Reviews of Teas & Herbal Teas from TeaVivre
Page 1 2 3 of 3 pages with 52 results
Liu An Gua Pian Green Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Lu An Melon Seed – Region: Xiuning, Anhui, China91 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jun. 3rd, 2013
I'm starting to think I really like this type of green tea. The first sample of it, from Upton, I liked very much, and this one I like even better.
The dry leaf has a strong and very pleasant aroma, one I'd describe as earthy and herbaceous, and suggestive of sweetness.
This has a richer and bolder flavor than m...
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea (Pi Lo Chun) from TeaVivre
Style: Bi Luo Chun – Region: Jiangsu, China93 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
May. 28th, 2013
An outstanding green tea and the best example of this type of tea, Bi Luo Chun, that I've sampled yet.
Dry leaf is very dusty, consisting of tender-looking curls of leaf tips, and is beautifully fragrant, suggestive of sweetness, with a strong nutty quality and a hint of smokiness.
Upon brewing, I found this tea ...
Fengqing Golden Buds Ripened Pu-erh Cake Tea 2005 from TeaVivre
Style: Ripened (Shou) Pu-erh – Region: Fengqing, Yunnan, China47 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
May. 21st, 2013
I've had shu (ripened) Pu-erh of this age that I thought was exquisite, like the 2005 Jing Mai Autumnal I got from Tao of Tea, so I know it exists, but this cake didn't do it for me. I had a generous amount of samples, enough to experiment a bit with brewing, but I still didn't like it. The dry leaf has an aroma typi...
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Nonpareil Te Gong Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Mao Feng Green Tea – Region: Huangshan, Anhui, China70 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
May. 14th, 2013
Very smooth, but not aromatic enough for me when brewed.
As usual with TeaVivre, the dry leaf is intensely aromatic, suggesting sweet and umami flavors. The leaf looks to consist exclusively of tips, with two very tiny leaves attached to a bud, the leaves hardly bigger than than the bud itself. Upon brewing though...
Superfine Anxi Qing Xiang TieGuanYin Oolong Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Tie Guan Yin – Region: Anxi, Fujian, China97 / 100 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
May. 9th, 2013
A very green oolong with a strong and lasting orchid aroma. Among my favorite green oolongs ever sampled.
A few years ago, when I knew considerably less about tea, someone brought a little packet of tea back from China and gave it to my mother as a gift. It was unbranded, marked only with "Guan Yin Wang", and had ...
Fengqing Paddy Flavor Raw Pu-erh Cake Tea 2006 from TeaVivre
Style: Raw (Sheng) Pu-erh – Region: Fengqing, Yunnan, China83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 16th, 2013
I found this tea to be a very enjoyable Pu-erh, typical for its age and unusual only in the degree to which it produced a tingling and numbing sensation on the palate.
I received a sample which was a mostly-whole piece broken off a Pu-erh cake. The leaves were largely intact and it was very easy to break apart with...
Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng Green Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Mao Feng Green Tea – Region: Zhejiang, China60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Apr. 14th, 2013
I was expecting to like this tea a lot, and I just didn't. It wasn't terrible, but I liked it considerably less than a number of much cheaper teas, and than most of the other green teas I've sampled from TeaVivre.
Wiry dry leaf has an intense aroma, very fresh, and suggestive of savory qualities, but also highly ve...
Organic Hangzhou Tian Mu Qing Ding Green Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Green Tea – Region: Zhejiang, China97 / 100 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 7th, 2013
I thought this an outstanding tea. Many of my favorite Chinese green teas originate in Zhejiang province, and I was eager to try this one. I found it very pleasing!
The dry leaf consists of long, extremely straight, narrow leaves, and is intensely aromatic. The aroma is among the most complex of any dry tea I've ...
Organic Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) from TeaVivre
Style: Silver Needle – Region: Fujian, China57 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Mar. 5th, 2013
I found this to be a finicky tea which required care in brewing and which I was not always in the mood to enjoy. To be fair, I tend not to be a huge fan of silver needle, but even then this was not my favorite example of such a tea. Contrast this with TeaVivre's white peony, which I thought was one of the best exampl...
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Organic White Peony (Bai MuDan) Tea from TeaVivre
Style: White Peony Tea – Region: Fuding, Fujian, China93 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 25th, 2013
The most aromatic white peony I've sampled yet.
Dry leaf looks much lighter and with more downy tips than usual for this type of tea. Aroma of the dry leaf is intensely floral and delicate, with melon-like tones that I normally only encounter in silver needle.
When brewed as recommended, there is only a hint of ...
Guang Dong Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Dancong Oolong – Region: Guangdong, China80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 21st, 2013
This was among my favorite Dan Cong oolongs that I've tried. It slightly disappointed me though in that its best aromatic qualities seemed to vanish quickly after the first cup, but the remaining flavor was still very good.
Dry leaf consists of large, dark grayish-brown, twisted whole leaves, and is intensely aroma...
Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Black Tea – Region: Fu'an, Fujian, China73 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Feb. 19th, 2013
I enjoyed this tea, and thought it very high-quality, but it was too smooth or mellow for my tastes, and I was never able to get a sufficiently strong cup out of it. Its flavor profile was similar to bai hao oolong (with a different aroma), and I find that tea too smooth for me.
Dry leaf consists almost exclusively...
Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant Black Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Keemun – Region: Huangshan, Anhui, China91 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Feb. 9th, 2013
I find it interesting how different people I have given this tea to have perceived it differently. I thought it a top-notch tea, but I also found that it doesn't have as much of a universal appeal as some high-quality teas.
Dry leaf is pleasingly aromatic, and shares a lot of qualities in common with top-quality bl...
Golden Monkey Black Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Golden Monkey – Region: Fujian, China91 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Jan. 28th, 2013
I was really intrigued and impressed by this tea. It's the first Golden Monkey I've sampled, and it's set the bar pretty high for future sampling.
Dry leaf is very aromatic, and smells strongly and distinctly of whole grain rye and caraway. Slightly suggestive of Yunnan Gold teas, which have a similar appearance, ...
Lapsang Souchong Smoky Black Tea (Yan Xun Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong) from TeaVivre
Style: Lapsang Souchong – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Sep. 24th, 2012
The dry leaf smells strongly of pine smoke, more like the British style of Lapsang Souchong, which I find is often overly smoky. But upon brewing, this tea's smokiness mellows out considerably. There's still a lot of that campfire or wood smoke smell, but it doesn't overwhelm.
Flavor and mouthfeel is exceptionally...
Superfine Pre-Ming Dragon Well Long Jing Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Dragon Well (Long Jing) – Region: Zhejiang, China87 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 3/5
Aug. 20th, 2012
This struck me as a very high-quality tea, quite distinct from any other dragon well / long jing, and unlike anything I have ever tried. A bit more like yellow tea than green tea.
Dry leaf is golden-green, and has a very fine and extremely dusty appearance, and is very powerfully aromatic, with a deeper, toastier a...
Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Yunnan Red – Region: Fengqing, Yunnan, China83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Aug. 16th, 2012
In spite of having tried quite a few Yunnan teas by now, this was something completely different for me! Very interesting, although a little bit difficult to brew to satisfaction. The dry leaf, rolled into dense spheres, has only a mild aroma, more suggestive of Keemun than other Yunnan teas.
I first used a small ...
Jasmine Silver Needle White Tea (Mo Li Yin Zhen) from TeaVivre
Style: Jasmine Silver Needle – Region: Fuding, Fujian, China70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Aug. 13th, 2012
Yet another Chinese tea from TeaVivre, of very high quality that is exactly what I'd expect for its style.
Dry leaf extremely aromatic, with an intense Jasmine aroma that is almost overwhelming. Looks like a typical silver needle, very attractive-looking, delicate silvery buds with downy white hair.
Upon brewing...
Mengku Palace Ripened Golden Buds Loose Pu-erh Tea 2007 from TeaVivre
Style: Ripened (Shou) Pu-erh – Region: Shuangjiang, Yunnan, China60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Aug. 9th, 2012
The dry leaf of this looks unusually wiry and tippy for a ripe Pu-erh, with a lot of golden tips. It is quite aromatic, and the aroma is typical for ripe Pu-erh, with perhaps only a faint suggestion of more complexity.
Upon brewing, 1 teaspoon of leaf and 1 minute as recommeded for one cup, this produces a dark col...
Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip from TeaVivre
Style: Yunnan Gold – Region: Yunnan, China77 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Jul. 29th, 2012
Dry leaf, consisting almost exclusively of unbroken golden tips, is extremely aromatic and fresh, with the characteristic quality that all black teas from Yunnan province seem to have, but fruitier than normal.
Upon brewing, the leaf turns darker in color and produces a rich brown cup.
Like other Yunnan Dian Hong...
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Dragon Well (Long Jing) – Region: Zhejiang, China87 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jul. 28th, 2012
The more high-quality loose-leaf dragonwell I try, the more I realize how diverse this type of tea can be. This tea was pleasant and easy to brew, and among the best loose-leaf dragonwells that I've sampled.
Dry leaf looks dusty, yellowish, and smells very pleasing, strongly aromatic, with a typical smell for high-...
Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Mao Feng Green Tea – Region: Huangshan, Anhui, China87 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 30th, 2012
Short summary: very smooth, extremely pleasing flavor, not the strongest aroma, and picky on brewing temperature. Exceptionally smooth for this price.
Dry leaf is intensely aromatic, and packed very loosely. A lot of leaf (by volume) is needed to produce a normal-strength cup.
I found this tea was picky about b...
Premium Keemun Hao Ya Black Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Keemun Hao Ya B – Region: Qimen, Anhui, China70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 24th, 2012
I was surprised to find that I strongly preferred the slightly less expensive Keemun Grade 1 from TeaVivre to this offering. While this was a very good tea, it did not wow me as being outstanding, or even higher quality than a typical Keemun. It was just different. I was surprised at the strength of the cup, the dar...
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Bailin Gongfu Black Tea from TeaVivre
Style: Black Tea – Region: Fujian, China87 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 23rd, 2012
I really like this one, especially after drinking it on multiple occasions.
This black (red) tea was only vaguely similar to others from China that I've tried; it was quite different from anything I have tried yet. Its aroma was more like Yunnan teas than anything else, but much milder and smoother, and with a very...
Keemun Black Tea – Grade 1 from TeaVivre
Style: Keemun – Region: Qimen, Anhui, China94 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 19th, 2012
I liked this tea right from the start, but the more I drank this tea, the more it has grown on me. Very full-bodied, intense flavor, smooth. Fruity, with a fair amount of smokiness. Relatively little leaf is needed for a bold-flavored cup. Surprisingly, I like this a lot better than the Keemun Hao Ya from the same ...
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