Tea Vivre free samples round #3, tasting #2
Sadly, Liz did not get to review this tea before leaving for Tokyo, but she did get to taste it and I know she really enjoyed it.
This is a very good, and unique black tea. Cocoa and malt and roasted fruit. A bit like a Yunnan golden, but not at all sweet. There’s a crisp, dry finish and no lingering astringency.
The only really strong critique I could offer is that the mouth feel is thin. Not the flavor, but the texture.
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I thought this was very much reminiscent of cocoa nib. Maybe I missed the thinness because I steeped a tad long and later made the brew into a quite tasty latte just to see if it would hold up.
I am drinking it now. I usually brew western style, though. I think I steeped for 4 minutes. Definitely not thin… It amazes me how much steeping parameters affect the taste of tea!
I’m doing gongfu steeping and it definitely doesn’t have the texture that many other teas have — even other Tea Vivre teas.
Again, the flavor is plenty strong, I’m talking about thin mouth feel here.
Don’t know JIm, Knew what you meant but I didn’t get that thinness brewing Western Style either.
I knew what you meant, too.
Well, I knew what SimplyJenW meant.
sigh
I just knew you’d hate that Jim but you are so irresistible to mess with! :)
In general, though, I don’t think most black teas have the mouthfeel of a greener tea (oolongs, greens, and most of the whites I have tried, really). A few of them obviously do. I almost wonder if it has to do with the oxidation processing for black teas. I will have to try this in my gaiwan at some point to see if it is thinner by mouthfeel. I know you meant nothing to do with the flavor. I appreciate gongfu brewing, I am usually just too easily distracted so western wins out.
I thought this was very much reminiscent of cocoa nib. Maybe I missed the thinness because I steeped a tad long and later made the brew into a quite tasty latte just to see if it would hold up.
I am drinking it now. I usually brew western style, though. I think I steeped for 4 minutes. Definitely not thin… It amazes me how much steeping parameters affect the taste of tea!
I’m doing gongfu steeping and it definitely doesn’t have the texture that many other teas have — even other Tea Vivre teas.
Again, the flavor is plenty strong, I’m talking about thin mouth feel here.
Don’t know JIm, Knew what you meant but I didn’t get that thinness brewing Western Style either.
I knew what you meant, too.
Well, I knew what SimplyJenW meant.
sigh
I just knew you’d hate that Jim but you are so irresistible to mess with! :)
In general, though, I don’t think most black teas have the mouthfeel of a greener tea (oolongs, greens, and most of the whites I have tried, really). A few of them obviously do. I almost wonder if it has to do with the oxidation processing for black teas. I will have to try this in my gaiwan at some point to see if it is thinner by mouthfeel. I know you meant nothing to do with the flavor. I appreciate gongfu brewing, I am usually just too easily distracted so western wins out.