AliExpress
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My TeaVivre order arrived! With all of the crazy shipping delays, I’d lost hope for a few orders that I’ve been waiting on. But, this appeared out of nowhere a few days ago. It’s a very, very small order (about 5 samples), but I was excited to try this one in particular. It’s pretty much exactly as I hoped it would be. Really beautiful, loud jasmine fragrance and flavor. So floral and wonderful, and it goes so well with the raw Pu’er, which is very mild, grassy, and tangy.
Another tea from Liquid Proust’s aged oolong buy that I couldn’t find in the data base.
They should call this thing the “everlasting gobstopper”. I’ve been drinking it for over two hours and it is still a brick. It comes as an 8 gram chunk and I tried to use my puerh pick to break it in half but literally couldn’t scratch the surface. I finally just tossed the thing in a pot, figuring it would dissolve after a couple of steeps. but I’m on my sixth steep now and while it is a bit fuzzy around the edges, it still has its shape and is very solid when I poke it with a sharp stick (OK, puerh pick).
The first couple of steeps had a very nice, smooth body but I notice it less in later steeps. The taste varies, depending on the length of the steep. When the steep is on the light side it is very pleasant and moderately complex, with wood and tobacco notes, and a lovely, spicy nose. However, I find it easy to oversteep into a heavy roast that isn’t awful, but is a lot less enjoyable. Given the fact that it is gradually shedding leaves, it is hard to judge how long to steep. I started out with 60 s steeps, but started to judge the time by the color. Generally 40 to 90 s.Not a bad tea overall. I was thinking it would work well grandfather style, but you would have to be able to handle the heavy roast flavor. When I got the steep time correct, about half the time, it was very nice. It could probably go for days, but it isn’t interesting enough for me to want to tie up my favorite tea pot for that long.
Update: After 2 days and about a dozen steeps, I was finally able to scrape the top layer off the top of the brick. I’m afraid to go further for fear of damaging my pot, but if I put it on a cutting board or some other surface I was willing to damage I could probably break it up with a sharp knife. The tea (60 s steep) is still quite good. Also tying up my larger pot.
Preparation
This was my very first purchase from Ali Express. The tea itself is very nice. My only complaint is that the product description said 150 grams, when in fact it contains 10 packets of 7.5 grams, so that is 75 grams. I filed a dispute. The price was still good, but the vendor (Gaineng Chen) should say the correct weight. The deal is only half as good as it seemed…
Fortunately, the tea is quite good. I used a whole packet for about 20 ounces, and it is fragrant and silken in texture. I have had two good infusions and am looking forward to a third.
Update: here’s my correspondence with the vendor:
The vendor’s message:
Gaineng Chen
2014-11-25 05:13:34
Hi, friend. I think you do not understand, each bag is 8g, and total 10 bags are 80g, the gift box is 70g, so the total weight is 150g.
Just as the discription.
You know, this product is 0 profit. But if you like the tea and will give me 5 star feedback, I am willing to refund $1 money to you.
Thanks for your understanding.
My reply:
2014-11-25 09:12:37
I do understand. When I buy 150 grams of tea from anyone else, I receive 150 grams of tea. Tea is sold not by the weight of its packaging but by the weight of the tea. So your description is false advertising. I will not give you a positive feedback for this reason. The tea is good, but you should tell the truth about what consumers will receive when they order 150 grams of tea. I have never heard of sending half the amount of tea because of the weight of the packaging. It’s just a lie.
Needless to say, I’ll not be purchasing from this vendor again. How ridiculous. It’s not even a matter of the money. There is a principle involved here.
new update: good news—the issue has now been resolved:
Gaineng Chen
2014-11-26 04:53:38
Ok, friend. Thanks for your good advice. I have changed the description for this problem.
How about this case. You said I have sent you half of the tea, so I am willing to refund you $2.5.
Ok?
2014.11.26 09:26:01
Yes, that is entirely acceptable. Thank you for changing the description. Truth in advertising!
Preparation
Glad you were happy with the tea. You do have to be careful with the weight on Aliexpress. Some sellers will only put the shipping weight. A good clue to this is if the weight is the same as the shipping weight. Especially if there is a tin, I’ll look to see if there is a weight listed in the description. If not, I ask the seller how much tea is included. If I don’t receive a timely answer it’s usually a sign not to buy from them anyways. Glad you are happy with the purchase regardless.
good thing they understand now
I’ve not had anything lotus before, and this was part of mini tuocha sampler.
It certainly smells floral. The flavour reminds me a bit of an oolong, it’s even a little creamy. This also part of my exploring shengs. (Better in shorter steep.)
Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Green
Preparation
I was going to try and get at least one sipdown in today but that is SO not happening. I’m about ready to crawl in to bed and go to sleep until tomorrow.
i had this in the morning as well and it was super tasty again. I really do love sharing teas with terri and tastybrew!
Sipdown, 150! Thanks to Sil for this tea! (There’s a phrase you will be seeing in 90% of my upcoming tasting notes, since she sent me a ton of new teas). I appreciate you sending me a bit of this tea from Tasty Brew, since she made me intrigued about Rizhao teas. Not sure if this is the same as the Yeah Stick Teas version, but the pack said Ali Express so I will post it here.
I can see where the comparisons to Laoshan Black come from , because the smell is totally taking me right there. Roasty-toasty chocolate, yum. When I first sipped it when it was still quite hot, it had a nice balance of flavors but didn’t really bowl me over. Then it cooled down a bit and holy crap, sweet!! It is amazing, like molasses and chocolate. YUM. It has that flavor of toasted grains that really complements the chocolate, and which I love in a tea. I’m also amazed by how complete these tea leaves are… I’m used to only seeing complete, untorn tea leaves in oolongs, but there a bunch in this tea. So pleased with this one, and I’m glad I got to try it!
Preparation
One of the teas from the BBBBox, compliments of TastyBrew. I enjoyed the last of this earlier today, as an after breakfast tea. I figure I better start polishing some of those first & 2nd round teas off, since the box will likely be headed my way before I know it! This one features notes of chocolate, molasses, & roastiness. :)
Another tea from the BBBBox, this one contributed by Tasty Brew. Today this tea is reminding me somewhat of Laoshan Black, with a chocolaty taste too it, but not as sweet. As it cooled down, it took on a bitter tone.
Round three of the BBBBox arrived at my door today! Yay!! More tea!
