Great Tea Road Co.
Dong Ding Oolong
Dong Ding Oolong
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INGREDIENTS: Tea
TYPE: Oolong
CAFFEINE LEVEL: Medium
ORIGIN: Lugu Town in Nantou, Taiwan
TASTE NOTES: Dong Ding translates as Frozen Peaks. Some people pronounce it as Tung Ting. The cultivar to make the Dong Ding Oolong is Qinqxin Oolong. With approximately 20% oxidation, dry tea has a roasted nut aroma. The tea leaves rolled into tight beads and were very dark green. The infusion has a malty, sweet, roasted-nut character with a light lilac undertone.
BREWING DIRECTIONS: A heap of tea | 7oz Water | 2-3 Minutes | 195 F | Multiple infuses.
GOOD TO KNOW: Avoid strong odors or sunlight in an air-tight container.
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This really is an excellent Oolong. It's my favorite that I've had so far. Notes of sandalwood, tree logs, chocolate. Beautiful yellowy-orange color. No bitter notes (unless oversteeped). Quite strong. One important thing to know about this tea is that the brewed tea tastes nothing like the leaves smell. I don't like the smell of the dry leaves, but the tea itself is first rate. It's one of the best teas I've tasted, and I've lived in tea-producing regions. Using 5g in a 100ml gaiwan gong fu style, I got five excellent brews (re-steeps without adding leaves). Further brews kept their color and tasted good, but not excellent. My guess is that I could have pushed it to the eighth or tenth brew if needed. Compared to great tea road's Ali Shan, Tin Guan Yin (their name for Tie Guan Yin/Iron Goddess of Mercy), this one is the strongest/darkest, Ali Shan is the lightest (their Ali Shan is really a green-tea-lover's oolong and would be a great first oolong for someone used to greens to try), and the Tin Guan Yin is in between. Tin Guan Yin has the best smelling dry leaves and most floral notes. The Dong Ding is a really oolong-y oolong. Wife is a black-tea drinker but did enjoy this tea. I'm definitely buying more of this in the future. If I had to drink only one kind of tea for the rest of my life, I'd be okay with it being this one.