Jasmine “Dragon Pearls” Green Tea-Teavivre

I guess you would say I’m double fisting Teavivre style this morning. I enjoy jasmine teas quite a bit. They are not everyday teas for me but there is a comfort that jasmine brings to me. It reminds me so much of summer and going on vacation. Dragon pearls fascinate me as well…as do other artisan teas. Yes Hollywood has corrupted me because every time I hear pearl I think Pirates of the Caribbean. If you saw my previous post about pirates and drinking tea. Arrr! I think there is a beauty in watching the pearls open up like watching a Ti Kuan Yin open up. I really like this version of pearls because the jasmine is a little more subtle and not overpowering. This would be a great after dinner or afternoon tea. Thus continuing my high esteem for Teavivre.

Origin: Fuding, Fujian, China

Ingredients: Made from one bud and one new leaf, with obvious silver tips, hand rolled into a pearl shape

Harvest time: Hand-picked in March, 2011

Taste: A bold sweet tea, with a subtle jasmine aroma

Brew: 1 teaspoon for 8oz of water. Brew at 176 ºF (80 ºC) for 1 to 2 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: Jasmine Dragon Pearl is a premium green tea, and so gives you all the great health benefits of any green tea. In addition it is also widely believed in China that the jasmine flowers themselves add some additional benefits, helping reduce depression and also helping with natural detoxification of the body.

Bailin Gongfu Black Tea (Bai Lin Gong Fu) - Teavivre

I can’t believe I have forgotten to review this one. Many thanks to Angel for this sample.This is my morning pot. I don’t have to be in to work till the afternoon so I’m relaxing a little bit and enjoying this tea steeped in the perfect teamaker that I saved 10 dollars on Ebay with. Is it bad that I am starting to compare other teas up to the standard of Teavivre? This one is excellent a nice caramel liquor. I would say this is more of a mellow brew. It’s not as peppery as a Keemun. It kind of reminds me of baked potatoes. Growing up our church had chicken barbecues and when it was done everyone who worked ate. There always used to be the Styrofoam cooler with the baked potatoes. I used to grab one, they were made with a little butter in the foil, peel the foil and eat it straight like an apple. That’s the way to enjoy baked potatoes. This tea is excellent! I am really starting to fully enjoy good black teas.

Origin: Fuding, Fujian, China

Ingredients: Black and gold coloured pine-needle shaped

Harvest time: Hand-picked in April, 2011

Taste: A rich, full bodied sweet tasting tea with a hint of caramel

Brew: 1-2 teaspoons for 8oz of water. Brew at 185 ºF (85 ºC) for 2 to 3 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: A good source of antioxidants and so will help reduce the risk of cancers and lessen the affects of aging. Black teas such as our Bai Lin Gong Fu also are considered to help prevent tooth decay and help lower your cholesterol levels.

White Peony (Bai MuDan) Tea by Teavivre

I may have stated before but, my previous experiences with white tea have been lack luster. I am pretty sure as well that this is my first White Peony. 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.

Waterlilies Fruit Tea-Teavivre

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.

True Love Flower Tea-Teavivre

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.

Organic Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen)-Teavivre

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.

Chun Mei Green Tea (Zhen Mei)-Teavivre

Here is another sample from the lovely cornucopia sent to me from Teavivre. This reminds me of the Yunnan Emerald buds that I sampled from Teavana. Definitely different leaves from the the Dragon Well. The dry leaves are tightly rolled and have a slightly smoky aroma like charcoal. First steep a pale yellow liquor. Slightly smokey and slightly bitter. The wet leaf kinda reminds me of cooked greens and one of my favorite Christmas songs from Run DMC

The second steep is where it gets interesting. The the liquor this time is a bright orange hue. Definitely smokier and more bitter. Reminds me a lot of green pu-erh. I have not been a fan of green pu-erh so far but this is not as bad as my previous experience with the green pu-erh. Decent cup though.

Premium grade Dragon Well Green Tea (Long Jing)-Teavivre

Thanks again to Angel for sending me this sample. So out of the packaging I notice a smell of a field. Hay, alfalfa, grass like you are in the country. Not a bad thing considering that I am surrounded by farmland at my house. The leaves look like blades of grass too. Now I must admit that Chinese greens have not been my thing in the past. I tried one before and didn’t think it was too good. So with that I just a bit pensive trying it. I also shared it with a co-worker because I knew if I let it sit in the french press….ho boy welcome to bitterness city. It brewed up a pale liquor. My co-worker said it smelled like chicken broth. MMM I got that too maybe a little nutty, however I thought noodles. Insert Kung Fu Panda!!

I do believe I had the noodle dream! Personally I like teas that have more body to them. So drinking a chinese green or a white tea I feel like there is something missing. Very good though.

Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea-Teavivre

I started off my morning with this today and yesterday. I’ve seen Keemun described in many ways. Woody, smokey, piney, winey, earthy, nutty, and leathery. Every time I have a cup of keemun I find myself at a loss for words on how to compare the flavor. I can pickup the keemun in breakfast blends, to some degree in Lapsangs, and in some Pu-Erh. Really I guess when it all boils down the flavor is Chinese black. Of course another great offering from Teavivre. For me the flavor of keemun is old. Not in a bad way mind you. The taste reminds me of antiquity. If that sounds crazy I’m sorry. There is a hint of cedar wood sipping keemun, a little leathery as well. Oddly enough there’s a slight hint of perfume in it. Similar to a very high hopped India Pale Ale. So maybe it’s a little hoppy as well. Overall though a very good tea!

Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha-Teavivre

One word. Outstanding! This is another sample from Angel brewed in my Yixing clay cup. This is very smooth, dark, and lovely. This is very comparable to my favorite Imperial Pu-Erh from Dr. Tea just in the Tuocha format. You know when you have a good pu-erh when it does not taste fishy. Some lower quality pu-erhs that I have had are good…but you get a little fishyness to the taste. I’m starting off my day with this one going on my third steep. The first two have been great. I’m anxious to see how well this tea holds up to extra steepage. I am finding that with most pu-erh tea it’s helping after a few drinks last night while DJing. I’m not the connoisseur that I used to be of fine beer. Two Great Lakes Christmas ales…and I was feeling it. I’m such a lightweight. Truly though a great tea. I am continually being impressed by the quality of tea from Teavivre.

Origin: Anxi, Fujian, China

Ingredients: Jade colored leaves (hand made into small, rolled up)

Harvest time: Hand-picked in May, 2011

Taste: Delightfully fresh floral taste and aroma

Brew: 3-4 teaspoons for 8oz of water. Brew at 212 ºF (100 ºC) for 1 to 3 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: Tie Guan Yin tea is the premium form of Chinese Oolong teas. Being lightly fermented, these teas are high amino acids, vitamins, polyphenols and antioxidants. These combine into a tea that reduces cholesterol and helps reduce hardening of the arteries, and so can help reduce risks of heart attacks. The antioxidants it contains can also help guard against some forms of cancer, and also help fight the affects of aging and bacterial infections.

Another offering that I received from Teavivre. I have tried a few Ti Kuan Yin Oolongs and they all seem have different characters. Some more green. Others more oxidized. Some having a nutty or honey characteristic. There is a beauty in watching the Iron Goddess unfurl to present her glorious nectar. I do like how this is packaged, I can make a pot with one package. Opening up the dry leaves….whoa! Very floral. Very green. Smells like packaged summer. I know this is not a jasmine scented or flavored Oolong but it smells very similar. The leaves produce a pale yellow liquor. The smell and flavor remind me of that first part of June when you can really start to smell the Jasmine. Another great offering from Teavivre.

Ripened Rose Pu-erh Mini Tuocha

Another offering from Teavivre that I have been excited to try. Tuocha happens to be one of my favorite forms of the glorious tea that is Pu-Erh. I can’t tell you how many times when everything seems to be cramming down on me that I make a cup of Pu-Erh and I don’t know why but Pu-Erh seems to have that Je ne sais quoi that relaxes me and brings me back an even keel. For some it’s a drink of an alcoholic nature however it’s Pu-Erh for me. Now I have tried the rose tuocha from Tao of Tea before and enjoyed it. Again I love the packaging from this company and love how for the shelf life this one says ongoing. First steep the tuocha crumbled almost instantly after a minute. A nice dark liquor was produced. I have noticed with rose teas that the first cup has a bit of bite to it. I don’t know if this is a characteristic of the rose or not. It doesn’t deter from the quality of the tea just a tad bitter. Second Steep lovely and smooth. Third: lighter and tastes more like mushroom water. All said I think this is another fine offering from teavivre. I am enjoying what they have to offer.

Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip

So I am reviewing this one after my second tasting because sometimes with my palette I have to try it a second time before accurately reviewing a tea. First of all I have to say that I am very impressed with the ATD of this company. In the broadcast industry we call that attention to detail. Never on tea packaging have I seen the origin, factory it was produced in, date it was produced and shelf life. Now about the tea. So as I have matured in my coffee tasting and can pinpoint beans from different regions…so it goes with teas. There is a certain taste quality that you get from Yunnan blacks….slightly smokey…a little peppery…hint of leather…maybe even pumpkin. None the less this is a quality tea and I am quite glad to try it. Teavivre