Teavivre

Mmm, the dry leaf smells like straight up chocolate. I’ve never smelled a tea that resembles chocolate so incredibly closely. Brewed the liquor is unfortunately not as chocolatey, but lovely nonetheless. A little yam, a bit of sweetness and some wheat or baked bread. The bread notes really stay on your tongue. It’s really delicious, and making me crave my favorite Canadian Black Bread. I think I’m going to have to go make some so I can enjoy it with the rest of this delicious tea.
Teavivre recommends brewing at only 194/90º, but I used boiling water it it turned out perfectly.

Thanks Cameron B for the sample.
I’ve really been on a black tea kick the last couple days. Good thing Cameron sent me a bunch of yummy blacks! Ooh, and, guess who got an A in her Managerial Accounting class. This girl! I’m so happy, I really needed the A. I did not do so hot Spring semester, and it pulled my GPA down from 3.5 to 3.28. So, this should boost it to at least a 3.3. So of course so celebrated a wanted a good chocolately black, and this beckoned to me.

The pearls of this are so huge! I think it’s my first black pearl, and they’re so much bigger than the green dragon pearls I’ve had. This is one I really regret not steeping in my glass french press because holy expansion! I love watching leaves expand, I’m easily entertained.

I steeped all 5 pearls in 8oz of boiling water for 1 minute, and the result was a medium bodied, cocoay and malty cuppa, but theres also some woodsy taste, and leather? Mixed with the cocoa and malt, it adds depth and interest. Yummy, this is good. Second steep at 3 minutes was more full bodied, a little more cocoa, and I that note that I think you guys call Autumn leaf pile? My cup seems to keep emptying on me, I don’t understand (;

Thanks to Angel from Teavivre for the sample!

I COMPLETELY forgot I already drank this. Ah well, two months ago. Different experience now.

Gongfu with gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times (16): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 10, 20, 20, 30, 30, 60, 120.

The dry aroma reminds me of an an evergreen forest, ground coated with layers of needles. The wet aroma smells more like wood, which changes to bread as the infusions increase. The broth is burnt orange, then black coffee. A texture so smooth that’s suave and soothing. Full-bodied.

The ball really starts to roll at the fourth infusion. A bold leather note. Light smoke underneath. Sweet. Slightly peppery aftertaste that sticks to the back of the throat. At the fifth, I feel tea drunk! Even though I had food. This shou can sure be heavy – that’s what I get for dumping all 10 grams into the gaiwan. At the tenth infusion and beyond, the heaviness in the feel of the broth declines. Tastes woody. No spice. Overall, milder or gentler. A bit sweeter, hard candy-like.

From the Unflavored TTB.

No yixing teapot of my own, so ceramic it is! 5 second rinse. Steeping times: 10, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 120.

I’m inexperienced with shu pu-erh. So what did I get? Mostly EARTH. All around. The wet leaf aroma, however, also contained gentle notes of plums and grapes. Such a lovely combination! I kept sticking my nose into the bowl.

At first the color of the liquor was copper, which then deepened to dark orange. The intensity of the flavor throughout the session was basically shaped like a percentile graph. The first infusion was light-bodied and a little astringent, and the earth was muted. The second and third infusions were more developed: full-bodied, flavorful with coffee and bitter notes. These notes in subsequent infusions became softer, and inevitably weakened.

I like this. I wish I were more experienced to get more than just earth and coffee. Also, I think I prefer shu to sheng (is that weird?). Mostly for the taste, but especially for the effect. As soon as I finished the first infusion I felt as if this tea were giving me a hug. And then halfway through the session I felt serene yet energetic. Every time I heard the water boil for the next infusion I ran to the sauce pan like a puppy.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee I like teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea”

Not sure what is wrong with me. All those teas out there that people say are smokey – or have a little smoke. I don’t normally find the smoke.
This one shouldn’t be smokey, didn’t see any mention of smoke in the reviews….
I’m not enjoying this today, too smokey. All I’m getting is smoke…. weird ….

I’m glad I ordered a full ounce of this and probably should have gotten more since my son has decided that he favors it too (here’s hoping he doesn’t swipe it when he heads back to college next week). The dry leaves had malt overtones, which came out even more in the brew. There were also floral notes, some smoke, and, oddly, I thought I detected a certain saltiness in the aftertaste. I’ll have to brew it again to see if I was imagining that. Next time will be in a gaiwan because I think this will reveal very different characteristics over several shorter steeps. Really lovely soft mouth feel and an all-around fine tea.

I’ve been working my way through the greenest-looking oolong samples in my possession, and next up was Teavivre’s Dong Ding from Taiwan. According to The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea, this oolong is closely related to TGY, and I have to agree. Legend has it that the Fujian province TGY came first, but no one seems to be sure.

The liquor is yellow with a tinge of green, and the gnarled knots unfurl completely by the second infusion to reveal leaf sets which look to consist of two leaves and a bud. The darkish green color of the infused leaves glistens , making them seem as though they were still alive—just plucked and in perfect condition.

The flavor is floral and creamy lemon—but only very subtly so. There is no citric tartness whatsoever here, and the texture is smooth. I drank four infusions—each batch becoming brighter yellow than the previous—before bidding farewell to these lovely leaves.

(7/30/14)

The leaves here are unique, shades of purple, hints of orange. Since Darjeeling is from India, I think this is China’s answer to that type of tea, but of course it can not be called Darjeeling. Everything about it reminds me of a Darjeeling, so I’m not sure why this is called an oolong. I used two teaspoons of these lovely leaves…

Steep #1 // 20 min after boiling // rinse // 1 min
Juicy like a fruit, succulent comes to mind which is a word I don’t usually use, light, honey, sweet, autumn leaves, a hint of muscatel. A lighter Darjeeling type.

Steep #2 // 20 min after boiling // 2 min
Another very smooth cup – honey like! It doesn’t seem as flavorful as the first steep. Not as a tough as a typical Darjeeling but I kind of like if for that. I probably could have used more than two teaspoons. I hate to keep comparing it to Darjeeling, but I imagine most people have tried more Darjeeling than these Beauties.

Steep #3 // 20 min after boiling // 2 1/2 min
Yet another smooth cup – no bitterness. More autumn leaf lite. It’s almost more like one of those Kenya white teas like White Rhino from Butiki. Very nice, but I’ll have to try it with more leaves next time. I’d say the first cup was the most complex.

Star Trek sample time. This smells so good, very sweet and malty. There is a similar flavour, with some hints of yams (subtle.) Delicious, and glad I decided to try it. Now for another cup, and more adventures with the Enterprise.

I’m not sure if I had great expectations for this tea, but I was definitely looking forward to trying it. As soon as I poured the hot water in my mug, the aroma of sweet potatoes filled the air. The taste even surprised me more. There was more honey than I expected. And though it was slightly malty there was that hint of earthiness in the back of your throat when you swallow. I don’t know what to think of the earthiness to be honest. Besides that this tea is a winner!
It’s not a horrible earthy taste…I don’t know what to think just yet. But glad I tried it!

I am so happy to have scored a big pouch of this Teavivre Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” at the BF sale! I just brewed up a sample pack in anticipation. I used very cool water this time—only 75C—in part because I just wasn’t paying attention. Usually I would brew a greenish oolong at 79C.

The result was wonderful—or I should say is, since the leaves have only barely begun to unfurl, so I’ll be reinfusing two or three more times this evening. The liquor is bright light green and the texture super smooth and tasty. This tea is an excellent example of why people market oolong as a weight loss aid. Who needs calories when one can imbibe this luscious stuff?

The dark green gnarled nuggets of Teavivre Ti Guan Yin Iron Goddess reminded me of a couple of milk oolongs I’ve tried recently—both in appearance and scent, so I was naturally looking forward to a scrumptious pot. The liquor brewed golden yellow, and the taste was much less creamy than Milk Oolong, but still very smooth. Initially I thought that I preferred the Iron Goddess to the Monkey Picked Ma Liu Mie, but then I changed my mind.

I noticed the difference in texture especially in the second infusion. Still, this Iron Goddess tastes good. I probably need to drink some more of these oolongs before I can decide which ones I need to stock…

(7/29/14)

I brewed these dark green nuggets of Teavivre Anxi Monkey Picked Ma Liu Mie Oolong side-by-side next to the Iron Goddess TGY, using the same water temperature, number of grams, steep time, and volume of water. The nuggets look very similar. I managed to do a blind comparison, because I had poured my 7 gram packets into small clamp jars and affixed the labels to the bottom. Then I shuffled them until I forgot which one was which. After the test, I looked at the labels to see which was which…

The Anxi Monkey Picked oolong nuggets may be a bit smaller and darker, but they are very close in size to the Iron Goddess. The first notable difference emerged upon infusion. The liquor for this tea was quite a bit lighter and more green. I was afraid that I may have understeeped. Then when I tasted the two teas, I immediately found that the Iron Goddess had a more robust flavor. At first I thought that I preferred the Iron Goddess to the Monkey Picked, but then when I took another couple of sips, I changed my mind!

This tea ended up having a slightly richer texture, though I do think that the flavors are quite similar.

(7/29/14)

I’ve certainly imbibed my share of Keemun tea over the course of my life—but generally in disguise. I do not recall ever seeking out to buy Keemun, but this tea appears to be a major component in many English Breakfast blends. In fact, in memory serves, the current Harney & Son English Breakfast sachet contains only Keemun! That probably explains why the dried leaves looked and smelled so familiar to me. The leaves are quite a bit smaller than the full leaf blacks I’ve tested of late. In fact, by both looks and taste of the dark amber brew, I’d say that this tea—or reasonable facsimile—may also be the base of many a fine flavored blend.

The flavor does not immediately recall English Breakfast tea to my mind, probably because of the absence of Assam, which generally contributes the maltiness in most orthodox English Breakfast blends. (My understanding is that there is also a lot of Assamica out there—not produced in the Assam region of India, but using similar strains and growing and production techniques.) Nonetheless, by force of habit, I ended up splashing this glass with a bit of half and half, and then I felt as though I had reunited with an old friend.

I probably won’t be stocking this tea. It’s good, but it’s not new to me, and I’m focusing on broadening my horizons rather than seeking refuge in the comfort and safety of familiarity.

A good tea, though, for black tea lovers, and anyone who drinks flavored blends!

(7/29/14)

Another new and delicious China black tea for me, the dried leaves of Yun Nan Diang Hong are probably the biggest I’ve ever seen for black tea: long and twisted, with nearly an equal number of tan as dark chocolate brown pieces. The scent is quite rich and seems to be closer to Golden Monkey than, say, to Congou. Also closer to Bailin Gongfu, which seemed to me to be related to Golden Monkey somehow as well… Golden Monkey is the sweetest, most caramelly of the three, but they all have a rich and decadent, foody quality.

The liquor brewed up orange amber, and there was so much color to the remaining drops in the glass pot, that I recognized that the apparently spent leaves were still literally oozing with flavor. A second infusion confirmed that this tea, like Golden Monkey, produces an enjoyable second glass—in fact, nearly as good as the first.

I had been focusing mainly on Teavivre’s green tea offerings, but now I see that there is just as much new terrain to be covered among the black teas! I’ll definitely be stocking a supply of this excellent tea. I noticed at the website that there are three different versions. This one is a winner for sure!

(7/29/14)

Oh my goodness! This one is special! I’m so sad I only have one tiny sample pack!

The front of the sip is malty and sweet and rich, but the back of the sip has a long lingering dark stone fruity aftertaste on the back of my tongue, almost like a Dancong oolong or a sheng puerh. It’s crazy! So good! I wish I had gotten one of the free $10 gift cards so I could order more. Very unique :)

I also remember really liking one of TeaVivre’s Fenqging shengs, so perhaps I’m just in love with teas from there?