Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Produced in Tianmu Mountain(天目山), Lin’an County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang, China
Harvest time: March 8 – March 10, 2013
One bud with one or two leaves
Dry tea is shaped straight and pretty
Soup presents tender a yellowish green color, tastes sweet and brisk; aroma lasts long in the middle and back part of the tongue.
Fresh aroma with chestnut flavor
Low caffeine (less than 10% of a cup of coffee)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I received my samples of the new spring teas my first tasting selection to sample was Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green from Teavivre. The aroma is strong, awakening, and as fresh as a tea can smell. The dry leaf is so pretty and bright green. The flavors range through various steepings from nutty, buttery, vegetal, and salty, but every single steep brings forth the freshest flavors you could imagine.
When steeped properly there is absolutely no astringency and of course no bitterness. There is also a lovely light sweetness to the flavor that can be detected at different levels through the various steeps. The color is very light so do not be tempted to over steep this lovely tea. Take your time with it and let the flavors be gently caressed out of the leaf with shorter steep times which will provide you a longer and more relaxing brewing session. Green teas like this one from Teavivre are deserving of your time and focus. I do not recommend a tea like this for an out the door on the go tea. You can do that if you wish, but I feel it is cheating the tea from providing all that it has to offer and really just cheating yourself.
Some teas are great for an on the go pick me up and get me going for my day ahead tea. This Long Jing however is a relaxing, meditative, sip and consider type of tea that will rock your world in a totally different way if you give it time and allow it to. I find that while this tea is refreshing, and so lightly fresh, it has a brothy mouthfeel, verging on creamy in some steeps. I love it when a tea can bring out both feelings, light and fresh, yet thicker in the mouthfeel, as it is an unusual combination.
Teavivre brings us so excellent offerings in their new spring line, and I am really amped up to try them all but today I shall sit with this tea, looking forward to many steeps to come. It is absolutely lovely. See all of Teavivre’s Spring Teas here and learn how you can get samples of all of them for free!
Mellow Mango Peach from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
When it’s time to relax and “mellow out” it’s time for our Mellow Mango Peach. Perfect for summertime, the real pieces of mango and peach along with the rose petals also make this perfect for anytime.
Ingredients: Black Tea, peach and mango flavoring, peach bits, mango bits*
For allergy info visit our FAQ
Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving
Water Temp: 210°F
Steep Time: 2-5 minutes
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mellow Mango Peach from Della Terra Teas is one of my favorite blends from Della Terra, although it is difficult to pick a favorite from all of their amazing teas!
This tea taste so light, so fruity, and I absolutely love the tropical notes playfully bouncing around on my palate! The peach and mango in this tea are unmistakable and so natural tasting. This tea is absolutely amazing hot or iced and I love drinking it both ways. This is a summer staple for sure. I adore a good peach tea, but this is my all time favorite peach tea around! Not to forget about the mango but I do enjoy the peach notes most because I have always been on the search for the best peach tea, and I have yet to find one I like more.
I also really like that Della Terra lists all possible allergens on their site. I had purchased a lot of tea for someone last holiday season and she has some severe allergies, so I went right to Della Terra Teas knowing they had allergens clearly listed for each tea. This made shopping quite simple. Della Terra also ships to a lot more countries than some tea companies.
The base in this tea is good, it supports all of the flavors without being lost behind them all. The tea has the perfect amount of sweetness. I also notice the slightest hint at vanilla in the tea, even though this is not on the list of ingredients. Perhaps it is how my taste buds interpret the blend, but I love it. The rose gives just this light, subtle hint at a floral note but I would never call this a floral tea. Everything works in perfect harmony here, its awesome!
Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast 2012 from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This quality Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast Oolong is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Alishan oolong. Use only the charcoal made of either Taiwan Longan wood or Taiwan Acacia wood to roast the tea (NOT by electric roasters), and follow old traditional method. This tea has a strong charcoal aroma and taste mixing with flavors of Alishan oolong. The aftertaste is enjoyable and long lasting. It tastes very smooth, sweet, rich and complex, and stands up very well to multiple infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today I reached into my grab bag of teas to review, and was thrilled when I pulled this, Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast 2012 from T-Oolong Tea! Not only has my tasting from T-Oolong Tea been sorely underdone, but an oolong, Yes! Not only an oolong but a fire roasted oolong, yes again! This sounds so good that I hope it meets my high expectations!
I sneak a sniff as it steeps. I smell roasted fruitiness, and the aroma of a very clean spring from the mountains. Granted I do use good bottled water, but this aroma is not simply the water I use, its different, and reminds me of the natural stream I used to sip from with friends when I was younger, back in the days when I rode horses, daily. We knew of a stream – the best tasting water I have ever had, that we would ride to when we were parched.
So I have taken my first sip and oh my goodness, this is delicious! As I taste fruity notes, smokiness, and mineral notes. There is a wonderful sweetness to this tea, a brown sugar or German rock sugar sweetness, somewhere in between the two. I am not getting as deep of a sweetness of a brown sugar, but there is something a little more to it, like a caramel perhaps.
I also get a lovely white flower note as well as a green note, but not green like vegetal, more green like greens themselves, almost like dandelion leaves.
The after taste is clean, clear, and very refreshing! The sweetness gives way leaving a wonderful rock mineral note, floral, and that green bite, not bitter but tart.
The sad thing about this tea is that T-Oolong Tea is currently out of stock, I assume waiting on the 2013 batch, I am going to have to keep my eyes peeled for this one, this is absolutely a reorder worthy tea, and permanent stock worthy as well!
This tea is a must try for anyone who loves oolongs, especially darker roasted oolong tea.
Yes it certainly did meet my expectations, soared over them! I love this one.
2009 Shou Mei from Life in Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year 2009
Production Season Spring
Production Region Fujian
Style Traditional
Also known as Sow Mee or Longevity Brew
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
2009 Shou Mei from Life in Teacup is a light, juicy, white tea that has a lovely buttered vegetal after taste and an almost earthy note in the sip.
In the aroma is this very subtle essence of jasmine but that does not translate into the flavor. It has a sweet and lightly creamy mouthfeel but leaves you feeling refreshed and your thirst quenched.
There is also a light and lovely toasted marshmallow flavor that just touches your taste buds gently on the initial sip but does not stick around long.
This is a very forgiving tea! My first steep I spaced out preparing to write this review and over steeped it by far too much. I was certain I was going to have to dump the cup, but alas it tasted lovely! My second steeping – with new leaves – also provided a delicious cup as well. I noticed very little difference in the two cups. This would be an excellent tea to put in your travel thermos for many infusions throughout the day without having to take the leaf out!
I love the look of the dry leaf! Its so wild and natural looking! It appears as if someone scooped up fallen leaves from the forest floor! I love the uninhibited appearance of this leaf, so care free, so low maintenance yet so beautiful. The colors are striking from deep tones of brown to variegated shades of green, even some lighter almost white tones in my leaf.
I would not say this is a “to-die-for” cup or anything, and I’m not really that into white teas as a rule, but they do have some wonderful health benefits and this one is quite pleasing.
I would purchase this again.
As per a note on Life in Teacup’s website
Our web store is temporarily closed and we aim at re-opening it in February 2013. Meantime, please feel free to send any inquires to admin@lifeinteacup.com. Thank you and have a great holiday season!
I do hope they open back up soon as I have been eyeballing many of their teas!
Huangshan Furry Peak from Peony Tea S.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Peony Tea S.
Tea Description:
Hanyu Pinyin: huang shan mao feng
Production area: Huangshan, Anhui
Harvest time: Spring 2012Overview:
Perpetually shrouded in cloud and mist, the beautiful Huangshan which is translated literally as ‘Yellow Mountain’ is the origin of one of the most beloved and well-known green tea in China- the Huangshan Furry Peak. Just like its place of origin, this delightful green tea is truly a work of art, simultaneously soothing and exciting the drinker. Green teas are considered in Traditional Chinese Medicine terminology as ‘cooling’ so instead of reaching for your soda, try this sugarless all natural alternative instead. The recurring sweetness will fill your throat long after your last drop.
Taste:
Thirst quenching and cooling, feel the recurring sweetness well up and linger in your throat.
Liquor:
Yellowish green liquor.
Personality:
Like a classic beauty, there is an elegance about Huangshan Furry Peak that is almost ethereal. She carries about her an air that exudes class at every turn, beguiling all that crosses her path.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Huangshan Furry Peak from Peony Tea S. was given to me by one of my SororiTea Sisters LiberTeas to try. You can see her review of this tea here.
I have decided I need to really get caught up on the samples that I have had around awhile, while they are still fresh. So Huangshan Furry Peak, its your turn!
As I lifted the cup I picked up a lovely buttery aroma, almost like butterscotch candy due to the sweet aroma being also quite strong. Such an inviting sensation!
This is not an overly vegetal green, which is a nice departure into a more dessert like flavor.
There is a wonderful silkiness to the mouthfeel which is brothy and thick.
The color of the steeped leaf is the palest hue of gold.
This tea reminds me of being young, in the summer time. Out in the yard on a weekend playing or just being lazy, sticky fingers from that lollipop from the local candy shop. Sweetness on the breath and smiling because you know you had something really good and not one bit worried about the calories or what it does to your health! The upside of course is this tea is actually good for you but evokes that same feeling, as if you have done something naughty or have something everyone else would want.
You should want this tea too. That is if you love sweet butteriness in a green that feels like silk in your mouth and leaves you refreshed and satisfied!