Taiwan Da Yu Ling Oolong Tea

This is a free sample provided by Nuvola Tea for review. Thank you!

As far as I know, this is my first Da Yu Ling Oolong, unless I have had it by another name. Opening the pouch, I sniffed the dry leaves. Buttery! I knew I would like this one.

I rinsed the leaves as they suggest on their site, pouring the water off immediately and letting the leaves have just a moment to awaken. There is a lot of dust and fine particles so I opted to put my finest infuser in the pot, as I knew the little built in strainer wuld not catch the smaller particles. My first steep in my little gong fu pot was 30 seconds. and that was plenty of time! In just 30 seconds this cup is full of flavor.

The liquor is yellow with a greenish cast. The flavor is buttery, smooth, and has a hint of mild tender greens flavor. I thought at first by the dry leaf aroma that it was going to taste very similar to Premium Silky Green by Bird Pick, but it doesn’t. This is more vegetal and has that nice little edge that makes it pair well with food, and gives a long lasting flavor.

The second steep was for forty seconds. The leaves are now well opened up. The liquor is still a solid yellow with green cast. The flavor is unabated. The flavor rises past the soft palate. Do other people swallow their tea and then make a sort of chewing motion to swirl the heat and flavor that remains through their mouth and sinuses? I do, and this tea carries a nice, continuing flavor. There is a slight, dry tingle on my tongue, a bare hint of the astringency that is highly regarded for clearing the palate.

The third steep is 45 seconds. The liquor is a brighter yellow, losing some of its green cast. I am slowing down, as I have consumed 16 ounces already! This is smooth, and I think I detect a light walnut taste now as well, as the vegetal flavor fades. There is a light sweetness rising in the aftertaste. As this cup cools, it becomes sweeter, not more astringent. The butter flavor is very light now.

This is smooth, sweet, has enough body and flavor to go with food, but isn’t aggressive enough to turn anyone off.

I recommend using scissors to open your pouch. This is very well sealed to preserve the flavor and I appreciate that, because freshness is everything with a tea like this, but the strength and elasticity of the outer layer make it difficult to tear and you don’t want to spill any of your leaves!

Thank you, Nuvola Tea, for allowing me to sample your tea!

Edited to add: On giving it a bit of thought, I suspect that this tea had a lot of fine particles due to being sent through post office machinery! When I mail a small amount of tea in an envelope, I always carry it into the post office and request that they hand cancel it and mark it “Non-machinable.” They hand stamp it twice. If you ordered this tea, I don’t think you would have fine particles.

Oh goodness, this is lovely … I think that Da Yu Ling is quickly becoming another favorite Oolong of mine, perhaps right on the same level as Ali Shan which is (or was) #1. I am so swooning over this tea.

It is amazing to me how a tea can taste so delicate and yet so rich. At once, I taste notes of flower, air, fruit, honey, and vegetation. I taste each of these notes individually. In subsequent infusions, the flavors become less individual … they seem to come together in a very harmonious way to create a very luxurious, enchanting flavor.

I am so in love with this.

Geographically, “Da Yu Ling” is located in the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan.
It is the highest tea plantation in Taiwan around 9,000 – 9,240 ft.
Generally, starting from 95k to 105.5k of the Taiwan Central Cross-Island Highway or Provincial Highway No.8 is claimed as “Da Yu Ling”.

Since it is located on the steep slope and unstable terraces, only few tea gardens can be established. In winter, temperature is always below 32F and annual average temperature is below 68-70F. Annual rainfall is high

Therefore, in this unspoiled, moist and cold region, each tea leaf is growing slowly. This place can produce only a small amount of Taiwan Da Yu Ling Tea each year.

On this steep slope, Da Yu Ling’s tea gardens are required lots of manpower to take care on each tea tree (Camellia sinensis – scientific name should be itatic) on such extreme environment. Large auto-machine is impossible to use. Of course it is difficult to be developed by
government officials and business sectors. The road is narrow and curve. So, the environment is being protected.

Tea leaves of Taiwna Da Yu Ling is thick and plump. It is distinguished by its delicate scent and subtle taste well-balanced with an exceptionally rich, full body and a sweet flavor.

Taiwan Da Yu Ling (Google Map)
https://maps.google.com.hk/maps?hl=en&ll=24.17706,121.323137&spn=0.060214,0.077162&t=h&z=14&brcurrent=3,0×0:0×0,1

Thank you Nuvola Tea for this amazing sample.

I’m hoping for tons of infusions with it in my yixing pot!

First steep, 30 seconds: the cup smells like it might actually be filled with butter instead of tea! It’s very flavorful and yet at the same time somewhat delicate…if that makes any sense. It’s got a strong taste of light flavors. It’s too hard to describe in words, jeez. It’s creamy, vegetal, sweet, and has just a hint of floral.

Second steep, 45 seconds: It’s become more sweet and more vegetal. There seem to even be notes of dark green herbs in here, maybe something like sage! Sage and peas. Sounds good to me.

Third steep, 60 seconds: This steep reminded me somehow that I needed to take decent pictures of my lip balms now that I found my memory card. Except now the battery is drained in my camera and I can’t find the charger. It’s always gotta be something. This steep is now much sweeter, with a hint of astringency. I always like the astringency in oolongs because it comes off as a mix between sparkling water and peppercorns.

Fourth steep, 75 seconds: The flavor was less intense on this one so I decided to make it the last. There was a lot of time between the 3rd and 4th so that probably didn’t help. This one was still sweet, also reminiscent of green vegetables but in no way as intense as even the third steep.

I liked the second steep the best. This is an amazing tea, grown in quite an interesting climate. I wouldn’t hesitate to get some in the future. Thank you again Nuvola for graciously giving me a sample of this tea.

This is a free sample from Nuvola Tea. Thanks!!! The dry leaf has a great green oolong aroma, similar to Tie Guan Yin. I didn’t really time the steep, but I think it was about 1.5 minutes. The flavor is very similar to Tie Guan Yin too: green, buttery, floral, and amazing!

There is something odd about this tea though. Most of the flavor is in the sip. The aftertaste is faint and light and just a little bit salty. I usually find that green oolongs have a heavy, vegetal, floral aftertaste. But this one doesn’t. This tea’s aftertaste is still flavorful, just light and delicate and not what I’m used to. I’m betting the second steep will be even more amazing!

Second steep was for 3 minutes. I timed it this time. ;) The leaves are fully open now, and the flavor is maybe a little more developed. But overall, it’s very similar to the first cup. Yummy! I think I’ll stop the infusions here though. I’m practically sloshing with tea. That’s what I get for brewing oolongs Western style. :P

Thank you Nuvola Tea for this free sample!

Leaf Quality:
The leaves were both dark and light shades of green, and very floral. I detected a bit of milky-fruitiness. The dry leaves themselves smelled quite sweet. The brewed leaves were grassy and floral. They unfurled into yellow-green crinkled gems in the water. After the second brew, all grassy notes had left, and the scent was purely floral.

Brewed Tea:
The tea smelled a bit milky, but even more floral. It had a bright yellow-green liquor and tasted light, floral, and had a slightly grassy finish.
Second Steeping
This brew was again floral. However, the milky notes had transformed into melon notes. It reminded me of either cantaloupe or honey-dew melons. The floral notes had also changed a bit from the first brew, i that it was more pronounced and sweeter. A very nice melon aftertaste.
Third Steeping
This tea was increasingly sweet with each brew. The melon was lighter this time, and the floral notes kept strong.
Fourth Steeping
Melon notes showed up again for this brew. The floral qualities carried themselves through and through, changing slightly each time.

What a nice Oolong to taste. Thanks again, Nuvola!