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.

RadioactiviTea-Man Teas

This was my firestarter this morning. I slept though my alarm so I had to reach for sumpthin’ with a kick. I am really liking Assam. It’s got a nice boost and lovely maltiness. Not to mention Prodigy is good to pumped. I’ve started getting back into the swing of working out and hitting the gym. I hadn’t realized how inactive I have become till now. I find anytime Prodigy tickles my eardrums I work a little bit harder…a good kick in the assam if you will. The supply of this one is starting to dwindle. So I may have to reorder or explore some other CTC. This also reminds me of a song I used to play on my radio show in college by the Channel Surfers-C.T.C quite the groovy little bit. Ah Tea and good music slaying the Buttdragons together.

Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom Tea Blend-Teavana

So this came with an online order. Smells pretty good. I looked at the sample and thought it seems like a lot of leaf for 16oz as it says on the instructions. As I’m finding though you seem to need more stuff when you are steeping the fruit. So again we have hibiscus here, and sigh this is reminding me of Tazo passion. However with the ginormous citrus presence. Yes I know used an overused word like “shared sacrifice”. The sample says it has german rock sugar in it……but there’s no sweetness here. Just citrusy goodness. Grapefruit, Orange, Pineapple, I saw the apple there too. Reminds me of when I used to sell citrus fruit in band as a high school-er. I was never that great of a salesman so we bought most the citrus and you could smell the aroma in the garage. This one time at band camp we were stretching and I split my shorts. I’m glad football excluded me from band camp in the later years. You know one of my favorite songs at the time was a classic from Weezer

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.

Organic Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha-Rishi Tea

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

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.