Teavivre

rinse, 15, 20, 25, 30, 60, 90
First brew: aged taste, thick body
second brew : aged and smoky , less thick but still reminds hot chocolate, very little bitterness
third: very similar to the second brew

This is a sample I received from tperez in our recent tea/teaware swap, thanks Thomas!

The smell is very sweet and woody, I like it a lot. It’s also very flavourful tea that reminds me of Laoshan greens. It is sweet and crisp with a decent umami. Apart from tasting like a vegetable broth, the soft and thick texture also is very broth-like. In fact the mouthfeel is probably the most memorable about this tea. Both the aromas and the flavours are better in Laoshan green teas (say the ones sold by YS). I also like the somewhat sour and light aftertaste.

Nice and delicate orchid aroma

rinse, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 80s, 100s

Fresh corn reminding flavor. Quite enjoyed it.

15s,15s,20s,25s

Ooooh! Malt! Stonefruit! And lovely honeyed sweet potato earthy sweetness.

And a wee bit of harshness, gently softened by sweet potato, at the back of the throat at the tail end of the sip.

This is delicious and a most excellent start to my day. And a lovely continuation throughout the day as well.

Thank you, Angel, for the sample. Much appreciated.

Not a terrible taste, but not the bright, juicy tangerine flavor I was looking for. This is my second tangerine tea from TeaVivre, and I’ve learned that this more muted, subtle citrus flavor is what to expect from their teas. It’s more easily described as earthy than truly citrus.

It’s not bad, it just isn’t what I’d like from a citrus tea.

I’ve had a very hit and miss experience with Pu-erh Teas, so I’m always hesitant when I try a new one.

This tea is quite good. The smell is heavily musky, which I don’t much care for, but the flavor is mild, smooth, earthy, and a bit woodsy. It reminds me of a downed tree in the woods.

It probably wouldn’t be my first choice out and about, but as a pu-erh, it definitely tops my lists.

So last time I wrote in here I was mentioning a slight headache from a tea and I never have headaches. Since then I was literally laid out. That headache progressed to something I can’t even begin to describe. 48 hrs down. I once had a bad stomach flu years ago, back when I was still living in San Diego. This was similar. Was it the tea or the cup of jasmine rice I had earlier or was it the stomach flu? I don’t know. Having said that, I’m much better today.

So I stayed away from tea since then and now that I’m feeling better. I am starting my morning with these delicious infusions of black tea. I’ve had 3 bananas and some homemade kefir in 48 hrs. o.O

It’s malty-sweet potatoes-cocoa mellowness in a cup. Enjoying it after a harrowing 48 or so hours. The liquor has a pretty bright orange tint and smelled of yams. There are some floral notes but not much. No astringency nor bitterness, calming… Exactly what I needed.

Porcelain gaiwan 110ml, 5g, 185℉, 6 steeps: rinse, 10s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 40s

A Sunday morning gongfu session courtesy of ashmanra. Thank you :)

I admit brewing this tea in a gaiwan is not the best way to go. For the majority of people, it will benefit most from a few brews western or maybe a longer teapot steep. Brewing in a gaiwan, though, allowed me to experience the longevity of the jasmine and possibly the peach fragrancing (how is this not a word). Most frangrancing (apparently scenting is ok) in teas does not have much longevity when brewed in a gaiwan or even western, but this one just kept on giving.

I got what I expected from some good quality green dragon pearls — fresh grass, nectar thickness and sweetness, minerals and some light astringency that encourages quick successive sips. The jasmine is strong and lovely both in aroma and taste. I offered one of the early steepings to my housemate who loves floral notes and she commented that the liquor smelled remarkably of sweet yellow cherries. Jasmine hangs around in the mouth and aftertaste.

Once that subsides, the peach, either from the scenting or the tea itself, emerges and persists. The peach is definitely a part of of the dry leaf aroma, though. Most would consider giving up on green tea brewed gongfu when a dry grass flavor, astringency and some bitterness really come out, but I kept pushing because I knew the bitterness in the back of the mouth would turn into a moderate returning sweetness and some warming in the throat. A nice note for a sheng puerh fan to end the session on. Good tea!

Gong Fu Sipdown (588)!

From last weekend, on one of the super rare occasions where I was actually craving green tea. A shocker, I know! I actually really enjoyed this tea though – I only had like six or seven infusions (because that’s generally all I can do of a green before I’m over it) but I found the flavour really fresh and light; lots of buttery green bean and edamame notes and a bit of snow pea. Really evocative of Spring time and fresh greens. Kind of invigorating feeling? If that makes sense…

I don’t know that the green teas from Teavivre are necessarily AMAZING quality or anything – but I don’t really drink enough green tea to be super aware of the differences and, when I do want green tea, it’s usually Chinese that I’m in the mood for. So havings a handful of the little Teavivre sample packets of different greens is a good option for me to still have some green in my cupboard without being crazy about it.

Pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvZtUOEl5mF/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXOWyXjEp4g&t=0s&index=28&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Delicate

Rinse, 40s, 60s, 90s, 120s, 140s, 180s

It was the first time I didn’t finish my tea.
The aroma is nice, some kind of flowery. The taste… no so much. Following the recommended steeping method I didn’t get much body. The bitterness wasn’t pleasant for my taste.
I’ll try the western method the next time.
9 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 15s, 20s, (i didn’t bother to continue 30s, 50s, 70s, 100s, 130s)

The aroma in the package is almost overwhelmingly strong, so I was a little afraid the tea would be as well.

Thankfully, that isn’t the case. The scent remains fairly strong, but the flavor is just right: ripe peach with a hint of jasmine in a mild green tea base.

My only dislike is that you really only get one good brew out of it: if you try to resteep, you lose almost all of the jasmine and most of the peach.

Sipdown! from a couple days ago. Rather enjoyed it this time around – it was a little better than the other times i’ve had this. Couldn’t say why since it’s been a few days but i remember being really happy with it in the moment.

tea from a few days ago, nothing special but these days if it’s tea, i’m happy to have gotten a chance to drink some!

tea from earlier today. trying to get organised for the week – checking out the cloth diapers we picked up for caliegh…figuring out if i can visit with work any time this week. Just need to start making more of a routine to my days. Now that the weather is getting warmer and the sun is shining we can start to get out and explore the world! this was a great cup to start the day. smooth, not too strong, but not weak. Will write more when i can grab another cup though as i lost track of time.

So so smoky. Smoke of pine tree. Very interesting but not for everyday

7 steeps: rinse,5s,10s,15s,20s,25s,35s,45s

Smoked wood and chocolate. Honey aroma

5 steeps: rinse, 20s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s

rinse, 15s, 25s, 35s, 45s
1st and 2nd steep – mostly aroma. Sweet aroma.
At the end of the 3rd a bit of astringency and a touch of lemon freshness

Reminds me of acacia tree flower. Not bitter at all. Almost no astringency
7 steeps: rinse, 15s, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 75s, 85s