Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
The most flavorful and fragrant of all Chinese green teas. Xin Yang Mao Jian’s small, roundish leaves with fine, white hairs develop into an intense green color when brewed, producing a refreshing liquor that transports you to a relaxing, calming world after a long day. Robust flavor, lingering fragrance and an invigorating taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I think I fell in love with this Xin Yang Mao Jian Green Tea from Teasenz at first sight. The leaves are gorgeous! Long, slender, elegant looking leaves that are beautifully deep, forest-y green with tiny white fuzz. I could tell by looking at these leaves that I was in for a top notch Chinese green tea.
Of course, I’ve come to expect nothing less from Teasenz. They seem to always deliver some of the very best teas I’ve tasted!
And this is a remarkable Mao Jian!
The dry leaf aroma is somewhere between steamed spinach and kelp, leaning more toward the steamed spinach. The brewed tea also has a strong vegetal note, but, I find that the flavor is less vegetative than the fragrance would suggest.
Oh, sure, it still has a vegetative taste to it, but it’s not as strong as I expected it to be. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I expected more of a “spinach-y” or a “grassy” or even a “kelpy” sort of flavor but this is more like a sweet vegetable, like maybe a steamed artichoke heart.
This is sweet! It has a strong sweetness to it that seems to develop on the palate, starting off rather light, and then by the time I reached mid-cup, the flavor is intense and it lingers long into the aftertaste. Just after the sweetness washes over the palate, I start to notice the nutty flavors develop. It finishes with a delicate astringency. The aftertaste remains sweet long after the sip.
A really lovely Mao Jian. This one gets high marks!
Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Being the first one among Fujian’s three best Gong Fu Black Teas (Bai Lin Gong Fu, Zheng He Gong Fu, Tan Yang Gong Fu), Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea has tight and thin leaves, looks glossy, which could be seen from TeaVivre’s product photo. When looking at this tea, the golden pekoe is particularly eye-catching, strongly connected to its high quality. Under the effect of photosynthesis, fresh buds contain the largest amount of beneficial substances than other parts. Moreover, the traditional making method of black tea has retained the nutrition in the most volume.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having tried several different Fujian Gong Fu Black Teas, including Teavivre’s stunning Bailin Gongfu Black Tea, I was looking forward to trying this Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea from Teavivre. But, my previous experiences with Fujian black teas did not prepare me for what this tea had in store!
This is simply different!
It is still quite similar to other Fujian black teas in that it has the sweet, satisfying flavors of chocolate and caramel. But whereas most of the Fujian black teas with which I’ve had experience would be vaguely reminiscent of say, an Assam in its rich, malty tone, this Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea is much more reminiscent of a Ceylon. It has that bright, brisk tone to the cup that reminds me of a very high-quality Ceylon, but with the sweet, chocolate-y and caramel-y tones that I love from a Fujian black. With this tea I get the best of both of those teas in one cup!
This tea is not quite as rich and not quite as full-bodied, in my opinion, but that isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes, a crisp, exhilarating cuppa like this is just what you want! This would make an exceptional afternoon cup – it makes a great pick-me-up for those times when you’re starting to feel yourself wind down but you still have stuff to get done. This will help energize you without causing you to start bouncing off the walls!
This is a pleasantly sweet tea, as I mentioned before, with notes of chocolate and caramel, but there is also a sweet fruit note to this as well. I think that the lightness to this tea allows the fruit notes to express themselves a little better than in a typical Fujian black tea. Hints of a flower seem to float in the far-off distance.
A really enjoyable cup of tea – courtesy of Teavivre – a name that has become synonymous with fine teas!
Shanglinxi Yang Zi Wan Oolong Tea from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
Our Shanlinxi Yang Zi Wan Oolong tea is handpicked and handcrafted. The tea is produced from Qingxin Oolong varietal grown in the mountain areas of Yang Zi Wan district in Shanlinxi area, frequently covered with fog or clouds. The ideal tea growing environment of the high mountain plantations makes the tea high quality. The brewed Shanlinxi Yang Zi Wan Oolong has a strong floral and sweet aroma and taste, a long-lasting flavor and a pleasant sweet aftertaste. It is very smooth and delectable.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have only tried a couple of Oolong teas from T-Oolong Tea thus far, but what I’ve tried, I’ve really liked. This Shanglinxi Yang Zi Wan is no exception!
The aroma is intensely floral, evoking thoughts fantastical thoughts of what it might be like to walk through a forest dense with flowers: such a sweet, enchanting fragrance.
The flavor is also quite floral and sweet. There is also a fruit tone in there, tasting like something between an apple and a peach. It has a broth-y sort of mouthfeel – smooth and thick. These flavors of flower and fruit linger in the mouth long after the sip is gone, providing one of the longest aftertastes I’ve yet to experience from a tea.
A true delight, this Shanglinxi Yang Zi Wan!