This is a sample graciously sent to me from Teavivre – I am very inexperienced with green teas so I figured I would go for this one to broaden my horizons. It tends to be universally well reviewed, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong, right? The dry smell is quite appealing, actually. i get a great deal of sweetness and almost honey notes. the beau proclaims it is earthy and vegetal, but I don’t get either of those smells. Honestly, I hide from vegetal and earthy – I’m glad this seems to have neither.
Out of fear, I steeped this approximately 1 minute 45 seconds in 80 degree water – we are each having a smallish cup of this so I used one heaping “perfect” teaspoon of leaves for the pot. The liquor is a warm yellow, darker than I would have guessed for the temp/time combo but as I said, I rarely brew greens. The beau likes them though, so he is the “authority” in our house.
First impressions are quite nice. The flavour closely matches the aroma and is quite nice. I get sweetness, and I am reminded of oolongs. I am not getting anything in terms of vegetal but I’m really liking it. This is the sort of green tea that I can appreciate – I think it is a little under-steeped in terms of temp, time or leaf but it’s still a good infusion. Will give a second shot tomorrow morning. Thanks again, Teavivre!