88

Oh man. I can’t even write a proper tasting note right now because I totally just asked out a guy that I met yesterday, and am pretty much freaking out about it… (Mostly that he won’t respond… but also that he will…. gah!!) This is new territory for me…

So, uh, anyhow…. I really think I should have stuck to a rooibos/herbal tonight since I’m already really wound up, but I had brought this tea and my sample of Bailin Gong Fu Black downstairs on Friday night to try, but didn’t get around to it, and really wanted to experience the chocolatiness that everyone else has been! Thank you to Teavivre for the opportunity to taste and review this tea!

I used 5 pearls in my infuser, and the temperature probably wasn’t as close to boiling as it should have been, but oh well. The aroma when I cut open the packet was incredibly chocolatey and delicious – kind of crazy (hey, matches my mood!)

The tea tastes malty and chocolatey, perhaps a little less chocolatey than expected, but still quite good. I’m getting almost a yeasty-ish, bready note that I don’t remember finding quite as strong in Verdant’s chocolatey blacks, but it’s not bothersome. The tea is a little weak though, in my opinion, and I’m not sure if that’s because I should have steeped it longer (I went with three minutes), used more pearls, or because I added a bit of cold water after it was done steeping to cool it down a bit so I could drink it sooner (I should say here that I steeped it in less than 8 oz. water to begin with by accident, and the addition wouldn’t have put it over that). I’d be very curious to compare it directly to the Laoshan Black, but I only have a cup’s worth of that one left and don’t want to waste it on a night of comparisons.

… (I so don’t even know what to do with myself right now!)

ETA: This tea held up to a second infusion quite well! Still chocolatey and pleasing. I’m not sure how long I steeped it, but it could have been slightly too long, as there’s a bit of astringency. Still good though.

ETA again: Third infusion, a couple(?) days later, still has enough flavour to be enjoyable, although I do admit I steeped it in a smaller volume of water. I can’t recall now if I went for 3 or 4 minutes, but there’s no astringency this time, just maltiness with flourishes of cocoa every now and again. Really quite pleasant. This tea has definitely made the short-list for teas to buy when my stash is a bit smaller! (And I haven’t checked the price, but I think it is affordable?)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

This will be on my next Teavivre order!

momo

I hope he responds soon!

Dylan Oxford

Good luck :)

TeaBrat

Exciting!

Indigobloom

Holding my breath for you! :P

Kittenna

Sigh, totally shut down… Not that I really expected any different! C’est la vie.

Indigobloom

aw boo! oh well it’s better to know than not :)

Bonnie

His loss!

TeaBrat

Boooooo!

Scott B

I use 6 pearls of this in an 8-10 ounce cup. Teavivre recommends 3-4, but I don’t think that is enough.
I like to put the pearls straight into the bottom of my glass cup to watch them unfurl, then pour the tea through the strainer into another cup for drinking.

Missy

aww I was going to wish you good luck until I read all the comments. Better luck next time. :D

Kittenna

Thanks for the support, guys :D He was just too damn perfect, I knew I didn’t stand a chance!

@Scott – I will try 6 pearls next time (I assume I have that many left). It seems that I only found the first infusion a touch weak though, so we’ll see what sort of difference one more pearl makes!

Lucy

Aww Krystaleyn – no one is perfect. And never think someone is better than you, as they might then start believing it themselves and then you won’t stand a chance. You are a strong, beautiful woman who deserves the best. He just didn’t know what he was missing out on.. or maybe it was just bad timing. Either way, ever beat yourself up about it. You were so brave! Way more than I have ever been. I am so proud of you tea buddy! :D

Kittenna

Oh… he is so perfect though! (I am hoping to find fault with him soon so my heart will be free again, hahahaha!) He was incredibly nice and honest about everything… yeah. I’m glad I tried :) Even though I feel like an idiot :D

CHAroma

His fault is that he has terrible taste in women. ;)

Bonnie

Just look at him and think…ASPARAGAS!
I would have taken all the pearls and OD’s on all of them at once after that! Death by chocolate tea pearls! Drowning…

Listen, my ex-husband was gorgeous…when we married…women used to come up to me and ask me how I got him. Flirt in front of me and come right up and get in between… Disgusting! (He always just smiled…he had been a football star!) When he had a heart attack, I was there. I cared for him. When I got sick, he dumped me! Give me an average guy who loves me and not just himself any day!

Kittenna

Ahaha, seriously guys, he is so ridiculously nice (I’m trying to make that into a fault… who wants to date a guy and always be the meaner one of the two?!) He actually let me down very easily, and just said that he hadn’t felt a “spark”, but thinks it would be fun to hang out. The girl that lands him is going to be very lucky.

Bonnie – had I still been drinking the pearls when I got his message, I probably would have drank them a little crazily :P Your ex-husband sounds like a jerk… pretty sure wedding vows include ‘in sickness and in health’. :(

Stoo

Good luck, Kitenna. You sound very nice yourself. The right guy will find you (or vice versa). Hang in there.

Kittenna

Thanks Stoo :) Hoping for the best!!

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Comments

ashmanra

This will be on my next Teavivre order!

momo

I hope he responds soon!

Dylan Oxford

Good luck :)

TeaBrat

Exciting!

Indigobloom

Holding my breath for you! :P

Kittenna

Sigh, totally shut down… Not that I really expected any different! C’est la vie.

Indigobloom

aw boo! oh well it’s better to know than not :)

Bonnie

His loss!

TeaBrat

Boooooo!

Scott B

I use 6 pearls of this in an 8-10 ounce cup. Teavivre recommends 3-4, but I don’t think that is enough.
I like to put the pearls straight into the bottom of my glass cup to watch them unfurl, then pour the tea through the strainer into another cup for drinking.

Missy

aww I was going to wish you good luck until I read all the comments. Better luck next time. :D

Kittenna

Thanks for the support, guys :D He was just too damn perfect, I knew I didn’t stand a chance!

@Scott – I will try 6 pearls next time (I assume I have that many left). It seems that I only found the first infusion a touch weak though, so we’ll see what sort of difference one more pearl makes!

Lucy

Aww Krystaleyn – no one is perfect. And never think someone is better than you, as they might then start believing it themselves and then you won’t stand a chance. You are a strong, beautiful woman who deserves the best. He just didn’t know what he was missing out on.. or maybe it was just bad timing. Either way, ever beat yourself up about it. You were so brave! Way more than I have ever been. I am so proud of you tea buddy! :D

Kittenna

Oh… he is so perfect though! (I am hoping to find fault with him soon so my heart will be free again, hahahaha!) He was incredibly nice and honest about everything… yeah. I’m glad I tried :) Even though I feel like an idiot :D

CHAroma

His fault is that he has terrible taste in women. ;)

Bonnie

Just look at him and think…ASPARAGAS!
I would have taken all the pearls and OD’s on all of them at once after that! Death by chocolate tea pearls! Drowning…

Listen, my ex-husband was gorgeous…when we married…women used to come up to me and ask me how I got him. Flirt in front of me and come right up and get in between… Disgusting! (He always just smiled…he had been a football star!) When he had a heart attack, I was there. I cared for him. When I got sick, he dumped me! Give me an average guy who loves me and not just himself any day!

Kittenna

Ahaha, seriously guys, he is so ridiculously nice (I’m trying to make that into a fault… who wants to date a guy and always be the meaner one of the two?!) He actually let me down very easily, and just said that he hadn’t felt a “spark”, but thinks it would be fun to hang out. The girl that lands him is going to be very lucky.

Bonnie – had I still been drinking the pearls when I got his message, I probably would have drank them a little crazily :P Your ex-husband sounds like a jerk… pretty sure wedding vows include ‘in sickness and in health’. :(

Stoo

Good luck, Kitenna. You sound very nice yourself. The right guy will find you (or vice versa). Hang in there.

Kittenna

Thanks Stoo :) Hoping for the best!!

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Bio

I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.

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