Hello Tea Friends,
I got a sample pack of Dong Ding Oolong to try from my last order with Siam Tea and today is the day to try it. Think of it as a random cupboard sample that has been chosen for the potential of greatness.
Opening the packet reveals large brown leaf balls complete with stem that appear whole. They truly are an impressive size! Also though dark they have a nice glossy shine. On sniff-spection I can smell toasted wood with soft, dry smoke.
Steeping Parameters: 5g Leaf, 320ml vessel, 85C water temperature, 3 minute steep.
The resulting tea is golden in colour with a toasted malt scent.
The first few sips reveal a soft sweetness amidst a sour, toasted wood note that lightens to an almost malt finish in the after taste. There is also a slight dryness. The sweetness carries on half way down the cup with a floral quality and lightness. I close my eyes and imagine I’m drinking flowers that were wood roasted. The sourness remains consistent which leaves a mature, sour wood note to dance on my tongue.
This Oolong was very easy to drink and tasted pure, a very nice example of a lightly toasted Oolong. Even at the end of the cup I could taste each flavour individually with just as much character as the first sip. This would make a nice everyday Oolong.
Until next time,
Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Siam Tea
Description:
DMS Dong Ding Blue Pearls Oolong Tea from Doi Mae Salong, north Thailand,rolled, handpicked. Strongly reminiscent of Chinese Wuyi rock Oolong teas, in particular Da Hong Pao Oolong tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here.
Dong Ding Oolong From Tea Ave
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Ave
Tea Description:
This is it: the original Dong Ding Oolong, grown on the Dong Ding Mountain in Nantou County in central Taiwan, where Dong Ding Oolong originated. One of the best oolong teas in the world. A perpetual favorite among oolong lovers, it has a strong, clean flavor and an aroma of ripe fruit. Partially oxidized and lightly roasted, Dong Ding is an approachable tea—a good choice for oolong newbies to whet their taste buds with.
Dong Ding turns an amber color when infused and possesses a sweet, fruity flavor and aroma. Longer infusion times will yield a stronger, more vivid tea, with a fuller body and aroma. Smooth, with a clean aftertaste. Don’t blame us if you develop a Dong Ding habit.
Tea leaves are green and come curled into balls.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Dong Ding Oolong from Tea Ave. What can I say? It’s everything you expect in a might-fine Dong Ding Oolong! It has a strong yet clean flavor and aroma. The nose and tongue also features a lightly roasted characteristics, too! The aftertaste has subtle notes of ripe stone fruit. This will please new Oolong sippers all the way up to Oolong Gurus!
It’s also an extremely versatile Oolong. What I mean by this is that you can steep it in a tea bag, warm your water in a tea pot and infuse the loose leaf that way, cold brew it overnight, or go with the traditional Gaiwan.
This Oolong is pretty heavy-duty, too, as it offers multiple infusions with optimal flavor. This is a real winner among Dong Ding Oolongs. YUP! Dong Ding Oolong From Tea Ave is a goodie!
Elixir #9 (Peachy Oolong) From Liquid Proust Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Liquid Proust Teas (On Etsy)
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Green oolong (Vietnamese Tung Ting), peach blossoms, flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Finally trying the last of the tea samples that Andrew, from Liquid Proust Teas, was nice enough to send my way. Over on Steepster I’ve posted this review as well – and there it has some special significance as well as it’s my 3000th ‘tasting note’ on that site. I really wanted to celebrate my involvement in the Steepster community by drinking a tea made by someone also engaged within the Steepster community not just as a ‘creator’ but as a consumer as well.
The base for this tea is a Tung Ting/Dong Ding, which is a type of oolong I find pretty enjoyable though not one I drink as regularly as other types. The infused leaf was just gorgeous; long, full olive green leaves with a nicely bruised and oxidized red rim around the edge of the leaf. I tried to show my mother, who was watching me brew the tea but she just didn’t understand the beauty of that.
With both Western Style infusions I ended up doing, I found that more than anything else that I could taste the base tea. It was very fragile/delicate overall with an initial sweet flavour with almost a ‘leather’ or gentle smoke note, but then evolved into this super fragrant and aromatic floral tea with very bright, round notes of lily or possibly lilac to a lesser extent. There was also a smooth, silky vanilla-like sweetness as well especially in the end of the sip/long lingering aftertaste.
I could also taste the peach blossom as just this extra ‘floral’ flavour with a little bit of honey and generic fruit sweetness. Sometimes I forget that, unlike orange blossoms, peach blossoms don’t exactly taste ‘peachy’. I do wish this had been peachier, though – with a name that contains both “Elixir” and “Peachy” I expected both a more vibrant, rich fruity taste as well as something distinctly peach. That said, this was a very calm, delicious tea and I did really enjoy drinking it.
Taiwan DongDing (TungTing) Charcoal Baked Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Tea Description:
The hand-plucked leaves of Dong Ding Oolong are grown in the Dong Ding region of Taiwan at the elevation of 740 meters. At this elevation, the leaves absorb moisture from the surrounding fog and clouds every morning and afternoon which is ideal for Oolong plants. Due to the unique geographic location and stringent selection of leaves, this is the finest Dong Ding Oolong from the Dong Ding estate.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Dong Ding from Fong Mong has been charcoal baked and you can really taste that element in this tea! It’s a really nice complement to the natural nutty flavors of the Oolong tea. This is really one of the tastiest Dong Ding Oolong teas I’ve tasted in a while and I think that the fact that it was charcoal baked makes all the difference.
My first cup was sweet and nutty with a distinct charcoal note. I could taste the charred wood and a hint of smoke. There was a creaminess to the cup, but it wasn’t like a heavy creamy note or a buttery note. It was more like browned butter. Smooth and silky; it didn’t feel heavy on the palate.
The sip starts out sweet with notes of honey. I start picking up on the nutty flavors almost immediately. By mid-sip, the sweetness is fully developed and I start to pick up on a hint of smoke which transcends into a charcoal note. The aforementioned browned butter notes weave their way in and out of the sip. The finish is almost “fruit-like,” tasting a bit like a roasted, caramelized peach.
The second cup seemed a little more unified. The flavors were seamless. It was a very smooth transition from notes of honey to toasted nutty flavors and hints of smoke. The smoke was a little more subtle this time, and the notes of charcoal were stronger, even though they seemed “fused” with the other flavors. Still sweet, still a fruit-like finish. Delicious.
The third cup was very much like the second. The browned butter notes have diminished by this point but they seem to have made way for more definition of the peach-like flavor. I experience a slightly dry sensation toward the finish, almost mineral-y. Still a sweet, lovely Oolong.
I brewed this Dong Ding the way I’d brew most Oolong teas, using my gaiwan and following a 15 second rinse, I started the infusion time at 45 seconds and added 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion. I combine 2 infusions for each cup, so my first cup was made up of infusions 1 and 2, and the second cup was infusions 3 and 4 … you get it, right?
Fong Mong offers quite a few amazing Taiwan Oolong teas that are well worth checking into! I highly recommend them!
Taiwanese Dong Ding Oolong from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
This Dong Ding exemplifies the union of sweet and savory flavors that are a hallmark of Taiwanese oolong craftsmanship.
Taiwanese oolong is an incredible and worthwhile counterpoint to the Tieguanyin growing cross the straights in Anxi. While mainland oolongs tend to be more floral, Taiwanese oolongs edge towards savory. In love with the unique taste, we are pleased to have found this standout example despite difficult growing conditions in Taiwan this past year.
The wet leaf aroma is like being in a small bakery with rising whole wheat walnut currant bread in the oven and redwood bark’s warm smell wafting though an open window. The first steepings start with a bright raspberry tartness followed by a darker note of flax and spicy green peppercorn. These initial flavors swell and then diminish leaving a sweet whipped cream pound cake aftertaste.
Later steepings expand upon the spicy flavor with the sweetness of red bell peppers and the savory satisfying taste of fried cactus paddle. The aftertaste moves towards sweet corn bread and lingers long after the tea is gone.
NOTES: pound cake, raspberry, peppercorn, corn bread, flax, cactus
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A tea like Taiwanese Dong Ding Oolong from Verdant Tea must be experienced over several steeps, otherwise you will miss out on so much flavor and complexity. I won’t say that this is my all time favorite tea from Verdant Tea, but it is very nice and should be experienced.
I will start by saying I am a little disappointed that I never got those pound cake notes, corn bread notes, or even really any raspberry notes, but what I did get was flavorful, and delicious.
Early steeps give off a nice light flavor, white floral notes, a dash of a pepper note, but only very slight, and a wonderful earthy note like well nourished soil, not to be confused with dirt. This Taiwanese Dong Ding by Verdant has a perfectly sweet flavor, not too sweet, but just right. To me this resonates most as a floral milk oolong.
It is slightly vegetal, with some nutty goodness, and in later steeps becomes even more milky and creamy with a full mouth feel. It is weighty, buttery, slightly astringent, and really quite good. I still am looking for some of those dessert notes, but sadly not finding them.
Toward steep four and five I am still getting a wonderfully flavorful cup which becomes even more creamy, maybe this is where the cake note comes in – through all the creaminess, but for me I wish it had a little more because while it is creamy, it never quite develops into a full on cream like flavor, rather teases and hints at it. Perhaps if I were finding that raspberry note I would enjoy it more. This is not to imply I am unhappy with the cup, but I would have been more happy had I not seen those yummy notes that I am missing out on.
This is a really nice flavorful cup with key notes on my palate being floral, creamy, milky, and vegetal. Its not nearly as strong as other Dong Ding I have had, and I do love Dong Ding Oolong. Of course this is a lighter roast but even still it is lacking many of the qualities I am used to in Dong Ding. Again that is not to say I don’t like it. I like it a lot, but I am confused a little by this tea. I plan to work with it more to see if I can uncover more of what it has to offer.
