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Cameron B. drank True Love Silver Needle Flower Tea by Teavivre

4161 tasting notes

TeaVivre offered the variety pack of these silver needle flowering teas for the price of shipping as part of their Black Friday sales. Basically it was 6 different flowering teas for less than $4 so I figured why not? I really enjoy silver needle in general so it seemed like something I would enjoy. Just getting around to trying them out now! From the outside, the unsteeped tea just looks like a ball of silver needle with a round side and a flatter side that I assume is the bottom. Dry scent is fragrant hay and oats.

Even though the directions call for boiling water, I used my usual temperature for white tea as I didn’t want to risk it going bitter. Because of that, my bulb took quite a while to fully unfurl in the cup, probably 10 minutes or so. Even with the long steep, the tea isn’t bitter at all! It has a nice smooth hay flavor with a touch of raw oats and a little bit of floral presence from the amaranth, jasmine, and marigold flowers included. My cup came out pretty strong because of the long steep, but I’m enjoying it. There’s also a little bit of stonefruit and cucumber flavor from the white tea. Once fully unfurled, it reminds me of some kind of little sea creature with two antennas! Cute.

http://instagram.com/p/xXwyKDmgMD/

Flavors: Creamy, Cucumber, Floral, Hay, Oats, Stonefruit

Preparation

185 °F / 85 °C 8 min or more 10 OZ / 295 ML

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Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron!

I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, Korean skincare, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- November sipdowns: 13
- Total 2024 sipdowns: 156

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing