Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng Green Tea is one of the ten famous Chinese teas. This Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng Green Tea origins in organic tea base of Tianmu Mountain in Lin’an, Hangzhou. The organic tea base of Tianmu Mountain, has passed the organic certification of European, USA and Japan, is a significant base of planting organic dragon well and green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
These leaves are beautiful. So long and slender and wiry. The color is so deeply green on these leaves that they almost appear black. A deep, forest-y green like the color of the evergreen forests here in the Pacific Northwest. Gorgeous!
The brewed tea is very light in color and has a very pleasing flavor. Mao Feng is one of my favorite green teas … quite simply because it tends to be very simple! It tastes like what I expect green tea to taste like. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a complexity to this cup – it certainly has many layers of enjoyable flavors – what I mean to say is that it doesn’t try to be anything that it is not. It is green tea, and that is what it tastes like.
It has a forward vegetative taste that tastes of sweet, broth-y vegetables – sort of like a comforting bowl of vegetable soup but without the chunks of vegetables! It isn’t really “grassy” … it is more like vegetables, but occasionally, I do get a distinctive tone that is more grassy to me than veggie.
When served hot, it becomes a very cozy, relaxing cup of tea. When served iced, it becomes a very refreshing, exhilarating drink. It is sweet and enjoyable served straight, but it also takes the addition of a thin slice of lemon quite nicely. A sprig of mint would also be agreeable.
This is one of those teas that I’d choose for an everyday green tea. A really enjoyable Mao Feng.
Monkey Picked (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin Oolong from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Using Taiwan autumn tea as material, this Monkey Picked Tie Guanyin carefully selected by TeaVivre is baked slowly by soft fire (the baking process falls into three steps and every step lasts two minutes). The degree of fermentation is 100 percent so that the dried tea can keep a long-lasting fragrance. After brewing, the smell of honey peach and the baked flavor can be perfectly appreciated and the beverage tastes gorgeously smooth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Have I mentioned how much I love Teavivre lately?
The reason is simple: they never cease to amaze me with their spectacular teas. The quality is exceptional and the flavor is stunning. This Tie Guan Yin exemplifies those words very clearly, this is truly an astonishing cup of tea!
The aroma of the dry leaf is quite intriguing, it smells a bit like roasted peaches that have been drenched with honey before being roasted. I can smell a slight char, the sweet fruit which has been intensified by the extreme temperatures of the roast, and the beautiful honey notes that offer hints of flower. Delightful!
The fragrance of the brewed tea is a bit different – I still smell hints of what I experienced with the dry leaf, but, now I smell more notes that are indicative of a Tie Guan Yin: sweet and vegetative … but there are still lingering notes of that charred, roasted aroma.
And, how I am loving the taste of this Oolong! It tastes so sweet. There are notes of toasted nuts in the background, along with a richness that is almost like browned butter. Yes, browned butter that has been drizzled over steamed greens. And deliciously peachy and honey-esque. Layers and layers of intense flavor.
As I continue to sip, and make my way into later infusions, I notice hints of vanilla. The peach notes emerge stronger in the later infusions, as the toasty notes seem to soften.
A delicious tea that tantalizes the taste buds with notes that are both sweet and savory – and a joy to imbibe!
Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Keemun Black Tea is one of the four famous black tea in the world, while Keemun Fragrant Black tea is one of the best of it. Keemun Fragrant Black tea only use spring tea leaves as material, in the form of one bud and two leaves. Making process of this tea will take 8 – 9 hours, including lightly sun withering, rolling, fermentation, drying, and manual kneading. The dry leaves are tight and thin. Keemun Fragrant Black tea is fully fermented, presenting a color of coppery red, and revealing abundant golden buds. The unique Keemun fragrance and fruity floral flavor makes the tea suitable for either brewing with Gaiwan or drinking with milk.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When a tea has ‘fragrant’ in its name, you know you just have to smell it! The dry leaf possesses a deliciously wonderful aroma. I smell notes of cocoa! Deep, rich, dark chocolate notes dominate, while hints of freshly baked bread linger in the background. I can smell a malty tone, as well as notes of caramel. It smells so sweet and rich. The fragrance of the brewed tea is much softer when compared to the dry leaf, but, it is still very alluring. So much so that it beckons me to take a sip!
Wow … so good. This is the Keemun I’d recommend to someone who usually finds Keemun to be on the smoky side, because while there are some whispers of smoke in the distance, they are such distant notes that they’re barely distinguishable. This tea focuses on the sweeter side of Keemun with pronounced notes of cocoa, malt, and caramel.
It is also a milder Keemun. Many Keemun teas are very invigorating and have a hefty, almost rugged kind of flavor and texture … a good amount of gusto. And while this Keemun is indeed invigorating in its own way, it doesn’t have that same robust boldness that other Keemun teas that I’ve tasted possess. That is not to say that this tea lacks anything in terms of flavor, because this tea is incredibly full flavored.
Instead, I would say that this tea, while stern in its own way, takes the softer, “nice cop” approach. It tempts the drinker with its sweet, delicious notes of chocolate and warm, freshly baked bread. It entices the drinker with its luscious caramel tones and envelops you in the delicious complexity. Rather than strong-arming the drinker to an alert state of mind, it lulls the drinker into a sense of attentive consciousness. It’s really quite lovely!
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
This Organic Dragon Well Long Jing tea origins in organic tea base of Tianmu Mountain in Lin’an, Hangzhou. The organic tea base of Tianmu Mountain, has passed the organic certification of European, USA and Japan, is a significant base of planting organic dragon well and green tea. This dragon well long jing tea persists a high level in picking and producing while meeting the standard of organic certification. The tea should be picked as one bud and two leaves or three leaves in order to reach the standard. Tea workers also have excellent skills, which help keep the natural features of fresh tea leaves. Combined with the advantages of organic tea and high grade tea, this dragon well long jing tea is suitable for tea lovers of organic tea as well as dragon well green tea.
Learn more about this green tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I like Dragon Well tea (I didn’t always, but that’s another story), so it doesn’t surprise me that I’m enjoying this Organic Superfine Long Jing from Teavivre. I knew I’d like it. And I do.
But, what I didn’t expect is how much I’d like it. This is one of the very best – if not the best – Dragon Well teas I’ve encountered. It tastes so crisp and clean. It tastes sweet and slightly vegetative, with buttery undertones. Vaguely reminiscent of steamed fresh veggies – sweet, mild tasting veggies. Like fresh lima beans with just a touch of melted butter. Delicious and mouthwatering!
What I really like about this tea, though, is not the vegetable taste but the taste of freshly roasted chestnuts! Because of this sweet, nutty flavor, it tastes very much like autumn to me, and is making me look forward to a time when it will be cool enough to start a fire in the fireplace and roast some chestnuts! YUM!
Drinking this Long Jing offers a great sense of calm and satisfaction, but at the same time, I can feel it rejuvenate me. I feel invigorated as I drink it – but not so invigorated that I am bouncing off the walls. It leaves me feeling refreshed and relaxed.
Another exceptional tea from a company that seems to offer nothing but exceptional teas – Teavivre!
Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
The leaves of Black Dragon Pearl tea would only be picked around the time of Qingming / Pre-Ming, which is around Apr. 5, 2011 in spring. It’s the highest grade in spring teas, with marked white hairs. The pearl of this tea are 8 to 12 millimeters in diameter. When carefully smelling the flavor of dry tea, you can easily figure a slight smell of chocolate beside the aroma of black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I do love a good black pearl tea, and this certainly qualifies! This is right up there, just as good, if not better, than the ones I’ve tasted in the past.
I brewed this in my gaiwan so that I could watch the leaves unfurl (I can’t really do this in my breville!) I dropped three pearls into my gaiwan, and poured over the nearly boiling water (I used 205°F water for brewing this tea) and watched them open. After about a minute and a half, they were nearly opened, but still had a little left in them (which means more infusions! Yay!)
The flavor is so incredible. If you like those rich, malty black teas with the cocoa-ish flavors to them, you really MUST try this tea, because that is exactly what I’m tasting right now.
With the second infusion, the richness and maltiness continues, as does the chocolate-y notes. I also notice a savoriness beginning to emerge … just a hint of bitterness from the cocoa, a lovely contrast between bitter and sweet dances on the tongue.
I decided to give this a third infusion to see what other flavors I might discover. This third infusion is even smoother than the first two, with the rich and malty tones melding together with the chocolate. The savory elements have softened somewhat, to create a remarkably smooth taste from beginning to end.
An absolutely LOVELY tea experience awaits those who indulge in these amazing black pearls from Teavivre! Add this one to your must try list!