212 Tasting Notes
It is very tightly pressed so it makes more sense to get it as a tuocha. That’s how I got it: White2Tea slipped it in as a free sample. Because it is pressed so tightly it is a bit tricky to determine the steeping time at first. First infusions are very light and floral, later it develops nice apricot notes and a little touch of bitterness (in a good way).
This tea has an absolute great aftertaste: long, lingering and gradually changing. You can get many infusions out of it. Quite robust for a white tea.
I am not a big fan of white teas but this one is quite special and satisfying. This is one of those teas that one has a difficulty to come up with a set opinion about because there is a lot going on and you feel like you need to try it several times to process all and arrive to a set conclusion. I am definitely intrigued by this Turtle Dove and probably will order more.
Flavors: Apricot, Flowers, Grass, Honey
The leaf is quite broken: good look trying to brew it in a gaiwan. The aroma is fresh but not very complex, the same can be said about the taste. It looks that the white tea used in the blend is not of a good quality. As a result, it is not horrible but particularly good either.
Flavors: Apricot, Grass, Mint, Peach
It is supposed to be a cost-efficient alternative to Darjeelings.
The dry leaf is rather small and certainly broke but fragrant.: the smell of meadow, flowers and apricot. The wet leaf smells rather uncomplicated, of sourish grassy sweetness. The tea itself is not particularly strong on flavors – it is floral with the hint of apricot. The flavor is very muted so having a good water is important. Overall, not a bad tea, especially if you do not oversteep it but not much of a unique character there. There are certainly better Nepalese teas out there, including Upton’s.
Flavors: Apricot, Flowers, Grass
A very pleasant tea. The aroma is complex: it does have some puerh earthiness and roses but also some hard-to-differentiate sweetness. Fruity, perhaps. The same with taste: it is a complex, comforting sweetness.
Also, there are multiple tiny particles of rose petals floating around: it looks good and creates a very interesting sensation when you drink the tea, adding some “volume”. In general, it is one of my trusty, “comfort food” type of tea. You are likely either love or hate it, but surely need to try.
Flavors: Earth, Fruity, Rose
The aroma is good (hazelnut, cocoa, apricot, vanilla) but the taste is rather dull and one-dimensional – the cocoa-laced sweetness. The puerh does not come through at all. Also, it does not lend itself to multiple resteepings. Will not order again.
Flavors: Apricot, Cocoa, Hazelnut, Vanilla
Somewhat a disappointment. The leaves are broken into pretty small pieces. the fragrance is muted, with flowers, tropical fruit, malt and earth in it. The taste is really underwhelming and weak, with some sweetness, floral notes, cacao,and mushrooms.
I expect my keemuns to be more bold and defined. There are much better ones in that price range, including other keemuns by Teavivre as well.
Flavors: Earth, Flowers, Malt, Mushrooms, Pineapple
I am still on the lookout for a good Nilgiri after the three quite unremarkable ones that I previously tried. This one from Dominion Tea is the first Nilgiri that at least has some character and interest.
It has large attractive leaves with a pleasant smell when dry. The tea itself is also aromatic with earth, flower and tropical fruit notes. The taste largely mirrors the aroma with some unavoidable Assamica bite. The aroma and taste hold well after several steepings. Overall, not a bad tea for someone who digs Indian teas (which I am mostly not).Flavors: Earth, Floral, Tropical, Vanilla
