Teavivre, Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng Green Tea

Another sample provided by the fabulous Teavivre company. My first look at the leaf immediately images - wiry, brittle, and grassy. It is dark olive green in the room light. If you look at it under a lamp it kind of glows bright green. Yes, I’m weird that way.

I took a large scoop. The sample packet is very full, so I am guessing this requires a little extra leaf. I used my press with 12oz of heavily steaming water (this calls for 194F) and steeped for 1 minute. The recommended is 1 – 2 minutes. I added the tea to the water. The instant the leaf hit the water I smell spinach. The brew is light yellow/green but nearly clear. Once the liquor is poured I examined the wet leaf. It is various sized chopped pieces of small leaf on tender stems. The scent reminds me of spinach and simmering stew. Yum.

The sip is at first soft and silky smooth, like butter. Very mild. It is a bit sweet. This gives way to a brighter bitterness – the good kind that cleanses the palate and lingers on the breath. This is a light bodied cup. I like Chinese greens. They are like buttery steamed veggies with a nice bite without being overly grassy. This is a fine example of those very characteristics.

At this point I added sweetener. Sorry purists. Although my sweet tooth did not perceive this as all that sweet, it apparently is, as once sweetener is added it is almost too sweet, even for me. Go lightly if you add anything. Despite overdoing it a bit, the sweetener does not take away any flavors. It enhances what is already there. It brought out the light grassiness which develops a green wood/twig kind of flavor. Teavivre says this has a chestnut flavor. Having never eaten chestnuts, I can’t verify but I can see that what I am calling wood/twig could be thought of as nutty.

I have never heard of this tea before. After just one cup, I found myself ready to brew another. I had two more cups from the leaf. The second at 2 minutes was slightly less flavorful but still good. Cup three at 4 minutes was similar. I really like this one.

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