Naivetea

[britt]

I ran across Naivetea while doing a web search. They had a small, high quality, Taiwanese gaiwan travel set for $38 less than another vendor was selling it for, so I ordered it. I decided to add a high mountain tea sampler to the order as well. I'm glad I ordered both and have been using the porcelain gaiwan set to brew the tea samples.

I've tried two of the Navitea oolongs so far, the Da Yu Ling and the Bhao
Zhong. I am very impressed by both. The aroma is very pleasant but not overpowering like many of the Anxi oolongs from mainland China. The taste is light and crisp, and the liquor is crystal clear. I've had excellent versions of both teas from my regular vendor and have been very pleased with them. Navitea's are also exceptional and from my brief encounter with them I would say they're at least as good as any I've had from any other vendor, and far superior to what most vendors offer. They're not cheap, but even when brewing non-gongfu style I get at least five infusions from each.

During their website upgrade my original order was lost even though the credit card was charged. What's more important when a mistake is made than the mistake itself is how the vendor handles the problem once they find out about it. Navitea rates a AAA+++ on this count. I notified them of my missing order late Thursday afternoon. They immediately filled the order and shipped it and I had it on Monday. In addition to the tea sampler I ordered, there were six additional samples included in the order as an apology.

Although Navitea doesn't offer a large selection of tea and teaware and their tea prices are not cheap, the quality of the products and the level of customer service is very high and in my opinion justifies the price. I recommend them without reservation.

[Victoria]

Interesting, thanks for the review. I find those glass on porcelain pieces so intriguing, they look lovely. The sample set sounds interesting as does one of the infused blends: ROSE VIOLET CALENDULA. I'm not much for flavored, but scent infused does get my attention. Especially after having a very special sample from Stephane of Tea Masters of a orchid infused oolong. It was a very special tasting, I really enjoyed it.

[britt]

Interesting, thanks for the review. I find those glass on porcelain pieces so intriguing, they look lovely. The sample set sounds interesting as does one of the infused blends: ROSE VIOLET CALENDULA. I'm not much for flavored, but scent infused does get my attention. Especially after having a very special sample from Stephane of Tea Masters of a orchid infused oolong. It was a very special tasting, I really enjoyed it.

There were four scented samples sent with my order but the one you mentioned isn't one of them (one is missing the label so I'm not sure which it is). The only scented one I tried was the passionfruit. The scent is very noticeable even when relatively far from where I'm brewing. Although I doubt I'll ever be into scented teas, this was my first encounter with them and I'm glad I had the opportunity to at least try them.

If you are intrigued by the glass on porcelain, I also just purchased an Eilong Studios of Taiwan thin porcelain cup with a glass dragon handle. It was ordered from Imperial Teas of Lincoln (UK). It is an amazingly high quality piece of teaware and is perfectly suitable for brewing and drinking Chinese green tea right from the cup. Previously I would never do this, but I tried it with this piece and have continued using it that way ever since. The Tai Ping Hou Kai comes out very well brewed this way. They also have a phoenix version of this cup which I just purchased as a birthday gift for my sister. Highly recommended!

Eilong Studio bone china and glass dragon cup:

http://www.imperialteas.co.uk/accessori ... lidded-cup

Eilong Studio bone china and glass phoenix cup:

http://www.imperialteas.co.uk/accessori ... lidded-cup

[NOESIS]

I second your recommendation. I've tried all of their half dozen or so tea, and found them to be very good to excellent.

[Victoria]

Britt, those are nice looking, I have seen those on the Imperial Teas site.
Of the infused offering from Naivetea only the Rose-Violet-Calendula looks to be natural. The others mention extracts as additives. I really only enjoy a naturally floral scented tea. Too bad you didn't get that one!!

[Alex]

All the Eilong stuff I've had has been amazing.

If you go to their site

http://www.eilong.com.tw/

and send them a message asking for single samples of pieces they will send you a very reasonable invoice.

[Victoria]

Thanks for that link. That is a cool new looking gaiwan style on the front page. I had no idea they would sell individual pieces. There is a set I've been looking for.

[britt]

All the Eilong stuff I've had has been amazing.

If you go to their site

http://www.eilong.com.tw/

and send them a message asking for single samples of pieces they will send you a very reasonable invoice.

Considering that the distributors normally set a minimum order of dozens of cases, I'm very surprised to hear that Eilong will deal directly with consumers. Thanks for the info!

[teaisme]

Awesome link thanks! Some nice looking teawares for sure.

Zensuji could you give me an idea of how much you spent and on what +shipping?

[Alex]

I cant quite remember now but I think it was a single small cloud white gaiwan. The item was like $12 and the shipping was around the same.....i think.


The lady did refer to it as a sample so maybe she thought I was interested in buying a carton.