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Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

(See previous tasting note for a more thorough review)

I couldn’t get to sleep so I made a big pot of puerh with one of these tuo cha. Even with the extra water, it still full on flavour and tastes very nice for ripe puerh. If you’ve ever been burned by this sort of tea before, it’s worth checking out. There is NO chemical or fishy flavour here at all.

2-3 cups of water in a big teapot, 1 tuo cha, rinse + 3 steeps

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

For anyone that has watched my steeping habits, you know that I love to resteep tea. So I was excited to see that on Teavivre’s webpage for Yunnan Dian Hong that you can resteep it 12 times! To ensure the best results, I contacted their representative on Steepster for the steeping parameters. For the short steep method, I should start with a 3 second rinse, and then steep for 30 to 45 seconds, followed by 10 to 15 seconds for each resteep.

So for today’s tasting session I chose to start with 30 seconds and then add 10 s for each resteep.

Moving on to describing the tea; inside the tea pouch I noticed very fuzzy black tea buds that have a caramel aroma.

After the quick rinse and steeping, I tasted the first cup. It was a touch sweet like honey, spicy, earthy and overall light bodied.

More familiar flavours presented themselves in the second cup. The third cup sort of “blossomed” into what I consider typical flavour for this type of tea. Very smooth and comforting Yunnan black tea goodness.

The fourth steep was remarkably sweeter than the rest, and I am definitely picking up on the initial caramel notes I sniffed in the bag. After this cup I sniffed the gaiwan before continuing on with the resteeps. For some reason the scent reminded me of banana bread and grains.

Moving on, the fifth and sixth steeps seemed a bit more floral, both in taste and aroma. These were hearty, heavy bodied, full flavoured brews. The sixth gave me a wonderful resonating feeling.

Seven and eight started progressively getting lighter, but with the sweetness staying pretty consistent. The eight steep felt somewhat different on my tongue, I can’t quite describe it but it’s not a bad feeling.

Nine to eleven were dominated by sweetness. I can still taste the familiar flavour of this type, but it is not in full force.

Finishing off with the twelfth steep, I can start to taste the flavour of my water. With hints of black tea, sweet, earthyness. Is this still black tea? Well it still tastes like it, but obviously after this many steeps it is like a distant memory of tea.

I highly recommend this tea for those of you that enjoy resteeping. It’s a very tasty, smooth, black tea that works hard to please your senses. Like most of the teas Teavivre carries, they are an excellent price to flavour ratio. :) And a final note, I’m very impressed with these steeping parameters for the gaiwan, and I can’t wait to try it again with my other excellent black teas.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 12 steeps (rinse, :30s, +:10s resteeps)

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

(This is mostly a follow up from my last tasting note.)

Prepared this in a larger vessel today, it’s not exactly standard teapot size but close enough for me because I drink by myself. ;) The brew was not too bitter or overwhelming at all. It’s not delicate like the pearls, but continues to be a solid jasmine green tea. Personally I always find jasmine green tea to be easily enjoyable, and this one is no exception.

200ml glass teapot, 2 tsps, 1 steep

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

For my first attempt at steeping the tuo cha I’ll be using short steeps. In another tasting entry I’ll try out the western style (long steep).

That being said, my first sip was everything I expected it to be. Dark, smooth, earthy, ripe puerh with no nasty chemical taste.

Of course the tuo cha didn’t break up in the first stage, but with a little pushing from the gaiwan lid it fully unfurled on the second steep. It was a little bitter at first, but I guess that’s because it unfurled. ;) Anyway, the rose flavour starts to come out here, it goes well with the earthy nature of puerh.

At the third and fourth steeps, the bitterness subsides and the rose stands out even more. I might resteep it some more, but I expect the same flavour to come through anyway. Ripe puerh is pretty a consistent resteeper after it breaks up.

100 ml gaiwan, 1 tuo cha, a rinse and 4 steeps

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

I decided to drink this today since I already tried the other jasmine green tea. Anyway, looking and sniffing inside the pouch my expectations are met. I think the aroma from the other tea was a bit more enticing, but maybe I’m just having a jasmine overload. ;)

The pearls did not unfurl on the first steep, but nevertheless it was an enjoyable peek at what the leaves were capable of. Delicate green tea, light jasmine flavour, a bit of spice, and an overall smooth experience.

On the second steep, they unfurled a bit more. The green tea has a nice flavour, not bitter and still delicate.

Third and fourth steeps brought more of the same flavour, with the addition of a menthol/mint feeling.

Fifth steep was enjoyable, but I mostly taste the jasmine.

I finished on the sixth steep, which was quite mild but still had some flavour. It could resteep more but I feel satisfied with these six.

So far I prefer Mo Li Yin Hao ever so slightly, but both are very solid jasmine green teas. If you prefer something nice to show guests, I recommend the pearls in a glass vessel. And the delicate nature of this tea would definitely be good with fruits, salads or desserts. Personally I love this sort of tea with Ontario coronation grapes (too bad they’re out of season now!)

100ml gaiwan, 1 generous tsp, 6 steeps.

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

I’ve tried a few different jasmine green teas, and the aroma of dry and wet leaves from this sample got me excited. It made me think of moss and plants after rain.

Onto drinking the stuff, the jasmine is very strong, followed by spice, green tea flavour, and lingering floral aftertaste. Everything is very sharp on my tongue, and the green tea stays comforting and not bitter.

Second steep brought out more jasmine, with the green tea staying strong. My final third and fourth steeps still were tasty without becoming bland.

Looking forward to playing with the brewing settings with this sampler and comparing with the Jasmine Pearls. So far I really like this one, it’s the best loose leaf jasmine green tea I’ve had.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsps, 4 steeps

see previous tasting note for more

I used extra leaf today, so about 2 teaspoons I believe. (It’s hard to measure these long wiry leaves). So my full parameters are: 2 tsps of tea, 120 ml of water, 90 °C, 2 minutes, prepared in my small glass teapot (full volume is 200ml but I never fill it up like that).

The brew retained that familiar flavour from my first experience, but it also transformed into a more charming, rich, thick body.

I only purchased this as a 15g sample, but the leaves are making a very good impression on me. It doesn’t make me feel obsessive to buy more, but I am definitely growing more fond of it with each sip. Today’s parameters worked well, so I’ll probably stick with it for the remainder of this sample pack.

edit: Stopped at 6 steeps again. 1 to 3 had a nice thick body, 4 to 6 had good flavour and a dark liquor.

Looking inside the tea pouch, there are long black leaves with bits of golden colour. They’re a bit of a pain to measure out, and due to their length I decided to use the gaiwan. I intend to steep the heck out of it anyway, so it’s a good tea vessel. ;)

Sniffing the wet leaves and the tea liquor, I’m sensing an intoxicating aroma, rich body, notes of raisin, honey.

Onto drinking the stuff, I love how thick and rich the body tastes. Then noticing a “fuzzy”, earthy nature, with notes of chocolate-malt, spices, and a hint of something zesty. It’s a very smooth experience from first sip to moments after the cup is empty. All the flavours work together in harmony.

edit: Stopped at 6 steeps

Just within the first cup, this is giving me a fantastic first impression. Mouth watering flavour, with citrus (grapefruit? orange?), spices, zesty, honey, and a touch of floral notes. Very flavourful, sharp notes and a familiar dan cong body.

It pretty much met and then exceeded my expectations. I bought this in a sample pack which includes 4 other black teas. This is my first experience buying from Jing Tea Shop and I am very pleased so far. With the airmail option, it even got here quickly: 9 days from China to Ontario. Woot woot :D

Warming up today with a blend of maple tea and lapsang souchong, to go along with a bowl of hearty beef and veg soup. Good times! :D