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Take two on this 2015 Phoenix 单丛 sample. I’m forgoing the rinsing step these days.

1st infusion: (10s)
Wow. What a beautiful rich chocolatey aroma, and caramel notes in the midst of this dark chocolate liquor. All that from only ten seconds of work!

2nd infusion: (15s)
I mean these leaves just smell like a saucepan full of melted dark chocolate––that’s how potent they are. The tea has that roasty, mineral flavour like a Fujian oolong.

3rd – 6th:
More of the same bitter chocolatey minerality. I’m really not getting any of this fruity or grape scent that other reviewers have talked about. The Da Hong Pao was more interesting in that regard.

Update: In future I might still buy this and try brewing this at a lower temperature like 180˚F, as mentioned in this Silk Road Teas guide: http://www.silkroadteas.com/how-to-brew-loose-leaf-tea-brewing-instructions/

This tea has such a beautiful fruity, juicy blackcurrant and floral scent. A black tea blend I actually like. Drinking this with milk it has a great velvety mouthfeel (maybe it’s from the milk but I’m loving it.)

PS: It’s always thrilling when I guess the flavours correctly. Seems like there really is a strong blackcurrant note in this tea according to other Steepsterites. It smells so much like Ribena (wonderful childhood syrup drink) to me.

Note: Brew this at 190˚F. This is my go-to pre-bedtime drink especially after a heaty dinner or desserts.

The flowers are ultra-perfumed, almost to the point of stinging. It tasted bitter when brewed at 195˚. They definitely need the half-teaspoon of sugar to counter the intense florality*.

*not a word, but it should be!

Dry leaves: sudden bright scent of passionfruit / mango.

1st infusion: (25s)
Leaves smell like a complex mixture including bitter chocolate and seaweed. Tea has that roasty, mineral flavour I associate with Fujian oolongs. Drinking this with toasted leftover dimsum now and it pairs alright with the oily sweetness, imparting chocolatey tones.

2nd infusion: (30s)
Liquor is still a beautiful reddish bronze. Flavour is mellowing out from the initial infusion’s harshness. This is growing on me.

3rd – 5th infusions:
More of the same goodness, the colour shows no sign of letting up while the flavour gradually lightens.

6th infusion: (120s)
The leaves are left with a fruity aroma like grape or plum. The liquor has finally turned a coppery amber colour, and tastes a very pleasing, mild flavour with the bitterness all gone––mineral and roasty with fruit aftertaste. Really like this infusion.

Next time: Try skipping the rinse and brew at 170 – 173˚F instead since their Nonpareil Silver Needle did so well at a lower temperature.

I am loving pretty much every tea from Teavivre so far. This Silver Needle is so fragrant in a similar way to the White Peony, but less sweet (I specifically wanted a less sweet tea this afternoon). Really happy I could brew this in my new glass gaiwan (which only takes well to lower temperatures like this 176˚F). Did a 2-second rinse.

1st infusion (45s):
The leaves are bursting with perfume reminiscent of a field or garden in summer––floral and dry grass. The liquor tastes floral, but with a refreshing twist like cucumber, and also a hint of soy milk with vegetable broth.

2nd infusion (60s):
Still that nice summer field aroma, but more subdued than before. Starting to taste a bit of that sweet “melon” other reviewers have mentioned, but also starting to get slightly dry and astringent. Still yummy though.

3rd infusion (90s):
Less fragrance now, but the tea is still full-bodied with nice round mouthfeel. Less astringent because I poured the liquor out of the gaiwan promptly (I might have oversteeped on the 2nd infusion).

4th infusion (105s):
I’m impressed that the leaves are still going, this infusion has mostly the dry floral and pine flavour. I could probably get one more steep out of this, but I’m not going to push the leaves any more because I want to move on to a different tea.

This is for people who have the time and inclination to savour a gradually unfurling tea journey. This Buddha’s Hand can last probably over ten infusions. It has some of the most tightly rolled leaves in Song Tea’s collection. It is also one of the most beautiful smelling teas I have had the pleasure of experiencing: a roasty chocolate that gives way to caramelized fruity notes. Unfortunately, the taste is blunter than its fragrance, so take care to brew with a light hand. Some infusions of this tasted like dark bitter coffee. Later infusions are brighter and fruitier. Overall a wonderful, complex, darker tea for a long afternoon in.

This tea was sweet like a baked good, hits you in the face with wonderful notes of brown sugar, cornbread, caramel, etc. The downside is it only survives 2 or 3 infusions. I can see why it has a cult following, especially among Westerners with more of a sweet tooth. (2016 harvest)

This is a review of the 2015 harvest from Teavivre. Not a bad Tie Guan Yin, but I don’t think this is better than their normal Tie Guan Yin so I don’t understand the “Nonpareil” qualification. This one has a more complex aroma, like buttered spinach compared to the straight-up buttered toast of the Tie Guan Yin. However, this oolong only lasted 2.5 steepings for me (the 3rd steeping was pretty watery, a thrown white flag). That’s pretty weak for a premium oolong.

Will try the other sachet before I put money behind this rating, but for now I’d wager that the 2014 harvest of this tea was way better than the 2015.

I suppose I can’t really rate this tea impartially because I didn’t heat the gaiwan and I used tap water for the first 2 infusions (apparently that works better for my partner when he brews tea) but the hard minerality of the water just ruined the tea for me.

Still, I could tell that it was a very buttery, divine-smelling oolong. The leaves were large and high-quality. It wasn’t quite as buttery as Teavivre’s 2015 regular Tie Guan Yin, but had more interesting complex notes besides the butter, and it was not bitter at all.

Will rate when I brew the second sachet properly (with filtered water).

Has the slight roasty bitterness of black tea or of smoky Tieguanyins, without the fragrance / fruitiness / floral notes / butteriness that I like in an Oolong. Nice that they stock it in my office fridge, but I would not drink this again.