Sep 30
Lynn’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "I steeped the third infusion for six minutes and this is when the flavor of the tea finally popped."
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Naivetea specializes in traditional oolongs organically grown on artisan farms. Their 2007 Imperial Beauty won second place in Taiwan's Organic Tea Competition.The leaves are rolled and twisted into little nuggets like Tieguanyin, forest green with lighter highlights. The aroma of the dry leaves is a bit kelpy, but that often isn’t indicative of the final product.
For the first infusion, I brewed a teaspoon of tea in 8 oz. of just under boiling water for 2 minutes. The result was underwhelming. The liquor was a very pale straw, the fragrance was mildly floral, and the taste was faintly sweet.
For the second infusion, I lowered the temperature a little, but bumped the time up to four minutes. The leaves were totally open now, whole and well formed. The liquor was a pale gold with just the hint of green. The fragrance was light and clean, with a bit of “stone fruit” or fresh grape. The flavor was more pronounced, but still very subtle, light, and clean, with a hint that followed the stone fruit aroma.
I steeped the third infusion for six minutes and this is when the flavor of the tea finally popped. The fragrance was all but gone, but the sweetness filled my mouth, making my mouth water, and it increased as the tea cooled. It reminded me a little bit of watermelon, a little of honey.
Finally, I took the remaining sample and brewed it gong fu style in a small Yixing teapot. A standing time of about thirty seconds yielded a straw yellow liquor with a sweet, almost “fresh cut grass” aroma. The flavor was a mix of light sweetness. The second infusion steeped for a minute and the sweetness was joined by a bit of metallic bitterness.
Overall this isn’t a terrible tea, but it hasn’t impressed me, either. As much as I admire this company's commitment to organics and small farms, this tea just doesn’t have enough body for me.
— To purchase Naivetea Imperial Beauty Oolong, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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Lynn Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Lynn's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Lynn. |
September 30th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Hey Lynn,
The Naivetea folks emailed me recently to say their teas should be steeped for 30-60 seconds with 1 tablespoon of tea. This may give you better results, using more tea. I think I have enjoyed their other offerings better than this one as well, though.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
[...] Teaview’s review. Note her differences in water temp, and steeping time. [...]
October 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I’ll keep that in mind when I do their next one, thanks.