Teavivre

I received three packets of this tea from Angel! I have never heard of this green tea before by this name. Upon opening it up, there were fine, slightly downy, fuzzy, vertically curled up leaves. They were a nice light green-yellow in color. The liquid was a pale yellow. The leaves smelled a little smokey and vegetal. The liquid was a light, buttery, slightly malty in taste. Delicious! It wasn’t bitter or astringent. Good cup!

When I think of nonpareil, I think of sno-caps….those little chocolate candies you get at the movies that have the white beady-balls on one side. With this tea, the similarity isn’t very far off with the chocolate note, but this simplistic comparison needs to end here, because this is one complex tea!
The dry leaf had a chocolate and woodsy note that was surprising when expecting a usual Dian Hong (or at least something like it!) After a 5 minutes steep western-style, the liquid was a beautiful golden amber color, not the mahogany I was expecting after smelling the leaf! This tea smells organic….and what I mean by organic is “of the earth”. The taste was also very organic with a dark woodsy note coming to the forefront, then warm hay, wheat….then cocoa, flowers, and a touch of parched earth. It certainly doesn’t taste like any other teas I’ve had before! There is also a slight astringency, that makes you want another sip…and another, and another…..
(5 minutes later)
Now that I’ve had some time over this cup to change my expectations (from Dian Hong to the unexpected), I can understand why this is a considered to be a coveted tea. Reminiscent of Bailin Gongfu, this is a deep, rich, multi-layered tea. The bottom and mid-notes of dark wood, earth, chocolate and hay marry well with the floral and wheat top notes. It almost seems like a “Man’s tea” …. A great deep flavored cuppa for sitting on a small fishing boat on an early chilly foggy morning, not being in any kind of hurry for the fish to bite. Nonpariel Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea is an unusual, extraordinary cup for when you’re craving the unusual, extraordinary places that a cup of tea can take us. Recommended!

i loved this tea….. very refined, very…… graceful?

has an emerald essence. light green, no nuttiness, also no marine! very clean, very deep without imposing.

no sugar necessary.

thank you angel! sorry i’m so behind in my reviews…. so much schoolwork!!!!

Had this twice now, thought I reviewed it already but maybe I reviewed the wrong tea or something, hah. Oh well.

What a unique looking tea! Flat, crisp green leaves. Huge! Like nothing I’d ever seen before.

Vegetal for sure, but it wasn’t off putting, even though I don’t necessarily love drinking spinachy green teas. It is very fresh tasting, nice and light for this time of year.

I enjoyed both cups I drank from this packet!

Thank you to Angel at Teavivre for the sample of this tea! It was a different green tea experience.

I’ve got a major wishlist started for a teavivre, though I don’t think it will include any green teas.

Queued post, written May 8th 2014

I think this one came out of one of the EU TTB rounds, because it has no number on it. It is also possible I received it in a swap and the number has fallen off. I could also have had it left over from the last time I had a Teavivre order, but that was so long ago that I find this unlikely, especially with it being a Fujian black.

There aren’t really any surprises in this cup. It smells Fujian-y and it tastes Fujian-y. (Therefore, by definition, very good indeed.) The aroma is wood-y, grainy, and cocoa-y, sometimes with a bit of something more toffee-y or honey-y mixed in.

The flavour is quite strong on the wooden note, followed by the grainy note. The cocoa comes when I swallow and then a surprise happens. On the swallow, this tea develops an unusual astringency that I’m not at all used to finding in Chinese blacks. Perhaps I used too much leaf? This seems difficult to understand because I made a large pot to share with Husband, and I only had a 7g sample. Interesting. It must be a naturally very strong tea. It certainly has a LOT of flavour.

Angel was incredible enough to send me a sample of this for me to try. This might be one of the most unique teas that i’ve had recently. I love the way these leaves look. They’re like flat pressed seaweed or something. You can even see the lines of the leaves. it’s just really neat to look at. drinking this, it’s also a unique taste. I don’t get the same vegetal taste from a lot of greens. Instead this has a sweetness to it. It’s fresh and really nice, but i can’t place my finger on the taste. i still prefer the dragonwell from teavivre, but this is a really neat tea to have tried. I feel like this would be a good tea for anyone who really like greens.

My last day of spring break, and I am staring out into the darkness outside my window, pondering tea. Of course. Fujian teas, to be exact. I started by exploration of Fujian teas with TeaVivre’s Bailin Gongfu. It’s bold flavor profile left no question in my mind what notes I should find in a Fujian black tea. This morning I am warming my hands around a mug (not so delicate, I know, but I’m greedy with tea that way) of Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu from TeaVivre and thanks to Bailin Gongfu, appreciating the delicate subtleties of this tea.

The first thing is the dry leaves! They’re sooooo scrawny! Ok, in tea language you wouldn’t normally say scrawny, you’d probably use the word “superfine”….but these are weensy refined long scribbles of tea leaves. Superfine. Wet in the mug they’re not much bigger, but the smell of Fujian Black tea rises up to meet my now happy nose and they seem much bigger…… I adore the raisin note that these Fujian teas present, and this Tan Yang Gong Fu brings it in a tender and aromatic way….which is very different than the “in your face” raisin note of Bailin Gongfu. Other notes follow in quietly and gracefully: yam skin, toasted grain, a touch of rye/cannabis and a touch of molasses. The debate with this tea is whether there is a note of “grass” involved. I think there is, but it is not unpleasant nor obvious. It’s just a hint of drying hay that sits almost as a floral note at the top of the flavor profile.

Everything about this tea is truly “superfine”, from the delicate dry tea leaves to the tender notes that tell the story of this Fujian black tea in the cup. Refined, graceful and gentle to the palate, even in it’s complexity, this Tan Yang Gong Fu is just plain lovely.

Southern California summers (which are 9 months long if we’re lucky enough to get a “winter” that seems more like a rainy mild fall to most folks from elsewhere) are enough to kill off any avid black tea drinkers desire to live. It’s hot. I know that many in warm climes there are cultures that thrive on hot tea, but at this, sometimes I’m a failure. The black teas just seems too…..too cloying. (that’s kind of like a granny word, isn’t it? :) ) Too heavy. Too much. I recently fell in love with Teavivre’s Bailin Gong Fu and knew it would be a short lived love affair, with the scalding desert winds only a month away….

Oh Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu by Teavivre, you are the most welcomed cousin of my cold weather friend!! I am sitting here with a cup, and like so many other reviewers, I looked down and there is nary a drop left…. this is an extraordinarily wonderful tea that takes the gorgeous flavor profile of Gong Fu teas and “summer-izes” it without compromise. The mouthfeel is lighter, the flavors of yam, grains and malt are less intense….and there is a summery note of warmed alfalfa here that rounds out the flavors to make a light but completely fulfilling mouthful of tea. If you are ordering from Teavivre this summer, ask for a sample of this…. the hot, heavy, scorching days of summer shall not conquer my desire for gong fu teas, even during teatime with my outdoor cats. The word Superfine says it all!

Ps: yes, tea with my cats: http://instagram.com/p/n16qIwgnLu/ It is a tea ritual here on my days off.

Sipdown of this one from MissB!

Very enjoyable yesterday morning. Not overly chocolatey to my tastebuds but it had a nice silky thick mouthfeel.

Maybe I will buy some one day!

Thanks again, MissB :)

A sample from Miss B, I’d been wanting to try this one based on all the reviews!

I have never had any tea in pearl form before, so it was pretty neat to watch them unfurl. Times like this I wish I had a clear glass teapot!

I was expecting more chocolate from this tea, I found it tasty, different from other black teas I’ve tried. I didn’t notice any cocoa notes and no fruity notes, but I found it to be mildly earthy in a pleasant way, not like a pu’erh. I have no idea what leather tastes like but that actually might be a description that makes sense, since I can’t quite put my finger on anything else.

I used three pearls and have three left to try again!

Thanks Bonny!

My goodness.

This is a sample I had chosen with my last Teavivre order, and one I will definitely be purchasing next time.

It’s incredibly flavorful, malty, raisiny, and BREADY. Mmmmmm, bread tea!

I steeped Western style as per my norm, and did two steeps per half of the sample bag. It is NOT a disappointing tea!

It’s so flavourful and clean tasting. Not sure how better to describe that. It’s a bright, juicy, delicious cup of tea.

WISHLISTED!

T&C TTB Tea #14 Backlog May 26

Yum yum.
I really enjoyed this one. Super malty and bready. It reminded me of when I was a kid and I used to sniff beer cans….I should clarify that. My parents didn’t drink so I wasn’t often around people drinking beer, but once in a while, when I was, I loved the smell of it! So I used to go around sniffing empty beer cans. One time my uncle offered me a taste and it did NOT taste like it smelled. sadness.

This tea tasted much better than that!

It brewed up pretty light in colour but not in flavour.

I kept it!

(3 min @92 degrees)

The second jewel of my Teavivre Black Tea Triple Crown. While the cocoa is not as pronounced as in Black Pearl it is present and provides a soothing, smooth cup with a softer touch. Very nice tea and is one of my go to teas.

My dwindling stock continues to provide a fantastic, cocoa infused cup of calm that is delicious. Steeping 6 good sized pearls with boiling water at 2, 2.5 and 3 minutes yields three enjoyable experiences with some variation in presence of the cocoa taste. Enjoying my last cups of the harvest of 2013. What a great tea.

I have removed all sense of rationing these magic pearls as my order is in and soon to ship. I will leave my rating where previously set and await the new harvest.

As the shipment of the new harvest approaches I hope that the 2015 harvest rises to, or dare I say exceeds, the quality of the harvest of 2013. Hope springs eternal :)

The tea that began my introduction to loose tea continues to be one of my favorites and while nostalgia certainly plays a part, the sublime taste of this tea is one to behold.

Warm notes of cocoa permeate the richly colored liquid. While I sit back and enjoy, I remind myself that my current inventory of the pearls continues to dwindle as I await TeaVivre’s successful location of dragon pearls that meet their quality standards.

The first crown of my Triple Crown of black tea. Smooth and full of flavor it is a cup that I can enjoy at any time of the day. It is simply a wonderful black tea.

With my 16 ounce infuser and 6-8 balls (dependent upon size), I start at 185F/85C for 2:45 and increase the temperature for progressive steeps and find very nice cups through 3 steeps with the third being at 200F/93C.

Another Tai Ping Hou Kui, thank you to Angel & Teavivre.
I had initially planned to compare this one to the Premium version, but that didn’t happen. I’ve been so busy lately, really too busy to think about writing tea reviews. For a few weeks I was digging up sweet potatoes (7 different varieties, all curing in various locations, mostly my sunroom), and planting garlics, shallots, and multiplier onions, and other fall stuff.
Now my primary activity is practicing several hours a day, in preparation for several concerts I have coming up, pretty much a different concert every week with a different local orchestra. Last sunday it was Resphigi’s ancient Airs & dances II. This coming sunday it’s The Planets by Holst and the Star Wars Movie soundtrack! Next weekend it’s Pictures at an Exhibition (which I’m playing again with a different group in Dec). Then I have 5 pieces for a concert with the St. Louis Wind Orchestra, followed a week later by 3 performances of the Nutcracker complete with ballet! Then another orchestra concert in Dec, with The Blue Danube Waltz! Then a bunch of xmas gigs!

So I deserve a break with this beautiful green tea! I can’t really give a comparison to the other one… visually, the leaves of this version are more delicate, but they both share the beautiful long leaved presentation that makes this tea have such a wonderful visual appeal.

Tastewise, if it is possible, this one is even sweeter, smoother, and more creamy/buttery. There is a thick sensation, and tastes of pumpkin seed, honeydew melon, kelp, & mineral.

I used to have quite a few green teas in my collection, but lately it’s been narrowed down to 2: this one, and some matcha. Both will most likely be a sip downs next month, and I probably won’t restock until spring.

I just realized this post has been sitting on my desktop since yesterday! Oh well, here it is!

This really is a lovely lovely green tea, such beautiful presentation, and a sweet gentle taste: honeydew melon, asparagus, pumpkin seed, and maybe a little minerally seaweed. I’ve tried a variety of steeping methods with it, and today I dropped 15 fronds into a clear glass cup, and am just letting them float in there and sipping around them, adding more water as needed (176F).

I’m not going to go into a long review, since steepster is on the fritz anyway, but I wanted to acknowledge this beautiful tea, which has a rich flavor of melon, asparagus, pumpkin seed, & the color yellow. I originally tried it as part of the green tea sampler sent to me by the wonderful Angel, & although I rarely purchase green teas, I did buy some of this one.

I’d like to start out by thanking Angel & Teavivre for this wonderful sample. This is the most amazing looking green tea, absolutely beautiful. It looks like fronds of some exotic sea veggie, with iridescent shades of green that I can’t even begin to describe. Dried & pressed into long bud sets, averagine 2 to 2.5 inches long! It’s so beautiful that I took pics & posted them on my FB, for those who might like to see.
https://www.facebook.com/terri.langerak
The dry aroma is rich, thick, & buttery. I rehydrated single frond, just so I could watch it unfurl alone, & take photos of it. I gave the entire 5 G sample 1 minute at 180F in my test tube steeper, & the resulting liquor was a pale apricot color, with a sweet, thick, & buttery green taste, delicate & refined.
2min: still rich & buttery, with a yellow taste, bring to mind yellow flowers. As I continue with this cup I also taste saffron & pumpkin seeds.
3min: a little tangy-er, fruity like apricot, but also savory like buttered asparagus. Slightly astringent, slightly bitter.
4min: sweet melon/pumpkin taste.

I received this tea as a free sample from Teavivre. Thanks again Angel! You rock!

This tea isn’t on the Teavivre site, so I’m not sure what that means. As of yet, I am still experimenting to get the steeping parameters right, but I can already tell it’s going to be very fresh, sweet, and rather buttery. Will try to remember to report back once I have the parameters nailed down!

Thanks to Angel at Teavivire for another round of samples!
This tea is delicious, I wasn’t sure what to expect as a red tea, but I quite enjoyed it.
I found floral, sweet, and tiny cocoa notes to be present.
I will try resteeping next time and see how it stands up to that.

I am not sure if I brewed this incorrectly, but I found it very vegetal and all I could think of was seaweed. I must have done something wrong, because some of the notes mention sweetness. I found no sweetness in this cup.
I will not rate this at present, because I will try it again later and determine a better opinion of this tea.
I probably oversteeped because these leaves are HUGE!