Since I had to create a template for this tea I guess it is a pretty new offering. It is a jasmine tea with Tieguanyin base. The jasmine is not overboard and this is a plus. However, it does not seem to blend well with its oolong base.
The Tieguanyin in question is quite green and low-oxidation, with a rather herbaceous and floral taste. To my surprise the directions indicated that the water should be 212 degrees and when I followed it the tea came out predictably bitter and sour.
After much of trial I established that if you use water around 180-190 degrees and very short steeps you get yourself a somewhat balanced if not particularly complex drink. And oh, its taste went downhill fast for consequent steepings.
In short, this tea requires you to do a song and dance as if you were calming down a petulant baby. And when you finally succeed and get everything just right your reward is not that awesome. I will not be ordering this tea again.
Flavors: Floral, Herbaceous, Jasmine, Sour
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I have nothing to contribute besides a hearty lol at the end.
Jasmine oolongs can be ridiculously hard to get right. I still have not found one better than the Taiwan Jin Xuan Jasmine Oolong from What-cha. The last one I tried was meh, so I feel you.
Sounds like the Lady Jasmine isn’t getting a second date…
I don’t blame you. To be honest with you, the Lady Jasmine usually wears too much perfume for me, so I rarely even try to put up with her fussy behavior. ;-)
I should probably clarify, bluegreen, that I didn’t laugh at your experience. Rather, your tea personifications amuse me. I enjoy them when they pop up.
Teavivre seems to be slightly obsessed with jasmine. They blend it with all kind of green teas, oolongs, regular black teas, black tea buds, puerh, herbal teas, offer it neat… “Spam, bacon, sausage and Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam!”
I like jasmine but I do not think that it blends well (or willingly!) with anything you can put in your teapot. That oolongs was a case in point.
But I will still try all of Teavivre’s other jasmine blends! And will probably get pure jasmine as well. Is it not what we all are doing here, eternally unable to resist the call of a new, not-yet-tried tea?
I think we are going to have a lot of grave epitaph’s reading, “Alas, was unable to try all the cuppas.”
I have nothing to contribute besides a hearty lol at the end.
Jasmine oolongs can be ridiculously hard to get right. I still have not found one better than the Taiwan Jin Xuan Jasmine Oolong from What-cha. The last one I tried was meh, so I feel you.
Sounds like the Lady Jasmine isn’t getting a second date…
I don’t blame you. To be honest with you, the Lady Jasmine usually wears too much perfume for me, so I rarely even try to put up with her fussy behavior. ;-)
I should probably clarify, bluegreen, that I didn’t laugh at your experience. Rather, your tea personifications amuse me. I enjoy them when they pop up.
Teavivre seems to be slightly obsessed with jasmine. They blend it with all kind of green teas, oolongs, regular black teas, black tea buds, puerh, herbal teas, offer it neat… “Spam, bacon, sausage and Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam!”
I like jasmine but I do not think that it blends well (or willingly!) with anything you can put in your teapot. That oolongs was a case in point.
But I will still try all of Teavivre’s other jasmine blends! And will probably get pure jasmine as well. Is it not what we all are doing here, eternally unable to resist the call of a new, not-yet-tried tea?
I think we are going to have a lot of grave epitaph’s reading, “Alas, was unable to try all the cuppas.”