to some teas and companies that I might enjoy, so that I could expand my palate?

SimplyJenW

Hi Cheryl! Those with an agenda usually show their true colors right away.
Personally, I love being a silly American. It shows me who is worthy of my business by still treating me with respect, and who is worthy of my respect.
@chadoa I am sure you have plenty of places to buy tea without a recommendation from me.

Camiah

So I suppose it is my turn to weigh in on this. Chadao, your original comment was condescending and rude, and an extremely unfortunate choice of words if you really wanted to know the reasoning behind my rating, the evolution and development of my tastes, and my feelings about Teavana. A better choice of words might have actually stimulated an interesting discussion, that now, I can guarantee you, will never happen. I accept your apology, and would simply recommend that in future comments (to me or anyone else) you have a modicum of class and check your condescension at the door.

Camiah

Hi Cheryl! It was actually quite interesting to come home this afternoon and rubberneck the thread. I didn’t get a chance to respond when I got up this morning, and it did warm my heart to see some response from others. I was rather gobsmacked when I saw the original comment.

Camiah

Cheryl, I forgot to ask, what did you order from Teavivre? I loved the samples I got from them and quickly drinking down all my black tea so I can get the Keemun and Yunnan Golden tip. I had a little too much fun tea buying at the beginning of the year/end of last year and need to use up what I have before I get more.

SimplyJenW

Nice order, Cheryl. I am getting my third order from there soon….. yes, it is a sickness, that ordering of tea……

Hi Camiah. Sorry to start the trainwreck today, but nothing burns me up more than people who think only their opinion is the right one…..such narrow-mindedness…… (And I would have loved the discussion on how you came to love this tea!)

chadao

@Camiah Thank you for your pardon. I hope that I can continue conversing with you on a more civilized level. On another note, I tried this tea yesterday, and I have to say it was better than the last time I tried it. It was very refreshing on this hot spring day in CO, and I can see why you like it so much!

chadao

@ SimplyJenW I like your input about being a silly American. As to agendas, who does not have an agenda? Who on earth can live a fulfilled life with out an agenda, or as I like to call it, purpose? Of course I will show my true colors from the get go, this is who I am and I am proud of it. I only hope that by joining this blog, I might be able to refine my agendas so that they are more in line with truth, and I thank you for helping me toward this goal.

chadao

I know that Cheryl is done talking to me, but I have to clarify one thing for everyone. I have done my own googling, and I see no connection between Seven Cups and ebay’s China Cha Dao. Before I get suspicious of a fellow steepster member’s veracity, I wonder if someone can show me how these two companies are connected.

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Zocolatte Spice? I think I love you! At least, while I have the four ounces of you that I have. Chocolately, spicy delicious. I like you better than the Azteca Fire that I tried. As Amy oh said in her tasting review, I bet you taste amazing with black tea. Maybe I’ll try that next time.

I prepared a giant travel mug of this to take with me while I took the dog to the emergency vet, and promptly forgot it. It was still warm when I got home; warm and delicious. The chocolate and ginger were the most prominent flavor notes I could detect, though since this is a backlog, I’ll need to have more to make sure. I remember liking it though. It hit the spot after my vet visit.

TheTeaFairy

hope the doggy is alright!

Ninavampi

Is your doggy ok? I hope all went well!

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I want more than fine. In tea and in life.

A mess of good intentions.

Dogs. So many dogs. Also, cats.

The opposite of a super-taster.

Not a natural redhead.

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