Teavivre

I see that I am not the only one who was lucky enough to try this fantastic tea!

The dry leaves and buds are full with a beautiful strong green color to them. They smell wonderfully of a strong vegital scent that for some reason reminds me of some senchas I have had (maybe thats just me though).

The first steep went for 1:30 at 175. The wet leaves have a strong sweet smell and produced a pale gold liquid that matched the leaves scent. This tea taste slightly nutty and sweet with a strong aftertaste that gave me a warm bite expected of some greens.

I resteeped it for 2 minutes also at 175 and it was just as delicious as the first. I wish I went into more detail here but as I was writing this I was also reading for a class, but that is college. I continued to resteep this tea and it powered through. An absolutly great tea and I would recommend trying this to any green tea lovers.

Testing out a new way of reviewing!

Water: I boiled 8oz water on the stove,then let cool for 4-5 minutes.

Leaves: A beautiful shade of light shade green.

Steep: 2 minutes the first steep. Even when steeping for 3 the flavor is great!

Aroma: I smiled when the scent hit my nose very pleasant,reminded me of Sencha.

Color: Pale yellow

Taste: I decided to make this tea because it was one I haven’t tried from my Teavivre samples. I was preparing to watch one of the Ted Talks. I took a sip this tea is light & very refreshing! It made watching the video that much more relaxing experience.

Today I had one of those meals that seem like a good idea at the time but put you into that i-could-doze-off-at-any-moment haze afterwards. Unfortunately I was at work, so couch sprawling was not an option. I was craving something “clean” and refreshing to perk me up, and decided to go with this sample from Teavivre, mostly because the name sounded pure and cleansing. The smell was very grassy, which made me unsure, but the taste wasn’t at all. It was light and delicate and floral, but still flavorful and full bodied in its own way. Mid-sip a sweetness emerges, but a soft, natural sweetness that satisfies the craving without venturing into dessert tea territory. I don’t think I’d have this one first thing in the morning as it’s very light, but it’s perfect for relaxing. Or successfully emerging from a food coma.

I absolutely LOVE oolongs, and I unfortunately don’t have a lot of them. My tea cupboard comprises mostly of blacks and herbals! I decided to treat myself today with this tea. I ordered 2 sample sizes of this tea a couple of months ago from Teavivre when there was a sale.

I opened the small metallic wrapper and immediately saw the bright, fresh green balls of this leaf with a stem on each one. It reminded me of cooked spinach! It smelled so delightful! It was sweet smelling and vegetal.

I recently purchased a beautiful yixing teapot set! I wanted to use it, but I felt like I should make my first cup with my husband. So another day with that! Wow I really went off topic…

Anyhow, this tea, as with most oolongs and other teas, withstood several steeps. I always watching the first steep because it is beautiful to see how the leaves “dance” in my gaiwan.

First steep: 30 seconds, 190 degrees. The brew was a light yellow color. This one smelled very vegetal, not like nori, but almost like a green. The taste was amazing! Light and airy florals dancing in my mouth. It was smooth like butter! There was a slight sweetness to it as well.

Second steep: 50 seconds. The leaves are nearly unfurled at this point. Brew was a jaundice/neon yellow! This brew was more floral and bolder than the first steep. It is sweet and juicy like a berry!

Third steep: 1 min. This steep was lighter and became more fruity! Delicious! The floral tones were fading more. There was a bit more astringency, but it still went down like butter!

Delicious tea!!

Third steep on this one and I have a cooling effect in my mouth for an aftertaste. Light floral on that one. It tastes like worn soft leather feels. Strange to say that, but it does and it is very pleasant. This will probably be my last steep on this one for the day.

I finally decided that I’m not going to put it off any longer and that I really, really wanted a rose tea. Today is the day I’m trying the ripened rose pu-erh mini tuocha.

I did a few seconds rinse followed by a short one-minute steep with a two minute steep waiting for me in my little red tea pot.

First, the tea is so dark it looks like coffee in my tea cup! I didn’t realize how light the teas were that I had been drinking until this morning, but this settles it. If nobody knew better, they would think I was drinking black coffee. I also enjoyed watching the tuocha fall apart in my french press. The rose on top of it also grew as it steeped which was lovely to look at when I re-filled it for the second steep.

The first steep of this is really, really mellow. It isn’t very strong at all. Instead it is rich and very slightly earthy. Just enough there to remind you that it is a pu-erh. I think the rose might have lightened up the taste, but I don’t taste it yet. Just lovely and smooth pu-erh.

I think if I gave this cup to my Dad he would drink it without realizing that it wasn’t coffee because it kinda tastes similar to it. Less bold than the brand he drinks of course, but it could pass off as a nice morning cuppa to some coffee drinkers I know. And it is so smooth that they could drink it without milk or sugar.

I’m starting to taste a slight malt as I’m reaching the end of my cup. I only brewed enough for one cup with the first steep, so once it is gone it is gone. But I’m really liking this mysterious malty flavor that popped up. I wonder if it will show up in the second steep or not.

The second steep has to be even darker than the first steep. There would be no question about it. If somebody saw me drinking this, they would think I was drinking black coffee out of a china tea cup. I think I can smell a tiny bit of rose with this cup. Just a touch. Maybe the rose will be more present in this steep.

The second steep tastes a lot like the first, but I think I am picking up a floral taste. Everything is blended together so well that I am having a hard time separating one thing from the other. Complex indeed.

There is a slight bitter twang at the back of my throat, but it isn’t unpleasant at all. A very dark taste that lightens up and reminds me of roses. Ah ha! That is where the flower taste really is. I can taste the roses lightly in the sip, but that bitter twang lightens into that smooth floral rose.

The more I sip it now, the more apparent the rose in the back of my throat becomes. This is why you need to be patient when drinking tea and that why we need to slow down to really taste what we are eating. I think I might be in love and I am so glad that I get two little tuochas per pouch.

I might try a third steep later after I enjoy my little second steep pot full.

Thank you for letting me try this Angel and the Teavivre team. I never would have ordered this by myself and letting me sample this has opened up a new world of pu-erh beyond what Numi offers. And I think I like it even better now.

This is a tea I would be delighted with if it were served to me in a restaurant… smooth and full-bodied with natural notes of simmering caramel sweetness. Just a slight astringency adds a little extra interest without being puckerish. Noteworthy dropoff in character and flavor on the second steep — making it a less remarkable cup, but the first steep is worth the price of admission. Very nice overall, thanks to Angel at Teavivre for the generous sample!

I must admit that I botched this yesterday by not using enough leaf, which resulted in an almost flavorless brew. So this time I used 2 tsp for 8oz and steeped for an outrageously long time to account for its mildness. The liquor was still a very pale yellow so I was worried it would be weak once again. But no, this time it packed a lot of flavor! It tasted rich and every sip a bit different; some more vegetal, others indulgently buttery, others slightly nutty. And no bitterness, even after my errantly long steep. A few minutes later I realized I had gulped it all down in record time, which caused me to sadly gaze at my empty cup hoping it would magically refill. So definitely a winner.

My first order from Teavivre came; Monday is looking up! This was less than half the price of David’s Quangzhou Milk Oolong so I wanted to see how it stacked up (as that one is my current addiction and I’m going through it way too fast!) The first part of the sip tastes like a smooth floral oolong, and then a slight sweet creaminess appears at the end of the sip. As it cools it becomes slightly richer and gains a little more milkiness. The second steep produces a rich color once again but the flavor is pretty mild and the creamy aftertaste has almost disappeared. I find this to be more of an everyday basic milk oolong with the oolong being more pronounced and the creaminess in the background, while the Quangzhou definitely tastes more indulgent and in-your-face with the creaminess. It’s still a very tasty tea and I think I’ll take it for another infusion.

I brewed this for 5 minutes as was recommended (@160F). It seems really flowery and buttery. Not sure if that’s normal for Bai Mu Dan but it’s quite pleasant.

I made a whole pot for our roleplaying group. Hope they enjoy it, and that it resteeps well.

Once again I am behind on tasting notes! I was so absorbed with tasting out my Red Leaf matcha samples and making sure I have sufficient notes for each that I’ve had about 7 other teas so far that I have yet to log, all of them new. Sigh! Well, I’ll start with this, which I am drinking right now. I made my dad Teavivre’s Yunnan Golden Tip earlier today and the smell had me really craving a Chinese black. I got a sample of these in my recent order and they seemed like just the thing.

I love how these look! They’re my first pearl-type tea that wasn’t a Jasmine, which are generally pretty smaller. These are big and chunky, I used 4 for a big cup and they unfurl into so much tea! It’s fun to watch, they start dissolving as soon as you pour water over them. And among all the black tea leaves was one stray green one—wonder how it got there?

This is a strong, malty tea with heavenly cocoa notes. It’s a bit astringent but in a pleasing way, in fact it reminds me of an Assam but lighter and with less body. It brews up a surprisingly light amber color, very pleasing, and has a light flavor to match. Not bad light, just less heavy than I expected from the heady, yeasty cocoa smell. However, it’s the most chocolatey black I’ve tried, so scrumptious! Reminds me of a bakery shop, which I think most Chinese blacks do… or maybe I just really like pastries and associate everything with them!

Water: I boiled 8oz water on the stove,then let cool for 5 minutes.

Leaves: medium size tea buds, light green & fuzzy

Steep: 2m,3m,4m,5m

Aroma: light fresh scent

Color: very pale almost clear

Taste: I decided to brew this tea again. This time using a more proper method than i did the first time around. I never thought I would be able to re-steep it soo many times yet still have a nice light flavor.

First of all, thank you so much Angel from Teavivre for the samples!

I have slowly begun to get into black tea but I am still new, so please be patient with me! This will be the first black I review.

The dry leaves were tightly wound large balls with a strong scent. I decided to do a rinse of these to loosen them up a little bit so I rinsed them for about 15 seconds.

I then gave them a 1 minute steep at about 212 degrees which unfurled a layer of the leaves partially. After the steep, the wet leaves produced a slight sweet molasses like sent. I have had a black tea that was described with a molasses taste and I did not like it, however, this was a way better smell to me. The tea was a medium gold, lighter than I was expecting and I could tell this was going to be different than I was thinking it would be like. The taste was an interesting warm flavor that carried a subtle dark chocolaty sweetness. This was a pleasant surprise! I had never taste a black quite like this one.

I decided to try to pull out more of the flavor and steeped this one for 2 minutes. This caused the last layer of leaves to unfurl completely, producing a dark gold liquid. This time the tea had more of the dry chocolate flavor with a slightly bitter after taste.

I wanted to play with the taste some more so I decided to steep it at 1:45 this time. This gave me the dark gold liquid again but more of the first steeps taste. This is definitely a tea that you can change the taste to your liking by managing the time and leaves well. I continued on to a 4th steep and could tell that it would resteep well at least one more time.

Thanks again to TeaVivre for this sample. This was my first intro to Pu’erh teas and was a great first impression. Mellow and earthy, this tea was very drinkable and steeped well at least three times. I even accidentally left the already steeped leaves in my infuser at work over night and was still able to a very nice cup of tea the next morning.

One of the best things about this tea was its mellow yet rich flavor. I found it perfect for ending a meal as it tasted great but would leave very little aftertaste when finished. My first steep time was relatively short and I have to say that I enjoyed it more the longer I steeped it, up to about 4 minutes.

This is my first tea from Teavivre that I decided to try. I must say I really enjoyed making it as well the rich red color and lovely aroma filled my kitchen. It was a bit tart tea but that didn’t bother me. I managed to get 6 cups 8oz cups of tea from the sample bag I ordered.I steeped the leaves over and it still maintained great flavor. Overall I really enjoyed it and would consider buying it again in the future.

Second Tea Log

Taste just as good from when I was first learning to brew tea, still a favorite of mine.

This is one of the better draon wells that I have tasted. It is light yellow in color with a sweet smell. The taste is also light with a vegatable like sweetness.

this blend smells just like Pineapple Kona Pop from Teavana, which I enjoy… even though it’s not anything like tea. It’s pretty much juice, delicious tart juice. Except less calories!

However, PKP is a little sour for me most days, so I was a bit worried about getting this. But with samples so cheap, how could I resist? After all, I love pineapple.

This blend is surprisingly light looking, not that ominous red you can get from hibiscus. But roselle is a bit different, right? Less tart, I think. And indeed, this doesn’t brew up very sour—it’s light and fruity, almost airy. It’s not packed full of flavor, but it’s a nice tropical drink.

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.

Sigh – I’m not sure what transit is going on overhead but it’s having a doozy of an effect on my emotional state. I’ve just been so blah lately… probably because it’s been cold and rainy too.

But whenever that happens, at least I know there’s tea to help.

I wanted something light and clean today – another sign my body is ready for a new season, I think. Luckily I had a ton of Teavivre samples at my disposal! I picked this one largely because I wanted something with similarities to teas I’d liked before, but not the exact same, you know? (Seriously – I’m usually not this ridiculous!)

But as fickle as I’m being, this managed to work out perfectly. The dry leaf looked like a mixture of sencha and dragonwell, my two favorite greens. It did smell grassy but not quite as vegetal as the senchas can sometimes be. Once steeped, the grassy note magnified in the smell and became brothy as well.

Given the savory smell, I was surprised to taste hints of plum/peach/walnuts. It was very astringent at first, not unpleasantly so, just noticeably drying on the tongue. Strangely enough that astringence has kind of gone away as it’s cooled. The fruity note is more prominent, followed by a dragonwell-esque grassy undertone. This has a slick buttery mouthfeel that really rounds out the complexity.

This is easily one of the most layered greens I’ve ever had – it somehow combines the fruit part of a dancong with the grassiness of a sencha. What an experience! I can’t wait to revisit it soon!

Very nice tea with no astringency and a very pleasant vegetal taste.
Second steep however seemed too weak for my taste.

Have I mentioned how much I really like this one? Honey-like sweetness and a mellow boldness. And this is the third steep. I’ve been drinking this one since I got home and I just don’t want to change my leaves because they just keep going and going and going.

On a side note: my french press is leaking water when I pour. It is strange and weird and causes me to lose tea. Very bad.

My old roommate from college came over and we totally had tea time several different times! This was the first tea we had. (mostly because I don’t remember which tea we had for dinner that night). She loved this one and said that she never thought that oolongs could taste as good as it did. I think I might have converted someone to the oolong side of tea!