Sampling some new Teavivre green teas

Recently I was fortunate to receive some new green tea samples from Teavivre, and I decided to randomly choose two of them for a tea tasting. The first tea I tried was this Xin Yang Mao Jian Green Tea, and a fresh, vegetal scent greeted me as soon as I opened the bag, the first time I've noticed such a strong scent from the dry leaves of a green tea. I found this tea had fine, almost wiry leaves.

Steeped, the tea had a vegetal, almost spinach-like scent. The suggested steeping time was three to five minutes, so I steeped my tea for three minutes, knowing I like my tea on the weak side. It had a slight astringency, so I knew that if I steeped it again for just two minutes I would probably love it, and that's exactly what happened! It produced a pale, almost clear brew that had a pleasant green tea taste. I still recall how I used to think I didn't care for green teas, but once I learned to adjust the steeping time to my personal preference, I found I really do enjoy them! (I also like the fact that nearly every week there seems to be some new study touting the health benefits of green tea.)

The second tea I tried was this Premium Tai Ping Hou Kui Green Tea. I'm so glad I chose this tea to try along with the other one, because the contrast in leaf size was so obvious! Some of these tea leaves were about four inches long. The dry leaf had an almost fruity scent, so I was curious to see what it would taste like.

Steeped for just about two minutes, this tea had a nice vegetal scent, reminding me of steamed broccoli. When I tasted it, I found a very robust green tea with a rich, thick mouth feel and a broth-like flavor. It was my favorite of the two, but I definitely give the thumbs-up to both these greens!