Tea Review: Award Winning Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea - Golden Tip (Teavivre)

Award Winning Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea - Golden Tip
Teavivre
Type: Black
Origin: China, Yunnan Province, Fengqing
Product Description: 

The Global Tea Championship is an independent competition, judged by tea professional, to distinguish the highest quality & best tasting teas commercially available globally. We’re thrilled to announce that Teavivre’s Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip was placed as a Silver Winner in Fall Hot Loose-Leaf Competition March 2018. Its rounded taste and balanced flavor ultimately won the judges’ love in the Yunnan category.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have notes of berries, oats, and aged wood.

The liquor is dark red with heady notes of warm berries and fresh baked dark brown bread in both aroma and taste accompanied by moderate astringency.

The flavor and aroma reminded me of delicious fresh-from-the-oven berry pie, a trait I most look forward to with a dianhong even though it leaves me with an incredible craving for dessert.  The tea was full-flavored throughout three infusions.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Rou Gui Oolong Tea (Teavivre)

Rou Gui Oolong Tea
Teavivre
Type: Oolong
Origin: China, Fujian Province, Jian'ou City
Product Description:

Rou Gui, meaning Cinnamon in English, is made with leaves picked from tea plants grown along the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian Province. As a type of high-aroma tea, it belongs to the well-known Wuyi “rock tea” family. This Rou Gui oolong from TeaVivre strongly holds the baked aroma and flavor on both the dry leaves and the tea liquid; from the first steep, the aroma fills our nose, and when sipping the tea, the namesake cinnamon aroma comes first, to be followed by a strong floral, fruity note. The taste and aroma blend perfectly together, creating a sweet and fragrant yet thick tea, with a smooth, sweet aftertaste.

When drinking it you will find that this Rou Gui has a spicy aroma to it; this is what we call its cinnamon aroma, the characteristic of the tea and the most essential characteristic. Even after swallowing this aroma lingers in your mouth.

Temperature: 195° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3-4 minutes

The dry leaf aroma has notes of pepper, roasted nut shells, cinnamon, and dark brown bread.

The liquor is dark red with an aroma of roasted nut shells, caramelized sugar, and a hint of cinnamon.  The taste has notes of roasted nut shells, dark brown bread, and cinnamon with a long finish.

While this is an older sample, it brewed beautifully with depth of flavor and aroma throughout three steepings when prepared western style with a cupping set and gongfu style with a smaller brewing vessel and hotter water (208° F).  

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Anhui Huo Shan Huang Ya Yellow Tea (Teavivre)

Anhui Huo Shan Huang Ya Yellow Tea
Teavivre
Type: Green
Origin: China, Anhui Province, Liu’an City, Huoshan County, Taiyang Village
Product Description: Huo Shan Huang Ya Tea, made through a unique process involving the special step of “heaping” to yellow the leaves, is a lightly fermented tea that is gentler on the stomach than green tea. It originates from the Dabieshan area.

The fresh tea is hand-picked before Guyu, the 6th period of the traditional Chinese solar calendar, which usually begins in April 19. Only the tips of the tea leaves are picked - it’s standard practice to pick one bud with one leaf, or one bud with two unopened leaves. Including more leaves makes the taste mellower and infuses the tea with a more prominent chestnut flavor. This strong chestnut flavor is the most significant characteristic of Huo Shan Huang Ya Tea. It’s highly recommended to use a Gaiwan to brew it in order to better enjoy the strong fragrance and delicious taste.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 5 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma that is nutty with notes of brown bread and brown rice.

The pale green infusion has a buttery, nutty and green aroma and taste.

Steeping for 5 minutes at 175° F produced the most savory results which appealed most to my tastes.  A longer steeping time of up to 8 minutes developed mild astringency and fewer savory notes.  The first infusion was the most complex with each infusion after tending slightly greener in taste.  This tea was still going strong after three infusions and I would expect it to produce several more.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Premium Tai Ping Hou Kui Green Tea (Teavivre)

Premium Tai Ping Hou Kui Green Tea
Teavivre
Type: Green
Origin: China, Anhui Province, Huangshan, Xinming County, Houkeng
Product Description: Tai Ping Hou Kui is a fabulous green tea from Anhui with uniquely-shaped, flat leaves, marking it much different from other green teas - and, also, it is one of China’s top ten teas. Our tea comes from the village of Houkeng, the origin place of Tai Ping Hou Kui.

Early in 1915, Tai Ping Hou Kui tea won the golden award in the Panama Pacific International Exposition, and in 1955 it earned its status as one of China’s top ten most famous teas.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have a mellow sweet green aroma.

The pale green infusion has a sweet and nutty green aroma with a fresh green and lightly nutty taste and a dry finish.

A two minute initial infusion provided the best results with astringency just beginning to develop while subsequent infusion were much more forgiving and provided their best results at three to four minutes.  

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Premium Dragonwell (Teavivre)

Premium Dragonwell
Teavivre
Type: Green
Origin: China, Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City, Xihu District
Product Description: Dragon Well green tea, or “Long Jing”, is commonly regarded as one of China's top ten teas, and is often served to visiting heads of state. Apart from its delightfully sweet taste, with none of the bitterness that sometimes characterizes other green teas, Xihu Long Jing's significant difference from other green teas is the smooth flat appearance of the tea leaves. TeaVivre have selected a great example of this premium Xihu Long Jing tea.

Whenever you feel upset or restless, Long Jing Tea is the perfect drink to relax and calm you.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a mineral green and slightly nutty aroma.

The pale golden green infusion has an aroma that is buttery, nutty, and boldly green.  The taste is mildly astringent with toasty green and lightly nutty notes and a long sweet finish.

While I tend to prefer the slightly more mellow results with a 2 minute steeping, the bold green and somewhat more astringent taste when steeped at 3 minutes is invigorating.  

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Silver Jasmine Green Tea (Teavivre)

Advent Tea Calendar Day 23

Silver Jasmine Green Tea / Mo Li Yin Hao
Teavivre
Type: Flavored Green
Origin: China, Fujian Province
Product Description:  Hugely popular in China, Silver Jasmine Green tea is produced by adding jasmine flower petals to the tea buds during processing, so infusing this premium green tea with a subtle fragrance and taste of jasmine. After drying the flower petals are removed, leaving the tea with its unique taste and fragrance. TeaVivre's Silver Jasmine is made from premium Fuding Da Bai and Da Hao tea trees grown in Mt Taimu, Fujian.

Temperature: 175° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a heavy jasmine aroma.

The liquor is pale yellow with a strong jasmine aroma and flavor and a long velvety finish.

The velvet texture from the silver buds add an unexpected element to this jasmine tea.

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.

Tea Review: Keemun Black Tea Grade 1 (Teavivre)

Keemun Black Tea

Teavivre
Type:  Black (Grade 1)
Origin:  China, Anhui (Qimen)
Product Description:  As one of the key ingredients in the famous English Breakfast tea, Keemun black tea is justifiably considered one of the finest black teas in the world.  It's strong aroma and taste hints at both flowers and fruit, but is well balanced and always leaves you wanting more. 
When you look at TeaVivre's Keemun you will see thin, twisted buds that have been carefully hand-rolled to avoid breakage but allow the buds to fully oxidise during processing. 
A perfect breakfast tea, Keemun is the key ingredient in many breakfast blends, notably English Breakfast and Russian Caravan.  It is great to drink by itself, or with milk or sugar.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a sweet caramel aroma, oaty with a light marine quality that reminds me of kombu.

The red amber infusion has an aroma of honey and flowers with light smoky notes.  The taste is smoky, lightly sweet, with a dry finish.

The flavor and aroma carried well through multiple infusions, though I favored the complexity of the first and would like to try the second with a splash of milk.  

This tea was provided as a free sample without guarantee of a review.