Teavivre

Sipping down some Teavivre samples today whilst I decide which larger bags to add to my next order. This one I found underwhelming; it’s smooth, sweet, and malty with hints of raisin, but somehow seemed quite flat and generic. I guess I expected more complexity from an “ancient tree” variety. It’s absolutely pleasant and very easy to drink, but I don’t prefer it to the other Teavivre Dian Hongs I’ve tried, so it’s not one I feel the need to add to my cupboard for the longer term.

Sweet, richly malty, lots of sweet potato and honey. A delicious way to start my first day back at work.

2025 sipdown no. 60

This had a musky, floral, malty flavour with the most subtle hints of sweetness. A really beautiful tea and one I’d order. Thank you Cameron!

1st steep 3 minutes
2nd steep 4 minutes 30 seconds

TTB! This is unpleasantly herbaceous and savory. I’m not a fan. I drank it cold, but would not want it again.

More chocolatey than yesterday’s Grade 1, but on the whole just a bit nondescript. Having drank 4 cups now, while pleasant I can’t say it’s left much of a lasting impression. A good, robust tea to drink with milk on days when I just want something straightforward, but probably not one I’d seek to add to my cupboard in quantity. The Grade 1 just has so much more flavour and overall omph.

This is delicious! Sweet and fruity initial sip, followed by dark chocolate and malt. This isn’t as malty as something like an Assam by any means, but enough to be robust and satisfying. The aftertaste is reminiscent to me of red wine. I’m glad to have finally tried this one.

This is so good, and not at all what I was expecting; sweet potato and honey with undertones of caramel, chocolate malt, and pine resin. So smooth, and only the barest hint smoky. My new favourite lapsang for sure, can’t believe I didn’t try this sooner!

2025 sipdown no. 35

This tea tastes like a cinnamon baked good to me, maybe a warm cinnamon loaf. The taste is even better once cooled (forgotten and left to fully cool, whoops). I really enjoy this one and both steeps are great. I fear I’m not at all tasting what it’s meant to taste like, but I’ll take it! Thanks Cameron for this tea!

1st steep 5 minutes
2nd steep 8 minutes

Seaweed, vegetal, refreshing. That mild bitterness that I experience as sweetness. Good resteep value as well, especially for a green tea.

Loved this sample. Thank you Teavivre!

Sipdown! No.5 in 2025 (counting samples over 10g…)

This oolong is on the greener side, and I found it quite non-descript to be honest. I liked having it, and got 3 good steeps before it became even more non-descript. But it also has a random mildly sharp bitter edge unless you are super precise in brewing.

By no means a bad tea. I’ve just had some realllyyy good other Tie Guan Yins in my day.

Sipdown! The fourth one of 2025! (now, this was a sample sipdown.. but I’m going to count this for any sample sizes over 10g)

Enjoyable and greener than I expected. I’ve had Dong Ding in a bubble milk tea before and while fragrant, it tasted quite watery and weak in the milk and sugar.

Glad to try this as a standalone tea without additions. I love roasted oolongs and don’t tend to go for green notes, but when I do want the green freshness, this product hit the spot. Got 10 enjoyable steeps out of this one, albeit quite light after steep 5 without much interesting development in flavour profile.

Has piqued my interest in trying more Taiwanese oolongs in the future.

I enjoyed the first steep of this tea very much, but the subsequent steeps slightly less so. Hasn’t got the complexity and longevity which other Da Hong Paos have spoiled me for in the past.

Fared much better in my clay teapot and my variable temperature kettle, than with my gaiwan and the hotel kettle where I experimented with 100C but found it muted all my usual favourite DHP notes of mineral vanilla fruitiness.

Still a solid tea, but I look forward to trying Da Hong Paos from Wuyi Mountain-specific vendors.

Enjoyed this light-medium roast Da Hong Pao. I love bright notes of fruit nectar in rock oolongs. Lingering aftertaste, which is always much appreciated.

After 3 steeps Western style-ish with 1 heaped tablespoon of leaves with 200mL water in yixing, the brightness peters out and it doesn’t become the most interesting tea in the world but I continued to give it another 3 steeps at 100C for a long unknown number of minutes just to keep drinking a tea without adding too much caffeine.

For the price, it’s very reasonable quality. I only bought 2 × 7g samples and wouldn’t purchase more. The next size up is 100g, and there’s so many other teas I’d rather try.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – June 2025 Tea #6 - An unflavored black tea

I wanted to finish this today, as it wasn’t very good the other day anyway… ANNNNNDDD of course, it is a completely different tea today and much better.  Not sure what I did differently!  I didn’t even think there was much leaf left.  It is a deeper tea this time around, very much like a keemun, as previously stated.  But also a little different.  Still some squash and sweetness.  Kind of like maple syrup. So I will raise the rating this time around, as I must have done something wrong last time, maybe water that was too cool? But this is why I don’t like to give teas just ONE chance to impress me. At least the sipdown send-off was nice!
2025 Sipdown total: 41
2025 unique tea sipdowns: 34

This was a sample provided by Teavivre with an order. So I only had 5 grams to work with. Luckily, Teavivre suggests 2.5 grams so I get to have this sample in two sessions. 2.5 grams looks to me like 1 1/3 teaspoons. I sometimes use two teaspoons for Teavivre, so we shall see how this works. The leaves are dusty grey in color, which is unusual. The flavor is just not very strong. I would say it most resembles a Premium Taiwanese Assam, but not a flavorful one. The flavor is so mild! Teavivre says it could seem like a Keemun in flavor, and I can see that, but a very mild Keemun. I would say flavor notes for me are mostly just squash and sweetness. The second steep was the same: very mild. This is not the tea for me, but I’m always happy to try anything from Teavivre.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 24 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

TTB: Repacked. Plastic bags and tea don’t mix. Okay for short-term storage, but even short-term can ruin a tea if it’s stored with the wrong things. Is this Teavivre though? They have branched out quite a bit from their original tea offerings, but I feel like this blend comes from a more niche company.

Smells very herbal. Savory, bits of thyme. Etc. Lots of unique herbal notes in the wet leaf. The liquor aroma reminds me of a freshly made spaghetti sauce. The flavor is unique. Very mellow and easy on the stomach. Lots of intertwining herbals notes.

Longevity isn’t quiiite there for this tea, but maybe other premium oolongs have spoiled me for that.

Enjoyed this for many steeps nonetheless and it was a wonderful character in my day.

Mineral, roasty, stonefruit, oak, rock sugar, a faint hint of charcoal and a fainter hint of vanilla.

Also made me hungry somehow, even though I had just ate my apple-ginger-coconut red lentil dal for breakfast. I enjoyed the tea for three steeps, Western style.

It’s decent for the price point, but lacks the juiciness, body and warming qi that I’ve been pining for ever since Whispering Pines Tea Company’s Wildcrafted Da Hong Pao like 9 years ago. I think all my Da Hong Pao purchases have been an attempt to experience that specific tea again. I’m nostalgic and sentimental like that.

Sipdown no. 8 of 2025, 10g sample.

I enjoyed this but I have a feeling that if I steeped with more optimal parameters, it would turn from jasmine-with-black-tea to floral-fancy-Peruvian-cocoa in a cup. It certainly smelled that way in a heated gaiwan. Would like to order another sample sometime and pay more attention to different brewing temperatures.

For a moment when I was mildly stressed about having to interact with too many people this week (I’m an AuDHD clinical psychotherapist also studying hypnotherapy), the jasmine seemed to lift some tension out of my head and bring a bit more lightness to my energy field.

Nice to enjoy jasmine with a black tea base, as green tea can make me feel dizzy. Thought that golden buds would be an odd pairing with jasmine, but the cocoa note is very subtle and doesn’t clash.

1st steep: 90C, 1 heaped teaspoon, 4 minutes

2nd steep: 95C, 5-7 minutes. Stronger this steep, reminded me of floral-y Peruvian chocolate.

After easing back into brewing tea with a few basic mistakes like over-leafing and under-steeping, I’m intuitively making things work again with more presence

1st steep: 85C, one heaped teaspoon, 3 minutes. Cocoa-y warming comfort

2nd steep: 90C, 5 minutes. Slightly stronger cocoa-y warming comfort.

Had it with crappy microwave rice in a plastic cup as I was time poor this morning before an online workshop. Elevated the experience of eating instant rice. Made everything a bit better.

2nd day in a row of this.

I find that the main benefit of logging these tea notes is that it’s a reflection of a choice I’ve made to live slower.

2 teaspoons of this in a 225ml pot. 1st and 2nd steeps were quite tasty at 85C. I haven’t been timing them, just intuition. 3rd steep at 90C and it starts to lose flavour. I’ll do a 4th at 95C for longer.

I prefer the Premium Golden Monkey Black tea from Teavivre. That one, I steeped maybe 5 or 6 times into the night and it was still so lovely even when lighter.

Cocoa-y, warming, gentle, comfort.

April backlog and sip down

Aroma: Nutty, milky, grassy, & floral.

Tasting Notes: Refreshing, crisp, green beans, buttery collard greens, & refreshing.