Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Samovar Tea Lounge
Tea Description:
Origin: Wuyi Mountans, Fujian, China
Flavor Profile: Deep and complex…with a rich body, a roasted aroma, and sweet finish of raisin sugar, honeysuckle, and roasted barley. Warm and earthy notes of bittersweet chocolate and peat moss. Expertly dark roasted, the Wuyi oolong has very little floral notes. If you are a coffee lover, this tea will steal your heart away.
Tea Story: This long rolled oolong tea harks from the remote and ancient cliffs Wu Yi Mountains in Northern Fujian province. Produced in China since the 18th century, our dark-roasted Wuyi is also know as Wuyi Qi Lan, Wuyi’s Profound Orchid.
Our Wuyi’s nutty, dark-roasted flavor profile has won over many a coffee-drinker. If you’re someone who’s trying to wean themselves from coffee, this Wuyi is the perfect step into the world of tea. Trust us, we’ve seen many stave off coffee-withdrawal with a smile, sipping the Wuyi.
Samovarian Poetry: A climactic eruption of tea intoxication. Hauntingly ambrosial, with an evolving complexity of carmelized raisins, roasted barley, smoked bittersweet chocolate, & aged peat moss.
Food Pairing: This is the best oolong for pairing with deserts. The roasted, nutty flavors pair excellently with dark and milk chocolate, sweet creams, and the dense sweetness of baked figs or juicy dates stuffed with chevre.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wuyi Oolong Organic Dark Roast from Samovar Tea Lounge is a good starter Wuyi but at the price for this specific tea may not be worth it to those just starting out. This is a good tea, with notes of honey, cocoa, rock mineral, peat, salt, and lingering floral after notes, but with that said there are many other Wuyi Oolong out there at a much more affordable price tag, that are just as good, if not better.
Please don’t take this wrong, as I do enjoy this tea quite a bit but there is a slight bitter note left behind when I recall what I paid for this tea, which leaves me a bit disenchanted with Samovar.
On the good side of this Wuyi Oolong Dark Roast from Samovar Tea Lounge, there is a hardy, robust, flavor that would be excellent to serve to your coffee drinking pals. There is absolutely depth to this cup and some really wonderful flavors to explore. I also can detect some nuttiness and a creamy mouthfeel within the sip.
I feel this is an excellent tea to introduce your non tea drinking friends to as well as a great place to begin a tea journey. While there may be less expensive options out there to explore, this tea does provide one with a great starting place and a baseline to compare all others to. It has the elements one should expect and require of a good Wuyi however perhaps lacking in some elements it has all of the base notes one would need to start their knowledge from.
I do not regret this purchase, it was one of my first purchases back when I got into loose leaf tea and I do absolutely feel it set the parameter for what to expect from a good Wuyi.
Taiwan Muzha Ti Kuan Yin from Nuvola Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Nuvola Tea
Tea Description:
The saffron-coloured Muzha Ti Kuan Yin Tea has a light fruity aroma and a melting creamy mouth-feel. The flavors are strong and long-lasting even after several infusions, which leaves a sweet lingering sensation in the mouth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Taiwan Muzha Ti Kuan Yin from Nuvola Tea is a complex, multiple layered taste exploration. It captures flavors of sweet, savory, salty, roasty, creamy, and more. There is an undeniable aroma that really captures the senses and makes you sit a moment, cup close to your nose, just breathing in its notes.
Nuvola Tea has some of the finest teas I have come across in my tea discovery. This is no exception. Hints of nuttiness capture my attentions first, followed by a creamy full mouthful and flavor that is captivating as well. While sweet berry notes dance about on my tongue the roasted backdrop comes into focus, but then the berry re-emerges once again. Its like a ferris wheel of flavors here! Flavor notes go up, then down, then round and round playfully dancing and playing on my palette.
Preceding infusions are just as delicious – I am up to infusion 5 and seem to be going strong even still. The berry notes are not as profound in later infusions but still nice when they peek through.
Granted there is a distinct woodsy flavor to this tea and I adore a woodsy roasty tea, but to me, what really springs forth the most is that wonderful berry note! Its so surprising and unexpected. Okay maybe the berry note does not spring forth the most, perhaps it is just that here I have one of my all time favorite flavor profiles of a dark roasted, nutty, woody, deep, oolong, and then that berry comes and zips in with its fresh note illuminating my cup. I mean its just so hard not to notice! Normally I go for a Dong Ding Oolong as my favorite but I am seriously considering this as a replacement for my most beloved oolong! I do have it on my wish list for future tea orders regardless and I look forward to many more infusions with this leaf to come!