Teavivre

Haha, my mum drank a small cup of this and said “it tastes like the last one.” Oh, if she only knew…

Sure, green teas are probably all going to have a similar base taste, but this tea was much more buttery, and less nutty.

Steeping it also had more of that vegetal smell. I don’t think I’ll ever quite like that scent. The taste though, as I said has this wonderful buttery flavour, with a touch of an extra sweetness in the aftertaste. It’s got a slight vegetal taste, but it’s pleasant and not overpowering. Didn’t take it with cream. Will do that on my next tasting. Thanks again, Angel!

There is a third problem to owning too many teas*. It’s the fact that your favorites sometimes have tendency to get buried in the cupboard, behind the trendy new teas on Steepster and the Christmas gift teas that you’ll probably never drink. Yesterday I pulled open that tea cupboard and re-arranged things randomly and this morning I’m very glad I did.

Yunnan Dian Hong Golden Tip tea was the first tea that took my imagination so far away from the tea bags that I was raised on that I knew I was on a journey for the rest of my life. Notes of toasted grain nuttiness and apricot are supported by a lovely slight cocoa base. I was lucky to run into this tea so early in my tea exploration, because it set the bar for me. This tea told me that each tea has it own story…. it helped me understand regional flavor profiles and appreciate what mouthfeel meant. It also taught me the joy of no astringency in a tea!

So I was lucky to run into this tea in my cabinet this morning….hello, old friend. It’s like no time has passed since we last met, and you are as lovely as ever.

*The first problem with owning too many teas for me is certainly budget.
*The second problem with owning too many teas for me is a sheer volume issue…how am i ever going to drink all this TEA?? 100g doesn’t sound like much but get 10 of them accumulated and….well…. if zombie apocalypse comes I’m set in tea for probably 2 years, I reckon.

I currently LOVE this tea. As I drink it, there is a free “mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….” with every sip. Smooth…. Earthy, yammy, chocolatey, raisiny, malty, grainy, stonefruity without any astringency at all. My current favorite accoutrement for this tea. Nilla Wafers. Happy me.

I really like this tea…. I mean REALLY like this tea. I’ve reviewed it previously here: http://steepster.com/Donkeytiara/posts/247989# but am drinking it again this morning, and even through my back pain, it reminds me that it is everything I think a Yunnan should be. I recently used all my bonus points for reviews on TeaVivre’s websites to buy this tea, and this cup in front of me is making me happy that I broke the bonus point piggy bank to do so. It’s creamy, it’s yammy, it’s grainy, it’s a touch raisiny…. it’s nutty goodness focuses me right in on the cup of tea, making it easy to ignore the chaos around me. It makes me happy.

There is something different about this tea…(I’m going straight in on this review, bypassing the leaves and smell, because I’m pondering live while I write this)… yes, very yam-skin (more earthy than just yam), yes some chocolate….but behind the honey smoothness of this tea is a different note that I haven’t associated with Yunnan before….there is a wonderful note of ground nuts that is settling in-between the other typically Yunan notes that makes this different than the others I’ve tried. Nuts. It’s definitely a middle note that brings that wholeness of this smooth tea together. Nuts. This tea has no astringency, which suits me on this warm morning with an empty tummy. Nuts. Or am I just…. nah, that’s too easy. Highly recommended.

Ps: because I went speeding past the leaf review, Here is a photo: http://instagram.com/p/o_br7UAnKB/

I am new to Bailin Gongfu, so this tea came as something of a surprise to me. Aside from the Lapsang Souchong, all the teas in the Teavivre black tea sampler I’ve been working through have been mellow and mild. But this tea is hearty. Somewhat earthy. For the first time, I’m understanding why people say ‘bread notes’ when describing tea. There’s some sort of vegetable it reminds me of, but for the life of me, I can’t put my finger on exactly which one. And there are other elusive flavors too. Man, this tea is complicated. Anyway, I like it, but it’s a lot to take in all at once. Maybe I’ll be able to sort out the flavors better the second time around.

I’ve been trying to use weekends as an opportunity to try more teas gong fu style. I made this one in my favorite new teapot/gaiwan. I picked it up for the equivalent of $5 US in a cheap home goods shop in Taipei. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s shaped like a gaiwan, but it has a handle and a small spout with built-in filter. I can’t decide if it’s a gaiwan-shaped teapot or a modernized gaiwan. Either way, it’s pretty and convenient and I love it.

I used approx. 3 tsp in 4 oz of water. All steeps used boiling water. I gave the leaves a 5-second initial rinse.

first steep – 1 minute
The scent here is roasty honey goodness. The flavor is toast with a hint of sweetness. There’s a dry mouthfeel after the sip, which works well with the toastiness.

second steep – 1 minute 30 seconds
This came out weaker than the first steep. Other than being weaker, it smells and tastes exactly the same.

third steep – 2 minutes
This straight up tastes like toast with honey. Mmmm.

fourth steep – 2 minutes, 30 seconds
Now it tastes like honey with toast! I love how the notes stay basically the same but their prominence changes.

This tea is great for a chilly night or rainy day. There’s a warmth here that goes beyond the temperature of the brew. It’s comforting without feeling decadent. Just don’t forget to eat actual food at some point!

The “Flavors” category on this tea’s page lists caramel, cream, mineral, and espresso. I have no idea what folks are talking about. I am not picking up on any of those flavors. Instead, I’m getting honey and roasted rice. The brew is even a light honey color. The first steep reminded me of genmaicha because the roastiness was so dominant. Subsequent steeps were sweeter. Four steeps in all, made western style. Loads of honey goodness. I wonder why my experience of it is so different from everyone else’s. I know tastes differ, but this is a pretty substantial difference. Hmm.

I had this tea two days ago and never left a review. I definitely picked up the chocolate notes in the dry and brewed. It did have that slightly smokey pu-erh taste. Somehow nothing stood out with the taste but I’m still new to pu-erh teas. I think this tea deserves another chance before I rate it as I was pretty distracted on the day I had it and never noticed if there was any change in my cha qi either.

I tried this tea years ago and gave it a high score of 97. It’s been a few years later and I am asking myself – Why wasn’t I ordering this tea every year????. This 2017 tea is just as amazing as it was then. From now on this tea is on my green tea list to order every year.
And I give it 100. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

When I opened my sample pack of this tea and smelled it : HEAVEN. I don’t know really how to describe the scent. It’s like rich sweet nutty grass in a forest. Brewed it still has the same scent but sweet buttery, nutty smoothness . It goes perfectly with the song playing on my Itunes right now: Lovers – from the House of Flying Daggers soundtrack.

This is one tea I will definitely have to have once my samples are gone.

Backlog:

LOVE!

Some time ago, in the forums, I commented on the thread that asked what Dragonwell people were going to get this spring. This is one that I recommended. It’s an OUTSTANDING dragonwell.

Then again, you can’t really go wrong with Teavivre.

This is a very fresh Dragon Well, and it’s a freshness that can be tasted. Sweet, mild, fresh, pure, clean, nutty and buttery are all words that come to mind when I sipped this tea. It’s an invigorating and refreshing green tea.

A delightful chestnut flavor with a hint of steamed veggies. As I continued to sip, I could pick up on some apple-like flavors. Savory notes toward mid-sip: a little salty. A really, really good Dragonwell!

here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/04/21/organic-nonpareil-qian-dragon-well-long-jing-green-tea-teavivre/

These lovely green leaves really are huge, and the large flat leaves fill the sample packet from end to end.
They do not seem to expand a lot more once brewed, but do become so soft and velvety, and have a soft vegetal scent with a hint of corn silk and perhaps tender green beans.

Brewed color is a clear yellowish hue, and smells sweet and buttery.
Taste is gentle and smooth, and has a sweet creaminess with the mild notes of green beans and corn. So deliciously sweet!!

I like very much, and thank you Angel & Teavivre, for sending this beautiful tea for me to try.

Backlog from yesterday…

My mum needed a tea for indigestion, and some quick research showed green tea was my best bet. So, I steeped the last leaf from the first packet I had. (I’ve got two more packets, don’t worry!)

For her cup I made it with a very small bit of cream and two and a half teaspoons of sugar, since she likes her coffee and tea sweet.

For my cup, as I had already drank it creamy yesterday, (my previous note) I took it with no cream and 3 teaspoons instead of 2.5, just to see what flavours would come out with the added sweetness.

It had a fantastically smooth, sweet, grassy taste. I loved it, and am glad to have plenty left over. Now onto the next green tea in the lineup! :)

My teeeeeeeeaaaaaaa haaaaaaassssssss arriiiiiiiiived! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Thank you Angel for these generous samples! All greens, and I wasn’t sure where to start, so I just picked one and went with it.

The smell of green tea usually bothers me. It always smells vegetal and I honestly don’t like that smell much. The scent was stronger steeping than it was dry, but I reminded myself that the scent doesn’t always mean that it will taste that way—and it didn’t!

I’m sipping it now as I type, actually, to ensure the flavours and feelings stay in my head. It does have a touch of the vegetal taste, but not the way the scent suggested. It is sweet and floral, and has a nutty taste—not too strong, and not bitter in any way. There is also a buttery mouth feel, and, since I added cream, it has a creamy taste and I love it.

It’s very light and yummy, and I’m really enjoying this. I have one more cupful in my teapot, so I’m off to finish this!

Second Cup Update

For my second cup I used less sugar and cream, and I just wanted to note that the nutty flavour is much more apparent now. I still love it, which surprises me, because “earthy” flavours usually are not my favourite. This tea is so good, it makes me so happy!

Still working on these pearls that I ordered so long ago. On the plus side, they keep their flavor well. I’ve never gotten over the fact that they’re not as peachy as the batch I first ordered; I guess I was in the minority of people who liked them that way, because most of the reviewers wanted the balance tipped in favor of the jasmine and were probably glad when the recipe was changed.

Anyway, I still enjoy this once in awhile but it’s not the favorite it used to be.

So excited to have won a tea sampler from TeaVivre! These peach jasmine pearls are the last Teavivre tea I have in the house, so I’m really looking forward to having a few more :) Especially the Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea, that is such an interesting one.

I’m several cups into this bag now and still not getting the faintest whiff of peach. I don’t know if I just got a bad batch or if they changed the recipe? Too bad though, because the bag I had previously was soooooo amazing. So peachy! So refreshing! Not sure what happened with this one . . .

Just got a new batch of this from Teavivre. The jasmine seems a lot stronger (and the peach a lot weaker) than last time, so much so that they are about equal now, with the peach taking just a little bit of a back seat. I think most people will be happy about this, as the general complaint was that you had to buy a separate bag of jasmine pearls and add them in to get any jasmine at all. But since I adored the peach and feel kind of meh about jasmine, I’m not thrilled.

Sipdown. This is my favorite peach tea ever and I am not happy to be left staring at the bottom of an empty tin. Must replace this right away.

This tea smells so peachy keen, I was expecting to be hit with a blast of flavor. But it’s actually a very subtle tea. I couldn’t taste much till I added a bit of raw sugar, and then the peach came alive. Still subtle, but in a delightful way. The jasmine is even more in the background, but it rounds out the peach flavor nicely.

As to appearance, these pearls are huge! Even bigger than Teavivre’s plain jasmine pearls. The size actually makes them a bit tricky to measure. Do people just count them out? I used 10, which filled a teaspoon more or less. It seemed in the ballpark of correct, but maybe 1 or 2 more pearls would have been nice.

I went to the hospital this morning, and I saw great beauty.

There was an older man sitting next to me in the waiting room. He told me he had a brain tumour and only 6 months to live.

I asked what were his plans for the next 6 months. With tears in his eyes, he pointed at the little boy next to him, his grandson. His daughter was also there. He told me he was going to spend as much time as possible with them.

Then the little boy, (three years old) got up, gently took his grandpa’s face between his two miniature hands and stared. He said with a big smile on his face: «Don’t be sad Pappy, all the pain is gone…»

I cried. His daughter cried. Then we all looked at the little boy, and laughed. It was one of those moments where you can’t help reflect on your own life. It was special. That little boy will be forever in my heart and so will be the old man.

When I got home, I was exhausted, but grateful. Grateful to have time in front of me to love and cherish those who are important to me.

I chose to dink this tea for its beauty and purity.

It’s clean, and it gives me some peace and quiet inside. It’s very sweet, brothy and slightly vegetal. It’s milky in a rice milk kind of way. It’s soothing. It’s what I need.

I don’t have much else to say, just thought I’d share this beautiful story with you all :-)

I only had a sample of this but it’s taken forever for me to finish it off. This is mostly because, like any quality lapsang souchong, it smells dreadful. Even though I know this, senses tend to trump logic — I would get a whiff of the tin and think, “Hell no, I can’t possibly get this down.”

The other thing is, once steeped, it was nearly impossible to get the souchong flavor out of the steeper, and I’d still be tasting it three cups later. I finally smartened up and steeped it in the little metal tea ball, which also gave the flavor some restraint, since the leaves couldn’t float around much. There is such a thing as too much smokiness.

I would recommend this tea to the die-hard enthusiast, the Steepsterite who wants a really authentic Lapsang Souchong experience, but all in all I am happier with tamer tea.

I was apprehensive about this tea because the dry leaf smells dreadful. I read somewhere that the leaves are sometimes smoked over pine tar rather than pine wood, and I wonder if that’s the case for this one, because it smells like pine tar. With heavy emphasis on the tar, and not much on the pine.

That said, most lapsang souchongs taste better than they smell, in my opinion, so I forged ahead.

When I first sipped it, I didn’t like it, though it definitely tasted better than it smelled. Now that it’s cooled a bit, it tastes nicer, sweeter and more mellow. There’s still a faint note of something that just doesn’t appeal to me though.

I have a feeling that this tea might just be too authentic for my sheltered American tastes. I’ve never really been into lapsang souchongs, but of those I’ve tried, I liked David’s the best. It was recognizably smoky, but still on the mild side.