Teavivre

Having already exhausted my large supply of this excellent tea, I was delighted to find a sample among my travel stash! I’ll definitely be ordering this high-quality green once again…

A medium-sized (two glass) tetsubin of Teavivre Bi Luo Chun was my first tea of the day, to accompany my first meal of the day (MOD): toasted banana bread slathered with butter. I don’t eat breakfast, chronologically speaking, because I nearly never consume any food before noon, but this sounded good, so I ate it at 1pm.

The Bi Luo Chun was a perfect choice: smooth, subtle, light. Just right. This green tea is so tender that it could almost be white!

While preparing today’s first POD (pot of the day), Teavivre Bi Luo Chun, I noticed that the coiled leaves are quite multifarious in color and parts of them shimmer, as though they were woven of silk.

I brewed a large pot today, using a full sample portion (not sure how many grams…). The resultant liquor was pale yellow, as before, but the flavor seemed richer and sweeter than I recalled this tea having been. I imbibed today’s three glasses right after my first MOD (meal of the day): toasted raisin bread with butter. A good combination!

This is a subtle tea, that’s right, full of subtlety! ;-) I am becoming accustomed to and even growing fond of this very gentile green tea, which until recently I had never even heard of. If green teas were people, then Bi Luo Chun would have to be the one who graduated from white gloves and party manners. Bi Luo Chun knows how to set a proper table, with the forks and knives and spoons all in the right place. Bi Luo Chun never fails to write polite thank you notes.

Or perhaps we could compare teas to genres of music. Bu Luo Chun is strictly classical—no heavy metal or rap or rock ballades here…

I received two generous samples of Bi Luo Chun from Teavivre (thanks!), and I just brewed up a nice-sized pot. I’m not really sure what the dose of this tea should be, as it is extremely light and airy, filled with spaces. It almost seems weightless! I ended up using about three teaspoons for the pot, but I’m not sure whether the samples are supposed to be measured as pot portions. Perhaps Angel could weigh in? ;-)

Anyway, this was my second experience with a Bi Luo Chun tea, the first having been one from Tealux. So now I know: this tea has a very subtle flavor, not at all vegetal, but still tasty and thirst-quenching. I like the comparison to flaky pastry, except that the texture and flavor are not at all buttery to me. Bi Luo Chun strikes me as a very neutral tea, which would work well as an accompaniment to any meal—or dessert!

I love this stuff so much. So crisp and refreshing even in the hot Florida sun. Every day when i wake up I brew this in my gaiwan and have around 4-5 infusions. After you drink it you feel amazing. It leaves your mouth feeling fresh and clean, and your mind feeling totally awakened and ready to take on anything. my brewing times for four steeps would be…. 20 seconds 40 seconds 60 seconds 80 seconds. I use a good size pinch of tea and the water is 175 degrees F. Enjoy!

I prepared this tea Western style in a small teapot due to time constraints this morning.

First impression – chocolate forward! My first sip was all chocolatey goodness, which surprised me a bit. It’s lightly malty, which is a good match for the chocolate flavor. The aroma of the liquor is like a heavy version of what you expect of a Yunnan Golden Tip. Almost like the aroma is weighted down with something more complex.

One thing I like to do with a tea is close my eyes, take in the aroma, and sip it a bit while allowing my mind to wander (I like to think of it as my medi-tea-tion). Many teas take me places in my imagination, and I allow the tea to tell me where that place is. This tea takes me to a forest in winter covered in dry snow. It is comforting in the abandoned place and a perfect complement to the experience.

When I have a free morning, I’ll be excited to try this tea again Gong Fu style to see what flavor subtleties I can squeeze out. Thanks again to TeaVivre for the selection of samples!

Check out TeaVivre’s Spring Tea Giveaway!

http://www.teavivre.com/spring-tea/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=%28firstname%2Cfallback%3DCustomer%29%2C+Join+Our+2014+Spring+Dragon+Well+Giveaway&utm_campaign=20140328_m119755256_2014+Spring+Dragon+Well+Giveaway

Thanks to boychik for the sample! I first steeped it western style, 4 grams to 8 oz of 195F water at 1/2/3/4/5 minutes. Aromas of honey, spearmint, cinnamon, and grapes emerged over the various steeps. The cup was creamy, malty, quite tasty! The honey notes were more prominent in retronasal exhale than upon the tongue, but still very nice. The mild sweet potato aspect was most noticeable in the aftertaste, and a citrus note and pleasant bitterness emerged in the cooling cup. Later steeps had a hint of spice in the aftertaste. Overall a very nice cup.

Next I tried the remainder of the sample Gong Fu style just to see what that did (7 grams to 130 ml of 195F water in short 3 to 4 second steeps). Many of the same notes emerged one or two at a time over the various steeps, with sweetness in the early ones and the spice aspect emerging in the middle steeps. Although a decent cup prepared this way, the tea was more enjoyable when brewed western style.

This is one of the many samples I got from Teavivre and today I finally decided to try it out. I put in a bit less leaf than usual, since I wanted to get another steep from the remaining sample. The color of the liquor was a light amber and it smells like, well… Oolong tea. Very closely resembles gunpowder green tea (which is one of my favourite teas), but once you taste it, you can notice some differences such as this one being less vegetal but mildly floral instead. I can appreciate the slightly baked flavour as well. Overall, I think it’s a fantastic tea to have after meals.

This morning, courtesy of Angel Chen & TeaVivre, I brewed Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Green Tea Western style: 7g / 8 oz / 176*F / rinse, 1, 2, 3 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream. (This sample packet contained 7.1 g.)

Intro: I’ve been enjoying black tea all my life. To date, my green tea experience has been limited to Gunpowder Green tea. Yesterday, I enjoyed my first ever cup of Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing. It will be interesting to see how these two Dragon Well Long Green Teas compare.

Leaf: Beautiful whole leaves: 2.5 cm long x 5mm wide & flat – not as large as the Superfine.
Fragrance: A pleasant green tea fragrance that is hard to describe given my experience as a black tea drinker.
Liquor: Light gold
Aroma: Very sweet
Flavor:
1 min.: Wow! TeaVivre’s Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing is so very smooth and rich. It’s like a slightly salty, sweet butter with mild savory notes. The buttery smoothness persists on the palate. There is no hint of astringency, bitterness, or off-putting strong vegetal flavors all the way to the bottom of the cup. I’m very impressed with this excellent green tea.

2 min.: The 2nd cup also tastes like the first with just slightly less butter & slightly stronger savory notes. There’s no hint of astringency, bitterness, or off-putting strong vegetal flavors.

3-min.: Very similar flavor profile to the previous cups with slightly less body. Like the 1st & 2nd steeps, there’s no hint of astringency, bitterness, or off-putting strong vegetal flavors.

Impressions: This is the elegant, understated, more refined version of Dragon Well Long Jing green tea and should not to be missed – highly recommended! The similar Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing is half the cost, and thus, a very good value: http://www.teavivre.com/organic-green-tea/.

Thanks to Angel Chen and TeaVivre for their gracious sample of this superb tea!

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/36677-thermometer-and-timer

The earthiness some puerhs have is light in this one on first steeping, not deep or strong. The tangerine aspect doesn’t come across as fruit at all, that sweetness the is still in the rings usually… Instead it gives a pure rind hint to it where the fact that it’s tangerine is in no way clear. It’s just that hint of rind that very vaguely comes from them.

It’s a light and subtle puerh on first steep. Nifty but nothing special to me.

Second steep, much earthier. There’s no clear tangerine influence of any kind detectable unless that bit of bitterness in the back of the throat is it….

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – December 2024 Tea #9 – December 31 – New Year’s Eve: get one last sipdown for 2024

Finishing my old sample of this one, now that I have restocked it.  Such a classic.  I MIGHT be able to fit in another sipdown later today… we shall see. Overall, I kind of failed sipdowns this year at a mere 88 out of my goal of 150.  Being mostly away from my tea collection was probably the reason for that. Just as long as I’m still enjoying tea, it was a good year in tea!  I spent about $200 on tea this year, which is $200 more than I wanted to, but they were all small tea shops, so that is entirely okay with me.    A happy and Healthy New Year to you all in Steepster land!
2024 sipdowns:  88

additional notes: Restock! Yup, this is the keemun for me. The keemun I prefer. I have tried some others, but this is the one. :D

Additional notes: This is the second in my Teavivre keemun test.  It’s a tough one to pick apart, so this note might be pointless.. A dried hay scent to the dry leaf.  Another that screams KEEMUN to me.  It has all the flavor notes that I think a keemun should typically have.  It’s difficult for me to describe but very distinctly keemun.  The first steep seemed to have an off flavor, but I don’t think I’ve ever waited 20 minutes for the water to cool.  I think I would usually wait 10-15 minutes in the past. BUT waiting 20 minutes means the second steep is usually even more fantastic.  The off flavor disappeared in the second steep.  Very delicious, strong, very wine like.  I’m realizing now that the first three keemuns probably don’t need 1 1/2 teaspoons because the leaves are so small, but for past harvests, I would even use two teaspoons.  The second steep is a touch too bitey while retaining all the strong keemun characteristics.  Rating now would probably be around 93.
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoon for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  //  just boiled //  3 min steep
Harvest: 2018

Beware this tasting note is a big one. I wanted to compare all of Teavivre’s Keemuns within a week, since they have some of the best Keemuns and I will definitely be buying at least ONE of them. I have written individual tasting notes for these teas in the past, but this review is to compare the four. I have acquired these samples within the last six months, so I’m not sure if they are the same harvests now. All of them will be steeped at the same parameters: two tsps // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 min steep #1 // 3 min steep #2

Premium Keemun Hao Ya $15.90 for 100g/3.5 oz
First steep: I knew that the leaves of my new sample were definitely going to be different than the sample that I had from around the time Teavivre started out (I can’t believe that was only three years ago!) Sadly, I think I liked my previous sample better. The only difference in steep sessions was that last time I waited 18 minutes for the water to cool after boiling rather than ten minutes, but I have since learned that ten minutes is closer to 194 degrees. This sample is slightly more astringent (maybe it would benefit from only using 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons), it loses that hint of smokiness, it has less of that deepness of flavor that translates to a dark chocolate. There is still a hint of plum or cherry though. And this is still a very nice tea. Previously, the Premium would have been my favorite. We shall see!
[[I also tried to recapture the magic of the previous harvest and tried a cup with 1 1/2 teaspoons and 18 minutes after boiling. This time the astringency was gone that the first cup had but I also wasn’t able to find the flavor depth and the chocolate that the first harvest had. The second steep a couple minutes after boiling for a three minute steep and that cup was pretty good too – not oversteeped at all. I’m sure all harvests will be different though, so I’d keep trying samples of the Premium once in a while to see if it’s one day the same.]]

Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant $12.90 for 50g/1.75oz
First steep: The dry leaves are short, mostly black with touches of gold. This cup tastes similar to the Premium Keemun Hao Ya, but everything about the flavor is lighter. The fragrance of the cup has a hint of plum, but less plum than the Premium. It also has an astringency that translates to the chocolate flavor, but the astringency is much less than the Premium, therefore there is less chocolate flavor than the Premium. No hints of smoke are to be found in this cup, but I like my keemun to have a bit of smoke. There is a flavor to this one that isn’t found in the others that I can’t place – something like wine or muscatel. It isn’t a strong muscatel, not like a darjeeling. Very unique.
Second steep: This cup is also very nice but it has that hint of flavor like it’s oversteeped: the tree bark-like flavor. I probably shouldn’t have steeped this cup for three minutes. Not astringent at all though, just the tree bark flavor. So the Superfine Keemun has less of a bite than the others, if that is what you’re looking for.

Keemun – Grade 2 $8.90 for 100g/3.5 oz
First steep: I expected a CTC leaf, very low quality, very astringent. This tea is NONE of those things. I’d say this one is closer to the astringency strength of the Organic Superfine Keemun (the Premium and Grade #1 seem like a stronger tea). It just lacks the little hints of flavor that make the Superfine special, what I call the wine-like flavor or the muscatel. This had the same level of chocolate as the Organic Superfine. A nice burgundy cup while the dry leaves look like the same shape as the others, but they don’t have that hint of gold.
Second steep: This cup loses a lot of flavor and its replaced with that oversteeped tree flavor I don’t like. Maybe the second steeps shouldn’t be steeped for three minutes. But I guess I’m judging by first steeps anyway. An amazing cup for this price – much better than I expected.

Keemun – Grade 1 $11.90 for 100g/3.5 oz
I’m trying this one again last of the four. Even though I had it recently, I vaguely remembered the flavor and I had the feeling it would be my favorite of the four. It just happens to be the keemun for me though, it’s probably different for everyone! The dry leaves are all black. I guess the Superfine is the only one with the hints of gold leaf. For me, sometimes the astringency/ strength/ briskness/ bite / whatever you want to call it is the most important thing. This one to me could win just on the strength of the flavor. The Superfine and the Grade #2 have a lighter strength. The Premium is probably closer to this one in strength. But I know that others that have more knowledge on tea would appreciate the lightness and the special flavor hints that the Superfine has. Not me, not right now though. Maybe one day. This one has a depth to it that I love, but it’s also very sweet and chocolatey.
Second steep: This one has less of the “oversteeped leaves” flavor on the second cup, so I also like it for that. It was a bit more astringent though. If the new batch of the Premium keemun still had more of the hints of plum, I’d probably buy that one, but I think this one is currently my favorite.

OVERALL You can’t really go wrong with any of these. Any tea collection should have a nice keemun and any of these would do nicely. I can say I like them all. I have no idea how they figure out the grades for these four teas. They are all similar, but there are little things with all of them that make them slightly different. None of them really have any smoky flavor, so if that’s you’re thing, you should be safe with all of these. I do like to have a keemun I have in stock to have a bit of smoke, as I feel like that is the main characteristic of keemun. These are all amazing for a black tea anyway. I can’t live without at least ONE of them. I think all four of them are unique from any other tea I’ve tried yet. I’m very appreciative that I was able to try them before buying!

Another lovely sample from Teavivre! thank you! They would certainly be my go-to for stocking up on keemuns. However, the three I’ve tried aren’t as smoky as I expect keemuns to be. I don’t know what happened to Teavivre’s steep instructions cheat sheet/ site I had. It seems like they are on the page for each tea but it already confuses me since it says 17 ounces for western brewing. I know my mug isn’t that big! Teavivre suggests 194 degrees, 1-2 teaspoons, 2-5 minute steep time.

Steep #1 // 10 min after boiling // 2 min
The leaves smell like a dry field of grass. I used 1 3/4 teaspoons for this steep… probably shouldn’t have though! I’d go with one or 1 1/2 next time. The leaves are cut smaller, so this cup was a tiny bit astringent. Before sipping, the fragrance from the mug was like a tasty pastry. I haven’t had a cup of tea that smelled like that before! The cup is very deep red in color. The flavor is very nice! Not at all smoky, but it’s like dark chocolate, much like Teavivre’s premium Hao Ya, but not as much chocolate. There is also a lovely underlying flavor of deep sugarless plum that I just love.

Steep #2 // 8 minutes after boiling // 3 min steep
This cup was nice but the first steep had a lovely depth of flavor that this one didn’t have as much. The plum is missing. There is a lighter fruity flavor, I can’t tell what it reminds me of. In my opinion the Keemun Grade 1 is very similar to the Premium Hao Ya Keemun and both are slightly better than the Organic Superfine Keemun. But with Teavivre’s amazing sample program, it’s very easy for each tea lover to try all of them before finding their favorite. I love the first two I mentioned, I will try the remainder of my samples to see which I love more and the keemun I choose will DEFINITELY be a cupboard staple.

This morning, courtesy of Angel Chen & TeaVivre, I brewed Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Green Tea Western style: 7g / 8 oz / 176*F / rinse, 1, 2, 3 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream. (This sample packet contained 7 g.)

Intro: I’ve been enjoying black tea all my life. To date, my green tea experience has been limited to Gunpowder Green tea. This is my first ever cup of Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing. Why have I waited so long to explore better quality green teas?

Leaf: Beautiful uniformly large – 4 cm long x 6mm wide & flat
Fragrance: A very pleasant green tea fragrance that is hard to describe given my experience as a black tea drinker.
Liquor: Light gold
Aroma: Moderately sweet
Flavor:
1 min.: Wow! TeaVivre’s Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing is so smooth, rich and thick. It’s like a slightly salty, sweet butter with savory notes. There is no hint of astringency, bitterness, or off-putting strong vegetal flavors. I’m very impressed with this excellent green tea in just the first cup!

2 min.: The 2nd cup tastes like the first with just slightly less butter & slightly stronger savory notes. There’s no hint of astringency, bitterness, or off-putting strong vegetal flavors.

3-min.: A well-balanced cup that is both a little less buttery & savory than the 2nd steep, but still very smooth. Like the 1st & 2nd steeps, there’s no hint of astringency, bitterness, or off-putting strong vegetal flavors.

Impression: This buttery-smooth green tea should not to be missed – highly recommended!

Thanks to Angel Chen and TeaVivre for their gracious sample of this superb tea!

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/36677-thermometer-and-timer

Backlog:

A really good Oolong. A strong lichee fruit taste to it. If I didn’t know that this was a pure/unflavored tea, I would have thought it had been scented with lichee … the flavor is intense.

Silky, flavorful, mild astringency. Woodsy notes to go along with the fruit tones. Later infusions become more earthy/woody, and I started to pick up on the sweet potato notes.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/02/17/guang-dong-phoenix-dan-cong-oolong-tea-teavivre/

I’ve been obsessed with ripe puerh aged in citrus rinds for months now. I was so excited to see that TeaVivre was offering one!

My sample packet came in the mail yesterday, and I eagerly opened it this morning. The dry leaf is mixed with lots of large tangerine peel chunks, and smells sweetly of citrus!

I did an extra long steep after a brief rinse, which resulted in a dark and RICH creamy brew with cocoa notes and a subtle citrus aftertaste. This definitely has an earthy flavor, and may not appeal to puerh newbies. I would recommend something more mellow for people just starting out in the world of puerh. But for seasoned shu puerh fanatics, this is a welcome and unique taste experience!

I finally got a day off today! I got to sleep in past 11 AM, ran some errands, and took a walk with my mother and Fritzy (my adorable Wirehaired Dachshund). I am just now sitting down to enjoy the second half of this pot of tea (Fritzy is at my feet with his bat toy in his mouth trying to get me to play. He has unlimited energy). I’ve been very impressed with the two Teavivre black teas I’ve tried so far. This one especially is incredibly smooth and “seamless” (as I’d say in the tasting room). When brewed per the instructions, this is neither bold nor assertive. It would make a nice afternoon tea with pastries. I gave one of each of the 7g samples I have to my boyfriend, CaseyZero, to bring to work. Maybe one day he will write a tasting note…

Light amber in color with a a very inviting aroma. This tea is slightly sweet with a soft wood flavor and a hint of plum flavor. It is similar to Teavivre’s Fengqing Ancient Tree Spring Chun Jian Raw Pu-erh 2012, but I like the 2012 much more than this tea.

I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. I’ve always been very wary around fruity flavors, as fruity flavors tend to become extremely sour to me. However, this tea provides a peach flavor without any of the sourness. The only issue is I don’t really taste/smell any jasmine in here. It’s still a delightful tea.