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This could have been a good tea if it weren’t so hibiscus heavy. It’s my fault though for not realizing the roselle listed in the ingredients is the same as hibiscus. The dried fruit pieces in this blend – mango, grape, papaya, pineapple, etc. – smelled wonderful and sounded like a promising combination but were completely overwhelmed by all of the hibiscus. It ended up tasting like a slightly sour fruit punch. Couldn’t really taste any of the other ingredients. Adding sweetener, something I am normally loathe to do, helped balance the flavor a bit and brought out some of the underlying citrus and grape.

There’s a reason why this is my favorite high mountain oolong. It’s a sublime and refined tea that’s been consistently good year after year. This latest crop was no exception. It has those lush florals I love. Big hits of magnolia, orchid, and lily of the valley. This is balanced with tropical fruit, vanilla, and pastry cream. Full bodied with a silky texture and lingering floral finish. It also has good staying power. I got 7 quality steeps from it.

About a month after opening the pouch, I noticed there was a noticeable degradation in flavor. Not in a bad way but the tea had lost some of its nuance and tasted more vegetal and savory. Switching from gongfu to grandpa style helped rescue the tea. This brought out a whole new character and tropical flavor that I hadn’t experienced with gongfu.

Instagram photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSASh1PLmzP/

I struggled with this one a lot. Couldn’t coax out the flavor I wanted despite multiple efforts at brewing it. Brisk and vegetal with a nutty green bean taste. Borders on astringent at times but doesn’t become bitter. The nuttiness becomes dominant as it steeps and it also presents toasted grain and fried vegetables along the way instead of the more subtle grass and water chestnut notes in the aroma.

Not the best dragonwell I’ve ever had but certainly not the worst either. It’s possible that something was lost due to the shipment delay.

Backlog.

Tai Ping Hou Kui is one of those teas that instantly catches the eye because of how stunning it looks but unfortunately, doesn’t have much to offer once you get to know it. Admittedly, I’ve been beguiled more than once by it. The extra long, flat green blades are a sight to behold but they don’t offer much flavor wise. Savory and vegetal with pronounced umami notes. Cold brewing amps ups the umami. It also brings out more briney and marine flavors. I tasted seaweed salad, sockeye salmon, and a bit of gyokuro like meatiness. Not my cuppa tea, that’s for sure.

Bought this tea on a whim during my recent visit to Calgary, Alberta Canada. I love bringing back tea souvenirs from my vacations. Also picked up a nifty little yunomi teacup from a really cool Japanese chain there called Oomomo.

The first thing to note about this tea is the smell. It is incredibly potent. Even without opening the bag, you can smell the watermelon candy from a mile away. The dry leaves, interspersed with pink ribbons (flowers?) and dried citrus rind, are quite beautiful to look at. Aroma is reminiscent of watermelon, Jolly Rancher candy, root beer, and soda. I had to double bag it because it was making my entire tea drawer smell like watermelon.

Ambient brewed the tea for a little over 2 hours and then served over ice. I was worried it might be too overpowering but the flavor was surprisingly balanced for such a strong scented tea. Juicy watermelon with a hard candy sweetness and hint of bubblegum flavor. Citrusy finish. The watermelon flavoring is pretty natural and not artificial or cloying. Pretty much nails the flavor it was going for.

Meh, this was a pretty basic green with a generic flavor. Sweet flowery aroma similar to another Teavivre green, Tian Mu Yun Wu. However it tastes like a bowl of green beans. Hot or cold steeped, there’s nothing really memorable about this tea. Will use the rest in my stash for blending but don’t care to have it straight.

My first time trying an autumn picked sencha. I didn’t even know this was a thing. Gotta hand it to Obubu Tea Farms for such an eclectic selection.

The appearance of the leaves is one of the strangest I’ve ever seen in Japanese green tea. It’s a mixture of twigs, stems, and flat yellow and green blade like leaves that sort of resemble a broken dragonwell. The leaves emit a strong seaweed aroma. Once heated, this turns into kelp and popcorn.

The brewed tea produces a light green, clear infusion. Gentle toasted nori and sakura flavor. Slight umami. Very smooth. Subsequent steeps bring out brothy notes along with more seaweed. It remains smooth and full bodied without any bitterness.

This sample is quite a few months old by now. Curious as to how it would have tasted at peak freshness.

Thanks for another interesting sample Cameron B

My spring greens from Teavivre arrived at last after being stuck in customs for nearly 60 days. I was worried about the delay affecting freshness but if this Anji Bai Cha is any indication, they seem to have held up pretty well.

Upon opening the pouch, I was greeted with a potent aroma of freshly mowed grass, straw, and green beans. I steeped just under 2g in an 8 oz glass, grandpa style. Super delicious. Notes of warm grass and fresh spring vegetables. Thick with gentle chestnut and a green pea like sweetness. Clean tasting and has a light and airy quality to it despite being full bodied. Just a wonderful tea all around and well worth the wait!

Instagram photo: https://bit.ly/3feLfXN

Thank you Cameron for this sample.

Made the best iced hojicha of my life using this tea! I cold brewed 2g for 16 hours or so. What resulted was an incredibly delicious, refreshing iced tea. Super smooth, luxurious texture with caramel notes and a deep raisin sweetness. Ambient brew wasn’t quite as amazing as the cold brew though. It was a little murkier and had oily mouthfeel.

As an unroasted green tea fanatic, I’m usually not big on hojicha. But with teas like this, it won’t be long before I’m pulled to the dark side.

This year’s Laoshan green is once again a stellar tea. It’s sweet and savory with an interesting interplay of soy milk, honey, toasted grain, and fennel. Deliciously creamy and nutty with mild vegetal tones. Enjoyed this a lot more than the pricier Laoshan Reserve Bilochun.