Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
A cup of Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea will not only attract you by its taste, but also by its appearance: so dark and strong with tight and long tips. This tempting appearance is produced in Yunnan. While if you want to describe its taste, you can use the word elegant. It can serve you a cup of elegant gongfu tea or afternoon tea.
High mountains and proper environment produces good tea. Chinese Red has a price of high value. Its special tea tree and superb making skills make this tea carrying a unique fragrance as rich as perfumes. The top notes make you delighted; the middle notes fresh your mind; the base note of strong floral fragrance make you intoxicated.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ahhh-ma-ZING! This tea is truly remarkable. Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea from Teavivre is one of those memorable black teas that I believe all tea lovers should try!
The tea brews up dark and has a thick, silky mouthfeel that seems to coat the palate with it’s full-flavored goodness. I taste notes of deep, dark bittersweet chocolate and an undertone of rich, creamy caramel. It has that “baked” quality to it, the kind of taste that evokes thoughts of freshly baked bread.
There are notes of malt and there is very little – as in next to NO – astringency to this tea. In fact, I mention the astringency only because just now I took a sip and really focused on what I was experiencing to see if I could notice any astringency. And when I’m very focused on it, I can detect a slight dry sensation toward the tail. It’s ever-so-slight and those who tend to be astringent-sensitive shouldn’t worry about this tea.
For those of you who remember Dawn from Simple Leaf and miss it (and let’s face it, if you remember the tea, you miss it!) this tea would make a really good substitute for that tea. It reminds me a lot of that tea. It is rich with notes of cocoa, sweet, caramel-y undertones and notes of stone fruit (plum-ish) mid-sip.
A really memorable, delicious tea – and it’s just as flavorful with the second infusion, too!
Organic Nonpareil She Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
In the early Spring, when the tea buds just appeared their face on the trees, the harvest of She Qian Dragon Well is ready to begin. The tea gardens in Hangzhou are busy making the first flush teas. The fresh leaves of She Qian Dragon Well are all in one bud with one leaf shape, as straight as an upstanding flag. The beautiful shape also brings enjoyment to the brewing.
Organic She Qian Dragon Well Tea can reach your requirements for both quality and health benefits. A good starting of the year is in Spring; a taste of good spring tea is from She Qian Dragon Well.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
FRESH! This Organic Nonpareil She Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from Teavivre is the brand new harvest from Spring 2014 – wait a sec – this IS Spring 2014! It doesn’t get fresher than that!
The leaves are beautifully jade green, and they produce a liquid that is very pale green. The flavor is very fresh, pure, and clean. There is a sweet, nutty flavor to it that reminds me of chestnuts. The chestnuts have a slightly buttery taste to them too, and there is an invigorating “green” taste. This is nutty, vegetal, buttery and pleasantly sweet.
I like the mild flavor of this, it doesn’t have an overpowering vegetative tone. It has a well-balanced, nicely round flavor. The texture is soft and brothy.
The flavor is complex with the top notes of sweet chestnuts, steamed veggies that have been lightly drizzled with melted butter and as I continue to sip, I start to pick up on a light, apple-y mid-note. There is a hint of savory taste in there … almost salty or perhaps kelp-y might be a better way to describe it. It’s not a strong note, it tastes like someone added about half a pinch of salt to my steamed veggies!
Teavivre has been a long-standing favorite company of mine and this tea is a perfect example of WHY I love them so much. This is one of the finest Dragon Well teas I’ve yet to taste. It is so fresh and I can taste that freshness in every sip.
Nonpareil Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Speaking on Taiwan tea, Li Shan Oolong Tea is the top level Taiwan Gao Leng oolong tea. The special phrase Gao Leng, 高冷(gāo lěng) in Chinese, means high and cold, refers to the environment at high altitudes and in low temperature. Li Shan tea trees are grown in this high and cold environment, making the tea leaf soft, thick with high content of pectin substances. This unique feature cannot be found on the teas grown in low altitude areas. Just as an old Chinese saying that human beings are shaped by the land around them. So are the tea trees.
By this token, growing of the tea trees, picking the fresh tea leaves, as well as processing of the tea all reply on the environment condition. The climate in Lishan Mountain makes Gao Leng Tea in a limited output. It is a remarkable tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A gorgeous Li Shan Oolong, this Nonpareil Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea from Teavivre! The aroma of the dry leaf is floral with notes of vegetation, and it maintains this fragrance once the tea is brewed.
I brewed this in my gaiwan, combining the first five infusions in my Li Shan Yixing mug (following a 15 second rinse).
The floral notes translate to the flavor nicely. It tastes floral but it isn’t an overly sharp floral tone. Orchid? There is a sweetness to the cup as well, and when I taste those sweet notes, honeysuckle immediately comes to mind but I do think I’m tasting more orchid here than honeysuckle.
As I continue to sip, I find that the flowery notes seem to become more complex. This is not as creamy as I would expect from a Li Shan. It has a thinned creamy taste and texture, it isn’t a heavy creaminess, more like a background note of something soft and silky.
However, as the tea cools slightly, I find that it becomes a little thicker and creamier, so if you’re one who really loves that creamy taste and texture of a green Oolong, it is worth the wait to allow this to cool for a few minutes. Your wait will be rewarded with a smooth and creamy tea!
This has some nutty tones to it, although it doesn’t have the roasty-toasty type of flavor to go along with it. Just a sweet, nutty character that sort of weaves it’s way in and out of the sip. In place of where I might normally taste the roasty-toasty flavors of a roasted Oolong, I taste more of a ‘cake-like’ sort of flavor that when combined with the floral tones of this tea, becomes a very interesting flavor, indeed. Imagine an orchid infused cream cake!
Another very enjoyable Oolong from Teavivre. If you’re looking for a top-notch Oolong, Teavivre is the place to go!
Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
The Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea is grown in the area at the altitude of 2500 meters, in which the climate is cold and forests grow well. This cold and moisture condition is suitable for tea trees’ growth. In addition, the soil here is fertile, meanwhile performs well in drainage. Thus the tea leaves carry a natural scent of flower and fruit.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The fragrance of this Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea from Teavivre is extraordinary. It has such a beautifully sweet, floral scent with hints of fruit and a slight vegetal note.
My first cup of this tea – infusions 1 & 2 following a quick rinse of the leaves – is light, sweet and creamy. There are faint vegetative notes with more prominent floral tones. There are subtle notes of fruit in the layers of flavor here too … reminiscent of apricot.
The second cup – infusions 3 & 4 – is not quite as delicately flavored as the first, and it’s a little less on the creamy side and a little more on the floral side. The floral notes seem to be melding with the vegetal tones to create a seamless flavor. The fruit notes seem to be emerging a little more too. This cup is a little more flavorful overall.
I noticed that my third cup – infusions 5 & 6 – was much more unified in flavor. It was still a little creamy and the floral notes are less sharp and distinct. I find that the fruit tone tastes a bit more like an apple now: crisp, sweet, with vague hints of sour. I don’t taste very much of a vegetative taste now, this is more fruit and flower than any other flavor. The texture is very smooth and there is very little astringency to this cup.
Teavivre offers some of the very finest Oolong teas that I’ve ever tried and this DaYuLing is but one example of what I’m talking about. They also provide excellent customer service, and exhibit exceptional care for their product. I cannot recommend them highly enough … you just can’t go wrong with them.
Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
The fresh Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Tea provided by Teavivre is picked before Tomb-Sweeping Day, an important solar term in Chinese agriculture. Ming Qian (Pre-ming) tea is seldom damaged by insects. Its buds and leaves are delicate and tender. With a mellow taste, it is emerald green in color and quite beautiful in appearance. Since the weather is relatively cold before Tomb-Sweeping Day, the number of fresh buds is limited and they grow slow. Therefore, a few leaves can meet the picking standard. Compared with those picked after Tomb-Sweeping Day, Ming Qian (Pre-ming) tea is of top grade.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Teavivre is one of my favorite tea companies. The reason is quite simple. They offer some of the very best teas available, and it is obvious to me that this is a company that cares about the teas that they sell. This is evident in their careful packaging that protects the tea quality and integrity of the tea. This is evident in their responsive customer service. More than that … this is evident in the FLAVOR of the tea itself.
As this Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from Teavivre brewed, I could smell the strong, fresh vegetative aroma. The scent filled the kitchen, smelling of steamed vegetables … it smelled delicious!
The flavor matches the fragrance with its strong, vegetative overtone. It is pleasantly sweet but with a nice contrasting savory tone that is almost like salt. I taste nutty notes, reminiscent of a freshly roasted chestnut: creamy and sweet, with hints of butter.
The texture is smooth and silky, and there is very little astringency to this. It is not bitter (although I wouldn’t recommend steeping it in water too hot or for too long a time. I recommend a temperature of 175ºF and a brew time of 1 – 1 1/2 minutes for the first infusion, and increasing the brew time by 30 seconds for each subsequent infusion.)
I like that this tea holds up well through multiple infusions too. This is definitely a tea that you want to spend some time with … take your time and savor it! It will submit several very flavorful infusions that will make it well worth your efforts!