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I asked for a gooseneck Bonavita kettle for Christmas especially for our gong fu sessions, and this is my first time trying it. I like it, and it works very well for this.

Since I knew I wanted to gong fu, and since I am trying to get old tea out of the house, I took a chance on this sample. It is quite old – this company is no longer in business – but I wanted to give it a shot. I am glad I did because it was very good. I suppose it really helped that it was a small, individually sealed pack and some oolongs age very well anyway.

I warmed the gaiwan and put the leaves in. After a minute we gave the leaves a sniff and found that they still had good aroma and were on the savory side, but with creamy, almost vanilla frosting notes.

The liquor was not as strong as a TGY, but was full of flavor and very tasty. It was smooth, slightly savory, with sweet dessert notes and a bit of floral. I got five solid steeps,before it was weak enough that it wasn’t worth continuing.

Pairing: Since my husband hasn’t been feeling well he didn’t want supper, so I was actually using this as an excuse to get a little food in him as well as tea. I warmed some cheddar on Garden Herb Triscuits, and then topped each one with a tiny bit of apricot jam. There were also a few pecan tartlets because we are swimming in leftover Christmas dainties. Ha ha!

He really, really enjoyed this tea. I am sorry to see that Nuvola is gone, but I will probably order some Alishan pretty soon from either Teavivre or Harney. (Since Teaave ALSO seems to be gone…)