There’s a lot to take in with a name like Taiwan Monkey Picked (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea, but the most exciting part is “Monkey-Picked.” What? Really? There were monkeys involved in getting this tea from the tree to my teapot? According to legend, the steep cliff-side where this tea is grown is too treacherous for tea farmers to reach the leaves, so they trained monkeys to pick the leaves for them. Ma Liu Mie is an honorable nickname for this tea used by the locals, as well as the name of the tea-picking Monkey King of legend. Read more about the tea under the “more info” tab here.
My first impression of this tea is that the leaves are small and dense, not cut or broken, but simply in a different shape than the long curls of black tea I’ve come to expect. Dry, this oolong smells pleasantly earthy with a bit of stone-fruit sweetness like raisin or apricot. I followed the recommended brewing instructions, using very hot, boiling water and a hefty serving of tea leaves.
At first sip, I notice strong roasted flavors. However, this tea is not full-on smoke-flavored like lapsang souchong, instead it is more complex, like the perfect warm, golden-char flavor of eating food cooked over a campfire. There are some of the aged, fermented notes I tend to associate with pu erh, but they are much more gentle and less sour. This type of earthiness is concentrated and layered, with notes of toasted grains, warm woods, and new leather.
On a day-to-day basis, I drink tea that is drinkable and easy-going. I have to be in the right mood to want a bold, smokey lapsang souchong, or a challenging, fishy pu erh. This Monkey Picked Oolong is a perfect compromise between all three. It is so much more than a basic breakfast tea, but it is not so sour or smokey to bowl you over. It is gentle and earthy, smooth and toasted, and it has a well-earned, legendary reputation.
How could you not give Monkey Picked Oolong a try?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description:
Using Taiwan autumn tea as material, this Monkey Picked Tie Guanyin carefully selected by TeaVivre is baked slowly by soft fire (the baking process falls into three steps and every step lasts two minutes). The degree of fermentation is 100 percent so that the dried tea can keep a long-lasting fragrance. After brewing, the smell of honey peach and the baked flavor can be perfectly appreciated and the beverage tastes gorgeously smooth.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose Dragon Ball Black Tea from Teavivre. . . . .
When I lived in Montreal there was a tea from a local tea store, Camellia Sinensis, that I loved. I usually am not one for florals but that blend, Des Roses et Des Bonbons was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, that tea was discontinued.
This tea is reminiscent of that great rose flavor, even if it does lack the “bonbons” candy element. Nonetheless, it’s sweet and floral making for a delicate treat. The black tea base contributes a silky smoothness with a great deal of malt and a dash of smoke. The base and rose flavor combine quite harmoniously to make a lovely everyday sort of tea where there is enough flavor to keep things interesting but not too much that you will bore of it quickly. With that in mind, it’s probably a good transition tea for those trying to make the jump from flavored to straight teas (or vice versa).
Plus, this is also a fun tea to watch brew. The large pearl comes filled with rose flowers. As the black tea blooms, the roses inside float to the top making for a one beautiful looking brew. Could be the tea to go with when you want to impress a friend or perhaps if you just want something relaxing to watch for a few minutes.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
The materials of Rose Dragon Ball Black tea are from Yunnan arbor old tea trees combining with Phnom Penh Rose, expertly rolled into a large pearl-like shape. Phnom Penh Rose is a specialty among the categories of Yunnan’s edible foods. Compared with other roses, the Phnom Penh Rose has a smaller appearance with light taste, but it presents a more delicate sweet taste and fragrance. Because of this reason, it’s capable of covering the strong taste and sometimes even some extent of bitterness from the old tea trees.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Yun Nan Dian Hong Golden Tip Black Tea from Teavivre
The dry leaves of this tea are beautiful and aromatic, which I noticed as I opened the sample. The gold tips are distinctly visible before steeping. Since it’s a delicate tea with a recommended steeping temperature of 176 degrees, I allowed the water to cool for a couple of minutes after boiling before I lowered the infuser in. For the first steeping I allowed three minutes in about 8 ounces of water. It came out not exactly reddish but not super dark either, more of a dusky amberish. Quite a nice color. The scent was sweetly fragrant and a little bit floral. When I took a sip I discovered a surprisingly light, sweet flavor. It’s relatively smooth and not bitter, with just a bit of astringency, mostly in the aftertaste. The aftertaste was also quite pleasantly floral, which I liked.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Dian Hong black tea, also known as Yunnan black tea, is one of China’s most famous black teas. This is the highest grade Dian Hong generally available in China – called Golden Tip Dian Hong. It has lots of orange pekoe in the dried tea, and brews into an absolutely great tasting, golden coloured tea, with very rich taste and aroma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Superfine Keemun Mao Feng Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: TeaVivre
Tea Description:
- Original Place: Qi men County, Anhui
- Tree Species: Zhuye
- Appearance: black, tightly twisted tea leaves interweave with tight and straight tips
- Flavor: smells of naturally sweet and a flower aroma, smooth and fresh. It also produces a rich flavor with the subtle undertones of delicately aged tea.
- Tea Liquid: reddish in color; at the surface of tea water a golden loop appears along the circle of inner side of tea cup.
- Spent Leaves: bright brown in color, shiny and neat
Keemum Mao Feng, one special variety of Keemun black tea origins from Qi Men County in Anhui province of China, has famous reputation for its peculiar aroma and shape. It has also been made widely familiar as one of the four world’s best black tea. It is carefully processed so that the shape of the tea leaves resemble that of the Mao Feng Green Tea. This is why it got the name “Keemum Mao Feng“.
With the thin and twisted strips of tea leaves and peculiar aroma (fruity mixed with orchid-like), those russet interwoven tea leaves look neat and taste wonderful.
Aroma and Taste
With fresh, finer selections of tea leaves and traditional style processing method, this Keemum Mao Feng Black Tea do have floral notes in the aroma that could mature to a deeper, fruit-tone fragrance. This is the very tea you have been looking for.
Appearance
Once the tea leaves and buds are harvested, those tender leaves are sorted out by hand to create a premium Keemun tea. The selected leaves then go through an elaborate fermentation process which changes the color of the leaves from green to a deep dark brown or brownish-black color.
Where is TeaVivre’s Keemun black tea produced
Huangshan Mountain lies in the south of Anhui Province, circling from east towards west.
Mountain regions occupies 90% of its total area, with an average elevation around 600 meters. Tea gardens mainly spread in valleys between the elevation of 100 to 350 meters. Forests take an percentage of 80% of its total area. Day and night temperature here ranges greatly, while with cloudy climate and short time of daylight, forming a suitable environment for tea’s growth. This Keemun Fragrant Black Tea TeaVivre chose is from the tea base in Huangjing Village, Boxi Township.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
TeaVivre ‘never ceases to amaze me’ so I shouldn’t have been shocked to enjoy Superfine Keemun Mao Feng Black Tea from Teavivre! I can’t decide if I like this tea better piping hot or cooled naturally at room temperature or even iced. All 3 options are great! It’s a very flavorful tea without it being flavored with anything. By that I mean…the black tea leaves have character and class all on their own.
Superfine Keemun Mao Feng Black Tea from Teavivre is a medium strength black tea that is somewhat fragrant but just when you think you are smelling hints of flowers it switches it up to hints of fruit. Regardless – it’s delightful! The taste follows suit. It has a nice ‘even steven’ ratio of floral, fruity, nutty, and cakey, even!
This tea – Superfine Keemun Mao Feng Black Tea from Teavivre – keep you guessing – but – keeps you satisfied that is for sure! This is a a real winner!
Zheng Wei Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea From Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Our Zheng Wei Tie Guan Yin (TGY) was plucked in the day before “寒露 (cold dew)”- one of the traditional Chinese Twenty-four Solar Terms . The dry leaves of this tea appear less tender than spring green tea, while it has a richer and long-lasting flower flavor.
(Tips: The tea harvested during the period three days before and four days after寒露 (cold dew) day is called “正秋茶” (means autumn tea, this term differs from “早秋茶”，the early autumn tea).
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Thank you Angel for a sample of this tea.
I do like Tie Guan Yin and I’m looking forward to trying this one. The website says this was picked in Autumn, October 7th 2015 and offers in depth information into other factors of this particular tea such as garden location, caffeine levels and flavour notes. Well worth a read at the above link if you are truly interested in this tea, it’s always nice to see a website offer so much information on it’s tea.
In appearance the leaves are a mixture of dark green and yellow/green, of which most balls are fairly large in size and appear whole leaf. They bare a grassy and sweet, floral scent.
Steeping Parameters: 7g leaf, 220ml gongfu teapot vessel, boiling water.
First Steep – 1 minute
Tea colour is very light yellow and has a very floral scent.
The first few sips reveal a toasted grass and sweet floral medley that lingers on the tongue. Clean and pure tasting with a buttery elegance. After a few bowls there is a slight dryness in the after taste.
Second Steep – 2 minutes
An increase of sweet flowers but less grass than the first steep. Also I want to point out that the leaves are not fully open. Floral wise it reminds me of gladiola mixed with toasted sweet grass.
A few bowls of this steep show the dryness is still present though still very minimal.
Third Steep – 3 minutes
Another consistent steep but with an increase of depth, more like toasted flowers than fresh flowers at this point. But still very flavourful and light/pure. The dryness has not increased at this steep.
Conclusion: This was a lot more floral than I expected but in a very pleasant way. It’s not too strong but you would have to like floral tea to like this one, you could just appreciate the Oolong side with it if you’re not a huge floral fan. It remained consistent in flavour and rather refreshing which made it easy to drink. Quality overall was good, even in the leaves after use which were without discolouration or holes. I could have taken this tea another steep or two further but I have limited time tonight, but it should save overnight for a lovely morning steep.
This tea exceeded my expectations and was a very nice example of an Autumn Tie Guan Yin. Considering it was last years crop it’s been stored very well and tastes fresh. I imagine this would be lovely on a hot summers day.
Happy Steeping Everyone!
