Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea

Thanks to Teavivre for a sample of this tea. I am excited to try Teavivre’s new Taiwanese high mountain oolongs; this one I had a gongfu session with this afternoon.

The first steep was light and floral, slightly buttery and a hint of sugary sweetness. In the second and third steeps, more of the vegetal flavor came out, spinachy and generally leafy. Also the sweetness abated, leaving mostly floral and vegetal. As I have noticed with Taiwanese high mountain oolongs in the past, this is crisp and clean, without the really buttery and fruity notes that characterize tieguanyins. I tried each steep then dumped the remainder into one cup to drink later. It’s more floral and a touch sweeter when all are combined, but otherwise pretty similar to the individual steeps. This is a very nice example of these high mountain oolongs, nicely fresh and floral.

Also I had only one pack of this so sipdown, 137. Thanks again to Teavivre for the sample.

Backlog:

Beautifully fragrant Oolong! Sweet, floral and fruity!

My first cup was sweet and creamy. Lighter than the subsequent infusions which is par for the course. Faint vegetal notes, prominent floral notes.

My subsequent cups were much stronger in flavor. Not quite as creamy as the first cup, though. More floral notes to dance upon the palate. Notes of apple begin to emerge in later infusions.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/10/29/nonpareil-taiwan-dayuling-high-mountain-cha-wang-oolong-tea-teavivre/

Thanks to Teavivre for the oolong samples. Sweet, floral, fruity, vegetal are the words that come to mind on this one. Reminds me of a Tieguanyin-maybe a little sweeter. I am more of a black tea lover but enjoy an oolong once in awhile for a change. This one is pretty good, but so far my favorite Teavivre sample has been the Superfine Taiwan Moderately-Roasted Dong Ding Oolong. Still have a few more to go though.

Tastes and smells mostly vegetal to me, with some sweet buttery notes in the background. A hint of floralness in here as well. Has a lingering sweet aftertaste that I found quite enjoyable. Great tea, I wish it was a little less pricey though.

Tea provided by Teavivre for review

I’ve been wanting to try the sample for quite some time now. Unfortunately I caught a cold and it impaired my tastebuds and I really couldn’t taste anything. :(
With that out of the way, I’m ready to jump back into my daily gong fu tea sessions. Anyway, onto the tasting notes:

The first steep had a really nice balance of vegetal, sweet, and buttery characteristics. It’s really smooth and nothing seemed bitter of off-putting.

Some nice spice/cinnamon came out during the third steep.

Onward down to the eighth steeps, it maintained a nice flavour that was true to the initial steep’s aroma. It finishes off somewhat weak, but not so much that I only taste the water and not the tea.

Overall I’m impressed with how well it steeped, the balance between the flavours, and that I couldn’t taste any bitterness or off-putting flavours. It never seemed too dry or overpowering either. The price is a bit steep, so I could see it as a nice gift. I think the flavours justify trying it out if you have a discerning palate for quality.

Steep parameters (as suggested by Teavivre)
85ml water in a gaiwan, sample (7g?), rinse and 8 steeps (30s, 50s, 70s, 90s, 120s, 120s, 150s, 180s)

Light Oolong that is yellow with a hint of green in color and has a floral and steamed veggie aroma. This tea is light with a floral flavor mixed with a sweet edamame taste.

It is so blasted hot. I have been working outside, watering tomatoes from the rain barrels, filling bird baths, hanging out clothes, etc. I absolutely could not bear the thought of lunch on the patio but then I came in and cooled off and decided that a cold salad and cold tea would be good out there after all. Must eat outside all we can before the mosquitoes show up in droves.

Last year, Verdant tea had a blog post and some emails about making flash steeped tea. I usually drink my cold tea (other than cold puerh) sweetened but I loved making a flash chilled shaker of really good leaf and drinking it plain. I decided that was the way to say goodbye to this elderly oolong I found at the bottom of a box. Best by date was 2019.

It was excellent. Nice foam from the shaking comes from natural saponins in the tea. The clear is clear and clean and beautiful, just looking at it is refreshing. Aroma is very floral and complex, taste is even more complex. Floral, nutty, musky seaweed, sweetness, then a little toasty – all swirl around in layers. We have made two big steeps so far and will possibly try another, but because of how we are drinking it we are using a bit more water than gong fu but less than Western steeping.

Age hasn’t hurt this tea at all. Good stuff.

Had to go to the DMV today. Yeah, no matter what city or state, it’s always the most inefficient operation ever. lol

I wanted something special so I chose the Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea. The type of tea that is flourishing waaaay the heck up there (2500m+), away from it all, where its cooler year around. The type of tea that is quite expensive but hey, it is DaYuLing, and a great one too ($36.90 for 50g).

Tightly dark green nuggets, large leaves when unfurled. It has a noteworthy aroma with a mixture of orchid, vegetal, fruit, sweetness. Smooth, silky, calming. Sweet, creamy, buttery, some chestnut, umami, gardenia/floral notes, seaweed/marine notes towards the end. Balanced and well-rounded, complex yet subtle, lingers at the throat and back of the tongue well after you finish your steep, a comforting effect. Full-bodied, thick mouth-feel & in the throat.

Gaiwan, 7g, 212℉, 110ml, 8 steeps: rinse, 30s, 30s, 50s, 70s, 90s, 120s, 150s, 180s

Thank you to Teavivre for the free sample!

Loose leaf is beautiful to look at and smells of delicious toasty oolong tea. I love toasty oolongs, so I was very excited to try this. And, I find myself drawn to visually appealing teas |(even if the flavour is lacking).

Brewed western style with 475 mL hot water for 4 minutes. Liquid was light tan-yellow. Liquid smelled very strongly of seaweed, a bit fishy and salty.

Luckily the brew tasted nothing of fish, was not salty, but was VERY seaweedy. Very buttery, savoury/umami, quite sweet in a toasted oolong way. The sweetness + toasty flavours are actually very nice with how buttery this is. However, I’m put off by just how seaweedy the brew is, but I will try it gong fu method and use cooler water with multiple steeps.

I enjoyed drinking this. The first steep was really smooth and creamy and sweet, with florals in the background. I’m not cool enough to be able to pick out more specific flavors. The later couple steeps are much more floral and fruity and tasty. I love oolong, and this one would be good for every day.