Nuvola Tea

I got this in a generous sample from Nuvola Tea. Now with a name like Taiwan Oolong Black Tea I’m going to be a little confused, is it black or is it oolong? I’m more under the impression that it’s a black tea made from leaves that are normally used for oolong tea, so technically still black. Now to the taste, it has interesting mix of flavors, part malty caramel and part mineral, rocky taste. It’s like someone took a wuyi oolong and mixed it with golden monkey tea. It’s quite interesting and I also happen to like both of those teas so I find the hybrid flavors quite nice. Very dependable black tea.

Thank you very much for this tasting opportunity, Nuvola Teas! They sent me a small sampler, and I am very excited to try all these high grade teas.

The leaves of this tea are lovely. Glossy and dark green, rolled into little nuggets with their stems on the outside. They smell delicious and springlike, with a hint of sweet creaminess. I’m still getting into oolong, and this seemed very promising.

I was gentle with it, brewing it just under 185 degrees for a minute and a half. The resulting liquor was a pretty pale green that smelled faintly nutty. I allowed it to cool for a minute or two before tasting. It’s an absolutely pristine flavor… somehow rich and mildly vegetal. The creaminess I smelled translates well into the taste. So smooth. There’s also a gentle floral taste in the background that I mostly taste when I breathe out. I think I like that part the best.

In all, this is a very complex and tasty oolong. I made a cup for myself and my brother, and almost wish I had kept it all for myself!

I’ll put together a real review in a few days (I hope). I wanted to note here that I have read ‘nutty’ used in reviews often, I may have even used it before. Honestly, I have never really known if it was nutty or not. Until today. My first thought when sipping was definitely nutty, then roasted/smoky, followed by creamy. I read the reviews and company description just now and seems I got this one right. Woot! Yes, it is good. Thanks Nuvola.

On a bummer note. My tea buddy and best work friend of 18 years was ‘let go’ at quitting time. No warning. He has two little children and now no income. I was called in to the office next and told to start looking. I still have a job at the moment. I’m 56, walk with a cane, and pack an oxygen tank. (Never felt like sharing that before) Not going to be easy finding something new.

Oh… this is so good. So very, very good.

There was a time … early in my tea years when I first tried an Oriental Beauty … and I fell instantly in love with it. And for several years after that tasting, I thought that Oriental Beauty was the ONLY Oolong that there was. I didn’t know of the many different types of Oolong that I know of now (and I’m sure that I’m still rather ignorant when it comes to Oolong tea, because they still continue to amaze me, and I still seem to discover Oolong teas that are new to me). Since that time I’ve discovered many other Oolongs, some that I might enjoy even more than an Oriental Beauty (Ali Shan comes to mind), but, of the many Oriental Beauty Oolong teas that I’ve tasted, this one deserves to be right up there as one of the very best.

It is SO good. Sweetness touches my palate first, a sweetness that is somewhere between brown sugar and honey … leaning more toward the honey than the brown sugar. After just a moment of the sweetness, I notice the intense peach tones to match the wonderful peach-like aroma of this tea. By mid-sip there is a sharpness to contrast the soft sweet notes, a flowery note … this floral tone is sharp yet sweet, almost perfume-y. As the floral note heads toward the finish of the sip, the sweetness of the honey comes back so that it may linger in the aftertaste, which is light and sweet and delightful.

A truly lovely tea.

I will need to capture my thoughts better at a later date but this sampler from nuvolo was incredible. As some may be aware, I’m not a huge fan of oolongs but I do love my black tea. This is a wonderful blend of the two with a multitude of flavours.

Swoon this tea is heavenly. They had me at “delicately scented with the flavors of fir” though I am wondering if that was done by the tea master or if it was naturally picked up from the mountain air. I didn’t get those notes in the first steep, but I what I did get was sweet creamy smooth oolong, it really reminded me of milk oolong and I thought perhaps that is why I picked it out, but no, just a happy happenstance :)

I think I am getting the fir in the second infusion though. It’s richer and greener and slightly resinous with just a tinge of astringency, but not enough to be at all unpleasant. I love breathing in this cup, I’m getting lost in it. Third infusion is sweet and creamy and pure green mountain oolong. I may have to spend the day with it or at least save the leaves for this evening as I have many other teas to try including two more from Nuvola and a few other Taiwanese teas, but first a few more sessions with this now. Wonderful! Thank you Nuvola Tea

Special thank you to Nuvola Tea for sending me this surprise sample! Really it was quite a wonderful surprise. My first order from Nuvola came with two free samples, then a second two were sent promptly after they had heard of a simple mislabeling and then this one arrives unbidden in my mail box Tuesday morning! What a wonderful generous surprise!

I feel a tinge of guilt as I still haven’t reviewed the Pouchong they sent last time, but yesterday I was in the mood, nay in need of a good black tea. See I’m on a week long staycation, husband and son are in Indiana, I should be spending most of my time cleaning an organizing, but my sister gave me three books on Sunday, the Hunger Games trilogy and I have devoured them. I started reading Monday evening and stayed up until 4am finishing the first book, I never stay up that late and when I do I’m usually sick. I survived though had a tea date at Clementines with my friend Michelle the. Had her over for Milk Oolong (oh my goodness another thing to review). When she left I started the second book, then went to the local brewery with my sister for a very late dinner and a flight of beer, got home and continued reading, I willed muself to go to bed an hour earlier leaving a few chapters for the morning. That was the morning I needed this tea.

This tea, this tea is lovely! I’ve only ever had two other black teas from Taiwan and only one other “black oolong”. The leaves on this one are gorgeous both dry and especially when wet, the stems and edges have a redness to them though the centers are most definitely black, they are full, slightly twisted, not huge but a good size. The smell is dark, rich, intoxicating, it reminds me of cocoa but not quite the way other black teas do, this one is unique. It’s not quite chocolately and not quite bready, it is sweet and rich in ways I’m not used to describing in tea. It reminds me a bit of brandy. But first I should mention the first sip had a sea air taste to it, again not fishy, though maybe the slightest bit salty, I could taste some of the vegetal qualities of the oolong, then it got darker and sweeter like currants or plums. I reinfused it several time, coming back to it after a car appointment and toward the end it took on a lighter more floral quality like Darjeeling, no more like Oriental Beauty. Very lovely!

It kept me company reading yesterday and I got to bed at a much reasonable hour half way through the final book that I finished a couple hours ago. Been a long time since I’ve indulged in a good fiction novel and I’m grateful to Nuvola for sending me such a wonderful reading partner in this lonely house.

This is my first Pouchong and what a wonderful introduction this one is! I notice the second I open the pouch and smell the dried leaf that I am going to be in for a treat! The smell is so light and floral and airy, white and green tea come to mind before oolong and while I smell orchid it feels truer to its flower form than the notes in oolong. And they are beautiful leaves, long dark green and slightly twisted, like an unrolled green oolong but different. Wet these leaves come alive with a pure rich green dark and cool aroma, I just want to let the steam bathe my face. And the taste, so unique yet still familar.

This tea feels like a cool spring morning, dew still on the flowers in the meadow, just starting to warm up. I feel like a monarch butteryfly sipping milkweed (I’ve never tasted milkweed mind you and perhaps to a human it might seem bitter and this tea is anything but bitter, but that is what this tea evokes to me). More practically, it reminds me a bit of Li Shan, as well as Milk Oolong and Ancient Lily, more floral but still creamy, light, cool and sweet.

I can see why Coconut Pouchong is so highly rated here on Steepster, though I have never tried it myself, it’s not hard to imagine that this kind of tea would lend itself well to rich creamy sweet coconut. I keep on getting lunar images as well, inspired by the coconut tea packaging I’m sure and again I’m back in a meadow, this time a rabbit eating clover, definitely something to the clover.

This may seem silly and fanciful to some, but this tea takes you places, steep after steep. I’m on my third and feeling cool tingles on the center of my tongue which truly feels like it’s been coated in velvet. I shall continue this journey, but knew I had to write in the moment, as if in trance, lest I forget all the imagery. Thank you Nuvola Teas for this wonderful offering!

This is tasty tea. It’s very sophisticated compared to all the flavored things I’ve been drinking. :) I was a bit confused by how this is both an oolong and a black tea, but after my first few sips, I’ve concluded that this is merely what I would call a dark oolong, something more oxidized but still lighter than what I would think of as black tea.

I really like the mouthfeel on this one. Smooth and full. It has a luscious quality to it. The flavor here is pleasantly floral, but only a little. Just enough to make you intrigued. Only lightly roasted. Mellow.

I’m finishing up my third steep made western style. There’s a lovely natural sweetness here. It can probably go once more but I need something different now. :)

Because this is a bit roasted you can see it in the grey-ish color of the rolled-leaves. I think this change-of-color to the eye is a nice one. With all the teas I look at it’s neat to see a ‘different’ one every once and a while. The aroma is potent…roasty, toasty, nutty, woodsy.

This infuses to a medium brown with a slight orange hue.

The flavor is of roasted nuts – maybe a combo of pine nuts and peanuts, moreso. It has a spec of charcoal taste to it but more notably a woodsy flavor paired with a brothy texture. The end sip I can also pick up on a hint of a fruity taste.

This is a satisfying and tasty tea. A very nice oolong.

Holy leaf expansion, Batman!

Saved just a bit of this for the christening of my gaiwan. I was thinking maybe I hadn’t saved enough, but as it turns out, the leaves expanded to fill the entire cup.

I lost track of how many steeps it made around seven. I don’t have much to add to my previous tasting note, but this is an amazing quality oolong! :)

Thank you, Nuvola teas, for this amazing sample!

Dry leaves: Opening the package I was hit with a very fresh, grassy smell, a lot like a good sencha, but with hints of fir. The rolled leaves have a lustrous, dark jade color and vary in size from gunpowder to larger than your pinky tip.

Brewing: The brew first turned to a mellow, light jade-green color and began to develop a slight golden hue as it approached readiness.

Wet leaves: While brewing, the leaves underwent the largest expansion I’ve seen! Each tight pellet turned to a large leaf or set of leaves on a broad, golden stem.

Tasting: The first steeping tasted very fresh; full and grassy but still remarkably smooth. Hints of fur, morning dew, and a slight whiff of wildflowers. It also had a subtly milky flavor and texture reminiscent of a milk oolong, and a very slight but pleasant resin-like astringency.

The second steep took on a more golden color and developed a natural honeysuckle sweetness. It was not as “fresh” of a taste as the first steeping, but more of a milky smoothness and was equally, if not more, enjoyable. It held out well for third and forth steepings, which developed subtle fruit noted of grapefruit and lychee.

Summary: A very relaxing oolong with a very smooth and fresh palate, similar in many ways to a milk oolong, but with high mountain tastes. I don’t think I could have possibly enjoyed it more. :)

Reminds me of: An early spring morning in the mountains of North Carolina (or perhaps the mountains of Taiwan, had I ever been there) :)

It’s been a week since I received this sample and I’ve only just now got around to drinking it. I was feeling a little under the weather when I got it, and I didn’t think those were the best conditions to have it in, having promised to do my best with it. And now a week has gone by and I still haven’t got to it. I was beginning to feel a little guilty about it, so I decided that today was The Day, especially as it would come in handy as a pick-me-up after the c25k torture of the day. (Horrid today! Horrid! A marked difference from Friday which was a 3.2 km running, no walking, powering through triumph! But horrid today.)

Nuvola Tea approached me by email, asking whether I would be interested in receiving a free sample and posting about it. That’s the first time I’ve been approached with such an offer, so it felt rather special to me for them to do so. Like my opinion mattered. Kind of flattering and humbling all at the same time. I know some of you others have tried this several times, so you probably know what I mean. After having asked a couple of questions, I eventually agreed and promised to do my best. So this is it.

I don’t normally pay any attention to recommended parameters. Water temperature, yes, leaf amount and steeping time, no. I know which strength I prefer my teas to have and which length of steeping normally produces the best cup for me. The person who wrote out the recommendations may not share my particular preferences, and so tea brewing becomes every bit as subjective as the actual flavour experience itself. So most often I go by my own experiences first. If that doesn’t work, then I might start looking at instructions and get some inspiration that way.

With this particular tea I thought I owed it to Nuvola Tea to try and follow their instructions as closely as I could, since they were providing the leaf for free in order for me to post about it for them, and there only being enough for the one go. As it turns out, though, I do actually still get to do it my way, as these instructions fit pretty closely into the procedure I was planning on following as mentioned above. I would have have made the steeps a wee bit longer initially, but the difference here is fairly small, so I might as well follow theirs. Coming that close to their instructions based only on my own experience and educated guesswork makes me feel all validated and smart!

Now, when I received the sample there was also a leaflet included which showed a table of the different teas Nuvola offers, sorted according to strength and degree of oxidation, with a small one sentence description of each. That was pretty inspiring. I found a couple more things in that table which I would like to try at one point, and at least one of them was a tea that I don’t think I would have otherwise even looked at.

More importantly for me, however, the leaflet also has a map of Taiwan with the origin of each tea is drawn in. I love that! I love knowing where a tea comes from in slightly more detail than just ‘Taiwan’ or ‘Sri Lanka’ or whichever tea producing country you can think of. There will be differences even within the same country and that makes for half the fun of exploring a region. This particular tea was produced right in the middle of the island

Okay, enough with the introductory chatter. The actual tasting begins here.

So now, the first steep was given 30 seconds as according to Nuvola’s oolong brewing recommendations, because in spite of all intentions to do my best, I still managed to botch the temperature. It has a very sweet aroma, quite caramel-y, and with just a smidge of something kind of floral waaaay in the background. It mostly cararmel. Actually it rather reminds me of that Jade Orchid Oolong that I liked from Shang Tea. The one that tasted like creme brulee! Could this actually be something similiar to that? It would be awesome if it were!

The initial flavour I’m getting is a something mineral, but it’s fleeting and quickly gives way to a mixture of floral and caramel. This is indeed caramel-y. If I didn’t know any betting I might have thought it had been flavoured. There are some slightly dry-ish cocoa-y notes as well but they seem to stay mainly on the edges of the flavour, letting the caramel really take the lead.

To tie off the comparison with the Jade Orchid Oolong from Shang Tea, yeah, this really does remind me a lot of how I remember that one to be. All sweet and dessert-y.

For the second steep I made sure to go by the recommendations for a black tea rather than an oolong. All this really entailed at this point, was giving the temperature a notch upwards, but the steeping time was the same. This time the caramel note has stepped back a bit and the cocoa-y note is coming more into the mix. The primary note, though, is nother caramel nor cocoa but something vaguely fruity. I can’t tell which sort of fruity, but I think it seems most like some kind of stone-fruit, like nectarines or apricots. There’s a slightly floral top note here as well.

Again, there is a fleeting note of mineral and then it’s gone all fruity! It’s definitely a stone-fruit, I think. Plums! In the background the mixture of caramel and cocoa-y-ness, which provides a sweet and smooth aftertaste. Like just having eaten caramel-flavoured sweets.

Hey, this is going rather well in spite of my initial confusion!

The third steep combines tea drinking with one of my favourite things in the world: Being sat on by a cat. Especially one of mine as they are so adorably cute and they purr! I just have to be really careful not to spill hot tea on her. The aroma of which has now taken on a wooden sort of oolong-y note (oh, and now my cat went away. Boo. I can’t compete with the lure of the water bowl apparently) with cocoa and that same fruity, plum-y note underneath. No caramel at this point.

The flavour is the same as the aroma. AGAIN that one fleeting flavour of minerals, which is odd, actually because it’s always there in the first sip, but only the first sip. I don’t get the logic of that, really. Perhaps it has something to do with temperature or something. Anyway, after that initial misleading sip, the flavour is largely fruity and cocoa-y-wood-y. There is still a wee bit of caramel left, but only on the aftertaste. Something tells me I’ve seen the last of that caramel at this point.

The fourth steep is had after a few hours break with a puzzle (and a cat halping me). I do loves me a good puzzle, but they never seem to last long enough. I’ve got one 4000 pieces one which I’ve taken out now. That ought to keep me entertained for a while, but I’ve only done it once before and it’s quite difficult, so here I am for a bit of liquid courage. It took a month the first time around! O.O Not sure what I’ll do with it in regards to hoovering, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.

Anyway, my liquid courage has an aroma that is very much like the one in the third steep and therefore shan’t be commented further upon. The flavour is all smooth and slightly cake-y, and to my surprise the caramel bottom note is there again as strong as ever. It was just that the other notes were covering it up some before. Those have receded, though, so I’ve got caramel-y smoothness which even tastes ever so slightly thick and milky. That’s funny, I was certain the caramel note was finished.

The fifth steep seems to be the last. For one thing, I’m running out of day. For another thing, I’m also apparently running out of flavour. It’s still quite caramel-y, but that’s the only flavour note left to me. Maybe if I had increased the steeping time more than I did it would have been a different result, but I didn’t.

In that event, I shall pee, post, have dinner, watch The Pirates and go to bed. In that order.

This is only the second pouchong I’ve had and it’s really wonderful. Soft and creamy with a wonderful sweetness. This came in a generous sample from Nuvola Tea, so thank you very much for that. The leaves are beautifully shaped and really hold up well, I was able to get at least 4 steeps western style with only a slight lowering in quality. Wonderful pouchong and definitely on my list when I want those greener oolongs.

Also want to add this came in my generous sampler box from Nuvola Tea, thanks again!

First off, many thanks to Nuvola Tea who have proven themselves to be most responsive and generous with their customer service. I had a minor labeling error with my last order and graciously offered to send two more complimentary samples to me, which arrived in under a week. Their outstanding customer service and top quality make them a company I feel good giving my business to and can highly recommend to others!

So I have admittedly been curious about Taiwanese “Ti Kuan Yin”. Since I hadn’t selected this round of samples I didn’t know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised when I opened the packet to find dark brown toasty smelling balls of oolong. I’m glad that I had two traditionally roasted tieguanyins recently under my belt before trying this as prior to that I only had tried the green versions. In fact I have three other roasted tieguanyins to try that all arrived around the same time, some lighter and some darker. Very exciting!

This reminds me both of the medium roasted China tieguanyins as well as some specifically Taiwanese oolongs, especially Dong Ding. It has both a warm and cooling quality. It is sweet as well as charcoally. Nutty with a hint of floral. The sensations on the tongue are a bit more subtle than orchid and ginseng oolong, but still present.

A wonderfully comforting tea. It is very evocative of the fall and I got lost in the vapors. It stood up well to multiple infusions, boiling water and short steeps. So glad for the opportunity to try it! Thank you Nuvola Tea!

Sipdown. I’ve been drinking this tea all day, like since before breakfast. Over a dozen infusions and trips to the bathroom, just kept adding more water to the Zojirushi and only now has it started to go “flat”.

It’s a lovely tea, truly lovely. I had Verdant’s Taiwanese Dong Ding yesterday evening and while it was nice and green and bakey it was only after six infusions that it got the nice sweet notes that this has from the beginning.

I imagine they’re processed different, this tastes more roasted than Verdant’s but not nearly as much as the Tung Ting I had at a Essencha Tea House in Cincinnati. All wonderful teas, but this was a great companion today.

I’m recovering from another cold, this one picked up in Indiana visiting the in-laws, but you know what after, a three week cold last month, this time I said to hell with only drinking certain tea and have allowed myself white, green and greener oolongs which is good because I have sooo much tea to drink through and I’m feeling much better for it.

I keep trying to get around to this tasting note and I keep getting interrupted, in good ways mind you but still. I have spent three session with this lovely Dong Ding and am sending it to two people and I still have enough left for a few more sessions myself!

The first session was the best, I got this really lovely sweet tingling feeling on my tongue on the third steep like I get from orchid and ginseng scented oolongs, but I haven’t been able to replicate it. I’m still a little unclear as to whether or not this is scented with osmanthus. The description on the website says “a subtle Osmanthus note with a naturally sweet finish that leaves the palate an impressively long lasting aftertaste. The scented Oolong tea helps to…” however it is just called Dong Ding.

Either way it is delicious. I have only had four Dong Ding/Tung Tings so far. Two were small samples (one of which was crushed) and the other was a long gongfu session in a yixing pot at a tea house. This did remind me a bit of the later, though its really hard to compare especially since I think one was greener and the other two more roasted, this is a nice balance of fresh mountain floral with a slight charcoal raostedness which I love.

The leaves are in pristine condition and are wonderful for multiple infusions, a really quality tea. But right now I’m sipping on their Shain Lin Xi and I have to review that because it’s excellent! Thank you Nuvola Tea!

Mmmm Nuvola you sure got this one right!
Sweet like sugar cane, exotic floral notes, wonderful base leaf, creamy, and vegetal.
A contemplative tea that would be excellent for so many things from meditation to romantic moments, even suitable for lunch with your mother, sister, grandmother, etc.
A calming soothing wonderful succulent tea!
Full review here http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 21st at 6pm EST

I love it when tea arrives! Especially when I have to sign for a package from Taiwan or China! Thank you to Nuvola Tea for this sample! I had forgotten at first that I had ordered 40 grams of tea in addition to the two free samples as it seemed silly to charge PayPal for just $1.25 for shipping so I chose the least expensive of the teas I was eyeing, an Oramanthus scented Taiwan Dong Ding then requested the 5g of this Oriental Beauty and Shan Lin Xi. I was surprised to find the non-sample in a sturdy box with slip cover and a lovely one at that and then confused as this packaging said Oriental Beauty Tea at the bottom.

I was a bit worried, but decided to open both packages to compare. The small sample was just as it should be, Oriental Beauty and a striking one at that, now for the moment of truth. I opened the 40g package and my eyes were met with the beautiful sight of dark green hand rolled oolong with a light dusting of, breath in, oramanthus! My Dong Ding! All was right, just a simple mislabel. Sigh of relief now I can relax and drink the Oriental Beauty!

And it is a lovely one at that so much more vibrant and fresh and not te least bit sour like a couple I’ve tried. The silver tips are the most striking I’ve seen yet! And the taste? Fall leaves, grape vines and light honey. Very nice! There is a velvety ness present that I have experienced before in Oriental Beauty it’s like this cool powdery feeling on te tip of the tongue, like moss, no lichen growing on the bark of a tree, I dig it. Mmm “withered in mist” yes I can taste that, breathe it in. There is also a faint plum note I’m tasting in this third infusion, I shall come back to update, but right now I need lunch and I’m actually changing the filter on the Britta so will have to wait to brew more and rate it then. However I am impressed, now if I only I had the brandy that they mention ;)

This tea stood up well to many infusions, I brewed gonfu and used all 5 grams so I did raise my time to get an idea of what western might taste like. It stood up well to both short and long brews as well as just under boiling water. My last cup yesterday I brewed while I was painting and when my husband came home we went out and half the mug was forgotten, until this morning. I sat down for breakfast and saw the tea and thought, why not give it a sip? I was pleasantly surprised by the cool fruit and honey notes that greeted me. This was delicious cooled off! Often teas get bitter when they sit exposed to air so long. However this is a most quality tea that never turns bitter nor sour, I am most impressed. Because I did not start with a long infusion I cannot fully testify to its strength but I would still guess that this is a more delicate oolong, but full of wonderful soft flavors and aromas. Pristine quality, very fresh, I highly recommend!

Thank you to Nuvola for this Oolong Black Tea sample!

I was suffering from the beginnings of a migraine today, the nausea felt like vertigo making me dizzy. In my bag was this sample which I had promised to share with Joe at Happy Lucky’s yesterday. I told him about the tea trees being at 9000 ft. in the mountains of Taiwan. What an adventure it would be to taste the tea and discuss the flavor together.

A stop to get a light for my refrigerator and another at the Post Office were challenging. Would I be able to make it to tea? (My car’s outdoor temperature gauge recorded 95 degrees, still hot and dry for September.)

“It’s just nausea, push through it. Caffeine will be good for the migraine anyway,” I told myself. So off I went to my tea pub.

When I arrived today, there was a buzz of people in front of the bar and behind it (including Joe). There was the owner George in his bermuda shorts, fiddling with some tea things…greeting me with a big “Hi Bonnie, how’re ya doin?”

I explained that I had a little migraine and needed caffeine, but that I had brought some Taiwan Oolong Black Tea grown at a high altitude that I wanted to share.

What happened next was Tea Theatre!

A flash of cups, a Gaiwan…six people lined up on barstools and several servers behind the bar as George deftly worked his magic. Pourings, scenting, tastings for everyone…steep after steep, after steep…on and on at least 6-7 times. I lost count.

The interesting thing was that from the beginning, the tea was potent. There was no need to work up to a 3rd or 4th steeping to gain the full flavor of this tea. The taste was assertive as though all the hard work the trees had to go through to produce the leaves at the high altitude was condensed and released like golden pearls. The flavor released easily from the leaves.

Comments flew around me…

“Dark Cherry”, “Malty”, Chocolate", Wonderful lingering flavor", “Rich and complex”.

My own notes were:
I felt a coolness on my tongue (which the others felt on the lingering finish also). There was a nuttiness and flavor somewhat like tutti frutti (brandy, sugar and many kinds of fruit placed in a crock and stirred…an old recipe for preserving fruit). A floral scent from a musky flower.

The color of the tea was honey from beginning to end and very fragrant. The leaves reminded me of smoky, malty Formosa Red (Red Blossom Tea) that I reviewed before (although this came up only when I was reminded of this tea by Joe).

And…my nausea…gone. The caffeine did what it is supposed to do and helped take the effects of the migraine away!

I can’t think of a better way to have experienced this tea than with this community of tea lovers.

I had a great time with a very lovely rich and flavorful tea!

This sample was provided by Nuvola. I opened the package to find the sample wrapped in enough bubble wrap to survive being stepped on by an elephant. Excellent. Next, I opened the sample wrapper and poured out the leaf to examine. It is beautiful. Rolled nuggets the size of raisins. The coloring reminded me of granite. It is kind of grayish green with some darker areas and some light green flecks.

The scent of the dry leaf is floral oolong. I also catch some light smoky notes that do not show up later in the cup. This steeps up very light yellow in color and very clear. The wet leaf aroma is vegetal. The liquor is lightly floral.

The sip starts out promising the good things to come in later steeps. It is floral of course, but not overly so. At first there is a tingle all across the tongue. This quickly passes. Then I notice the cooling sensation on my breath. As the cup cools it becomes quite buttery.

It simply amazes me to realize there is nothing added to the leaf. The intoxicating flavors come not just from the leaf but also the rugged growing conditions and the processing. I had golden monkey last night. It is also a natural tea, but it is day and night different from this one. How can such vastly different sets of flavors come from the same plant? Simply mind boggling.

The second cup I passed to a coworker. I am trying to convert him. He is a Lipton drinker and apparently isn’t ready for this one. Makes me sad, but the good news, I don’t have to share the rest with him.

The third cup is a little darker than the first, though still yellow and very clear. I notice the leaf has unfurled but is not completely relaxed. It is mostly two whole leaves and a bud. This cup has some mild green notes. There is also a spice flavor present that I can’t put my finger on. At first I thought cinnamon but now I am thinking nutmeg. It is light and I am not good at spices. The aftertaste is really long lingering.

Fourth cup smells wonderful as it steeped (between 30-40 sec). when pouring, it isn’t necessary to use a strainer.

Fifth cup still going strong (40 sec). The taste has not diminished but this is where I am stopping.

This tea when converted to dollars is about $10.50 for 50g plus shipping. I generally use 2.5g per session so this would make 20 sessions of tea. It easily went 5 steeps. That takes it down into the $0.10/cup range. Depending on shipping this is pretty affordable. It is also an excellent oolong.

Decided to leave this intact from earlier today:

I walked out the door this morning and was greeted by the most beautiful orange world. The rising sun was bouncing its beams off the big fluffy clouds in the west. The result was breathtaking. I drove to work with the windows down and could smell fresh cut grass, wild onion, and garlic. There was also the scent of wet dirt. I have not noticed this for months. The Arizona like dryness we have had all summer has been replaced by Louisiana humidity. Ugh. But with it came the remnants of Isaac. It may have brought devastation on many but it brought refreshment and new life to our area. I have missed the smell of morning.

This tea came as a free sample from Nuvola Tea. There is a link on their website for a free sample. When you follow the link the sample has a 5HK price tag. Well this confused many of us who were in a messaging conversation with Nuvola. The fee is for the shipping and works out to about $0.60. Nuvola offered this one to me without the shipping fee for pointing out what was confusing to us. They mentioned the currency converts during checkout. Nuvola’s website is being worked on and hopefully it will allow buyers to see the cost in their own currency without adding to the cart for a conversion. I also hope they explain the mailing cost on the sample. It is not a big deal unless you are confused by it. I thought 5HK meant $5 and that sounded high for a sample.

The sample packet is of sturdy construction and the company logo is high class, professional looking, and very attractive. The postal service however was not so professional. The sample was largely powder when it arrived. Sorry Nuvola. It looks beautiful in the picture :) So making the best of the situation I used the entire 5g sample in my press. Normally I would have used only half. The scent seemed malty to me, though it disappears once brewed.

I checked online for Nuvola’s recommended temperature and time parameters. And brewed accordingly. The liquor was light yellow. The scent brewed is floral oolong, a bit roasted, and a bit vegetal.

The sip on the first cup is very buttery like dragon well. There is a hint of spice, it reminds me of cinnamon. I am also noticing a light bitter note, like dandelion, in the background, late in the sip. This is followed by the long lingering floral oolong aftertaste.

I just noticed someone broke the skirt on my Marvin The Martian bobble head that has been sitting on my work desk for six years. Good grief (or maybe I should say, “You’re making me very angry!”). Despite the attempts to ruin my day – I refuse it. This life is too short, and the next too long, to allow that to happen. This is a good tea and I am going to enjoy it. Take that!

Second cup – I rinsed out the press before starting this morning but I am thinking I did not wash away all the remnants of the Silk Dragon from yesterday. I am tasting some vanilla. I like it of course, but it may be left over. Or maybe not. As the cup cools, the vanilla disappears, and I am getting more of the dandelion mixed with the floral oolong.

The third steep continues where the second left off. There is still plenty of power in this but it is about to storm so this will be the last cup for this tea. Oh, almost forgot, it leaves a heavy cooling affect on the breath.

Thank you Nuvola for the sample I very much enjoyed it. To all who made it to the bottom of this – umm, sorry about the ramble.

This is a fabulous Ti Kuan Yin! The leaves are darker in color than a “green” Ti Kuan Yin which suggested to me that these leaves were subjected to a roasting, and that is evident in the fragrance and flavor. A delicious, toasted nutty aroma fills the air while that delicious, toasted nutty taste washes over my palate.

Sweet, nutty, flavorful. Hints of fruit. This first cup (my first two infusions) is light and crisp, and yet hints at a stronger tasting broth when I resteep. So this is something I definitely WILL do!