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I may have stated before but, my previous experiences with white tea have been lack luster. I am fairly certain that this is my first White Peony(Bai MuDan) as well. However the offerings that I have sampled from Teavivre have changed my outlook on white tea. I am liking more so than I like straight up green tea. I’m beginning to think maybe my previous attempts at white tea were fumbles at the goal line. The dry leaf is fuzzy like a peach with some buds mixed in. Pale yellow liquor. Much like the white silver needles the flavor is a little nutty, slightly vegetal. There were some floral notes too on a couple of sips as it cooled. At one point I thought that I caught a cinnamon note and cocoa note. I might be crazy on those but I’m also a tad congested lately. I am very much in like with the white teas that I have sampled from Teavivre. I may have to explore some more white teas now.

Brewed this up at work. Freaked out my co-workers :) Not a bad tea. French Pressed it. It’s just ok to me.

Thank You oOTeaOo for this sampling. This is my first offering from Rishi. There are some tea companies that I have not tried because I usually find a sale from another company that side tracks me(Tea ADD). Or I the fact that sometimes I’m cheap and don’t want to pay ten dollars for shipping. So I’m excited try this one. Now if you have read my tasting notes than you may know that I love Pu-Erh teas. The earthier the better in my opinion. I switched up the way I brew for this one. Normally I am not one to rinse Pu-Erh. Some may say that is wrong but normally I don’t. I did however rinse this one for 30 seconds. There is a benefit I have found for rinsing. I also usually brew for 3-4 minutes. However I found that in the 30 second rinse it prepares the tuocha for steeps to come, and I have up to 4 steeps so far at 2 minutes per steep. Each as dark and smooth as the first. So I may have to experiment more into shorter steeps with this. Of course I have been enjoying it in my Yixing cup that I have dedicated to unflavored Pu-Erhs. This is a fabulous tuocha. Had left overs for lunch today and they have been sitting heavy since. So this has definitely been helping. This one is very dark smooth and lovely. Very much like my favorite Imperial Pu-Erh or other tuocha’s

There is reason breakfast teas are called such. Bright. Strong. Smooth. Still has to be one of my favorite English Breakfast teas.

Finished out the New Year festivities with this one. My fruit tea and tisane consumption tends to be sparse. It’s not that I don’t like the fruit teas. I just prefer straight teas. The problem with teas like this is that I have a hard time not eating the dried fruit :) This one is not bad reminds me of strawberry lemonade or Tazo passion tea. Sorry but when you put hibiscus in a tea it’s going to have the Tazo quality for me. It’s pretty good a little the pineapple is very predominant it this tea. The only qualms I have with this tisane is the 3-4 teaspoons per cup and steeping it for ten minutes to really get the flavor. I guess that’s one of the properties when you are steeping all fruits. I think this would be great iced.

Let the festivities continue. There seems to be a pattern. Teavivre seems to be the tea of choice for the evening. Other flowering teas that I have sampled have been jasmine flavored. So this is a new experience for me. The green tea is not a very strong scent. The liquor is a little darker yellow. Slightly nutty not bitter. However it took a second steep for the flower to really open up. It’s a decent green and a good one to share with friends over for New Years Eve. I kinda like having a flowering tea that’s not all jasmine. However the flower itself blooming is not as dynamic and just seemed to not want to open up.

New Years Eve consisted of tea, friends, and good food. This is where my drinking for the night started. I have not been a huge fan of white tea. It’s been week. Done something to my stomach. Having this with kielbasa with kraut, pigs in a blanket, and homemade mashed potatoes…..with heavy whipping cream. Yum. A light yellow liquor. A little smell and taste of hay. As I’m continuing to enjoy this tea a little more like like almonds. Raw almonds. Un-roasted. I think this is the best white tea that I have tried so far. This one would make me add more white tea to the cupboard.

Have to be at the station this morning and have to take the kiddo back to her mother’s after having a full week with her. DOUBLE GRRRR! Mmmm Tea roasty, chocolatey….back to work and stopping my whining.

Thank You Garrett for sending this one. Hmmm where’s the beef?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnikaebsSAA&feature=related Except in this case where’s the smoke? I love a good lapsang. Whether it’s been smoking a pack a day or trying to quit and switched to ultra lights. I love cooking with lapsang. Marinating beef for chili or throwing a little bit in the crock with pot roast. Kinda like in So I Married an Axe Murderer if it’s not Scottish it’s crap and if it’s crap it’s not Scottish. Any lapsang would make me happy but it has to have a the smoke! I am disappointed because I have enjoyed everything that I have sampled from Adagio. It’s a decent black tea at base. Much like the Gong Fu black from Teavivre or another Chinese black from the Fujian province….sadly as far as lapsangs go this just doesn’t cut it.

Thank you to oOTeaOo for this one. I have to be honest and say I haven’t had to many teas that have spearmint in them. Peppermint….for sure. This is quite good. There are lot of bagged mint blends that have the mints intertwined, but I like the spearmint standing alone here. For some reason “the cheese stands alone” starts playing in my head. I found that the spearmint seems to be a little more creamy than peppermint. It blends well with this black tea.