Charcoal-baked Dong Ding Oolong Tea

Steeped 6 grams of leaf (full sample packet) in 2 cups (500ml) of water at 195 degree for 6 minutes.

I want to note that to me, the minty sensation others are getting does not come across to me as “minty” but more as a cooling sensation. When you take a sip, wait a few moments, then open your mouth and suck in some air, there is this breezy cooling feeling that ices over the inside of the mouth a little bit. Is that the minty sensation others are getting? I do not taste mint but FEEL it.

I absolutely taste the charcoal roasty flavor, very nice. Sort of tastes like a camp fire that has been allowed to slowly smolder out over the course of an evening when you wake up the next day and all that is left is a little smoke slowly lifting from the ashes.

The aroma of the dry leaf to me smelled of milk – slightly warm milk.

There is a creamy texture and mouthfeel to the steeped tea, and a milk flavor as well.

Only a slight vegetal flavor is present.

A light sweetness is present.

After taste lingers in the mouth nicely leaving a rock mineral flavor behind.

There is a juicy erupting throat feel to this tea – we often speak of mouthfeel but this tea has a throat feel as well. As if you just bit into a ripe juicy peach or apple and it has shot down your throat a little surprising you.

Mild sensation of drying in the mouth once the after taste dissipates which I find typical of most oolong tea.

Over all this is one of the finer oolongs I have sampled. It is unique yet true to what I think an oolong should be. Oolongs are my favorite guilty pleasures which I tend to save for moments I can take some ME time.

A very nice tea – thank you Fong Mong Tea for the sample!

Thank you to FONG MONG TEA for this lovely Sample

Yesterday a box of tea samples arrived from Taiwan! How exciting to recieve tea’s from a company that is new to me and see what the tea is like.

I picked this Oolong at random to begin with. It is fortunate that the instructions for brewing were listed here on Steepster.

My choice of equipment was a small porcelain Gaiwan. I used spring water, the steep time was 6 minutes at 212F. The leaves are hand picked, hand rolled and lovely deep green nuggets.

The liquor ranged from a dark gold on the first steeping to medium yellow then light yellow thereafter.

1. Having little experience with Oolongs, I had no preconcieved rule about what they must taste like. However, this Oolong right out of the gate struck me as an amazing experience! Like a series of bullets from a Gatling Gun I was struck with one flavor after another in rapid succession. A flavor would begin and go away, another begin and leave quickly on and on.

Wild Mint Coolness, Artichoke, Floral Orchid, Juice, Light Sparkling Water,Tingling, Minty Coolness, Smooth, Creamy and Sweet!

What kind of tea was this?

2. With the second steeping the heavy vegital taste and rapid fire flavor bullet experience ended. Now, with my head out of the clouds, I could think clearly. The wild mountain, minty coolness made me think about the creek where I used to sit by a waterfall under the canopy of coast redwood trees. It looked very prehistoric…the riverbank covered with ferns and wild orchids. Sticking my toes in the water as I used to do, and sipping this tea would be the best experience! So refreshing and mystical! Like time standing still. Thinking on this, I could imagine the influence of high mountain mists on these tea leaves. You could taste the mist in the coolness…and it moved me deeply. I noticed a warmth at the back of my throat like a ray of sunshine or the comfort of honey. A small gift from the earth in this fine tea.

3. This Oolong was not giving up at three steepings. I could tell that there were many, many beautiful steepings to go. The flavor stayed cool, sweet, smooth, buttery, juicy and lush. I let my cup cool down to see what would happen to the taste. Ha! There was no astringency or bitterness. Loved that!

Some tea’s are meant to be special. Company tea. Special occasion tea. I think this tea is one of those special tea’s and more. It is truly elegant and refined.
This Oolong should be enjoyed often!

I’m finally starting to feel human! YAY!

As for this tea…I’m really liking it! I don’t think it’s one of the more intense charcoal-oolongs I have tried but I still appreciate the process regardless.

This is sweet and cooling to the system!

OH! There it is! There’s the charcoal! It took approx 4 to 5 mins at room temp after infusion was complete – not at the beginning of the sip or the end of the sip – but – right smack dab in the middle of the sip! It’s not over powering but much more noticeable than it was at first sip almost immediately after infusing.

I’m not picking up on the ‘minty’ sensation others are referring to – probably because I take MINT literally as I am a MINT FREAK. I can taste how it is cooling, tho! That’s a neat characteristic!

As it cools even more at room temp – a bit warmer than luke-warm – I can start tasting a semi-nutty flavor at the beginning of the sip-process!

This is a neat tea that morphs and changes often! That’s what I like about it!

Fong Mong asked me if I liked dark oolongs before they sent this. I told them sure (I didn’t really know). Right now I am hoping it was not a mistake. I do love Yamamotoyama and Foo Joy Wuyi oolongs in bag form so I am not really too concerned.

I used half the six gram sample for my tasting. The leaf is rolled tight but not as tiny as the blue jade. It has a light smoked aroma. I held the first steep to 3 minutes. The liquid is clear and dark yellow. The wet leaf is dark green and smells ominously charcoal smoked.

The sip – interesting! Not nearly as roasted as it smells. It actually impressed me as more green than smoked. The taste has almost a honey like quality about it. The aftertaste has a neat cooling thing going on like mint or menthol but it is not in the taste. It is just a sensation. As the cup cools the sip becomes a bit creamy.

On cup two, also at 3 minutes, the leaf has relaxed enough to reveal some stems. How were they able to roll 2” long stems into those tiny little pellets? I am noticing the oolong floral notes coming through especially in the aftertaste.

The third cup @ 4 minutes is milder as the flavor is fading. The cooling sensation is actually more noticeable at this point.

There is some resemblance between this and the bagged Wuyi oolongs I have enjoyed in the past. Really, they are only a shadow of what is going on in this tea. It is as if you took the flavor knife and lopped off the ends, then cut what was left in half and discarded the bright happy side of the flavor. I say that, all the while admitting I like those bagged teas. Now that I know what I am missing, I am not as likely to rush into restocking them. I have no idea if this is a good quality example of this type tea. What I do know is I think it is really good.

It brings up a question in my mind. Why do I like the roasted/smoked taste in greens and oolongs but not so much in black teas? I have no answer other than preconceived ideas of how I expect a tea to taste.

It has taken me way too long to get around to reviewing these samples that FONG MONG TEA graciously sent me to review. Sorry FONG MONG TEA! I really wish that I had gotten to this tea sooner… It is amazing… Really!

The little gold sample packet was nicely packed with dark green rolled leaves. The green was so dark and deep that it looked almost black, like a forest in the moonlight. The scent was deliciously sweet. It smelled of hints of honey with pine-nuts. Just in case you aren’t familiar with pine-nuts, they smell and taste nothing like pine trees, but more like a mix of walnuts and cashews… It was nuttier and smoother smelling than most oolongs. The scent was thick and inviting with undeniable sweetness.

Once steeped, the tea was a golden color with a tint of olive green. It smelled delicious, with the honey notes becoming more prominent without overcoming the nuttiness of the oolong. I couldn’t wait to sip it. Something about it seemed almost magical.

The first thing that struck me the most was that as soon as I sipped it, my mouth was filled with a sweet nutty flavor. It is the sweetest tea I have tasted so far. Absolutely surreal. I really had never experienced a tea that could fool me into thinking that sugar had been added… I am pleasantly shocked by the sweetness in each sip! I taste a tiny hint of smokiness towards the end of each sip, adding depth to the natural nuttiness of the Oolong.

Also unique and worth mentioning is the cooling sensation at the end of each sip, almost like what you feel after sipping peppermint tea. It is a great combination of flavors and sensations. It is by far the most unique tea I have tasted so far. Delicious and surprising all at once.

My taste-buds feel like they just came back from a SPA all pampered and relaxed. I think that this Oolong should be tasted by anyone who is a fan of Oolongs or sweeter teas. You really need to try it… Trust me… :)

This one is good, it steeped up a light color with a vegetal aroma but the taste was very refreshing and bold almost floral at first with charcoal baked flavors come out after the second steep. Not my favorite but still quite nice. I didn’t pick up any minty notes that others are getting. What I got was this is a nice Dong Ding and I would enjoy a cup anytime :-)

This sample courtesy of Fong Mong Tea – thank you!

Steeped 3 grams of leaves for 6 minutes at about 187º. This produced a lovely honey-gold colored liquid. I can smell the roasted veggies, and the taste reminds me of roasted asparagus. Delicious! There’s a slight coolness that fills my mouth after the roastiness subsides – fun!

Resteeped at 190º for another 6 minutes the roastiness is still here, but a tad less so now.

The third infusion is probably where I’ll draw the line. The taste is still there, but falling to the point where I won’t peruse it more.

Thanks again to Fong Mong Tea for sharing a sample of this tasty tea!

So I messed up… The original review that I posted for this tea was actually for Peony Tea’s Dong Ding Oolong (my bad). I got my dong dings mixed up like the ding dong I sometimes am. Anywho…

This is fantastic! I can really taste the difference between the charcoal baked oolong and the dong dings that I have tried that aren’t. This one really brings out some pleasant earthy tones and provides delicious smokey hints. I got a cute little teacup with a basket for my birthday (as well as a cast iron teapot, which I didn’t bring to work so have not yet tried…), and I made 7 cups with the same leaves and made myself pee 12 times today because I could not stop re-steeping this tea…

Thanks to Fong Mong Tea for this sample!

I’ve been on a bit of an oolong kick lately, but at the moment my permanent collection is mostly greens and herbals. I dug through my sample box until I found the last one from Fong Mong.

The leaves are dark brown and tightly rolled, and there are little stems mixed in with the leaves. It smells dark and kind of earthy, (the word “snail” comes to mind) but I’m also getting the feeling of seaweed, like ocean rocks covered in bracken and barnacles.

Steeped 6g/10oz, 180deg, 3min.

It tastes dark to me. There’s an earthiness, woodsiness to it that I’m not entirely fond of. I can certainly taste the charcoal flavoring here. I think it’s just my personal preference for the lighter, greener oolongs speaking. I’m also getting some honey notes and a toastiness not unlike a genmaicha.

All in all, it satisfied my oolong craving, but it’s not something I have a burning desire to keep in my collection.

Dry leaf smells a lot like roasted seaweed.

Buttery hints on the sip. Roasted and seaweed after-taste. Very slight saltiness in the background. Hints of floral on the finish. Reminiscent of a full green tea flavour.

I am personally not a fan of teas that remind me of salt but I love the roasted seaweed flavour coming out of this one.

For the second infusion, I increased the infusion time by about 1 minute. All of the flavours from the first infusion seem more subtle with an added oolong creaminess that comes out a bit. I think that I’m getting that minty-cooling feeling in my throat as the tea cools. I didn’t find it to be very apparent in the first one (I thought that I may have feeling it only because I had read about it so much). Buttery and vegetal qualities.

This tea would not likely do well past the third infusion.

A review Charcoal-baked Dong Ding Tea by Fong Mong Tea

I am finally having a cup of this Dong Ding Tea. In opening this last sealed packet, I am noticing the charcoal scent that is coming from the small pouch. As I pour out the contents into the palm of my hands I smell the charcoal. It is very nice, it makes me think of folks who are able to barbecue on an open pit or a charcoal broiler. I do not own these things but I have been around them.

I had my small pan filled with pure freshly cold water and I left it to boil slightly for a few minutes. I take my trusty mug that was freshly washed and put some of the Dong Ding tea rolls in the cup and I pour some of the water into the cup and left to steep for a few minutes.

I continue to smell the charcoal scent from my fingers, which seems to be coated with it. After about two minutes I remove the cover from the tea and yes the leaves are fuller in size, but still curled not full leaves as the previous oolong sampled.

This tea has that lovely golden orb color; liken to an egg yolk or cantaloupe melon. And the smell is definitely of charcoal and in taste it is the same as well.

1st infusion tea smells and taste strongly of charcoal and it is smooth. It is a pleasant cup.
2nd and 3rd infusion brings about more of the mellow-honey in that it is softer with not the harshness of the charcoal roasted flavoring. So heartiness and robust is more so with first infusion and with later infusion what is left is a soft-yellow dew of an oolong tea; that being Dong Ding tea.

The color of this tea was by far the most exciting to see. Visualizing the yolk of an egg, freshly cut Cantaloupe melon or the golden glow of the sun is what is captured and projected into this cup, my cup of tea for the morning.

I must thank once again the folks at Fong Mong Tea for allowing me to experience their teas from these samples sent to me. These oolongs have all been memorable and enjoyed by this reviewer. They are good teas.

_{Thank you, FONG MONG TEA, for the free sample}

Fong Mong tea takes its tea packaging very seriously. Not only did all the tea samples come in vacuum-sealed foil pouches (Americans, think of the Food Saver infomercials), but there is also an oxygen absorbing packet in each pouch. Combine that with their very fast shipping time (less than 10 days from Taiwan to the USA) and you can expect very fresh tea.

The sample packs are 6 grams in size-enough for two brews of 3 grams each. With little margin for error, I used a digital scale to get a precise measurement of the tea.

The dry leaves are very dark green (bordering on Charleston Green)and are rolled into round cluster shapes with light brown tips protruding from the end, almost like a short fuse. The aroma to me smells like a general green oolong smell-maybe lightly floral and vegetal-and somewhat sweet.

As the brewed leaves unfurl, it turns out that there are two leaves in each cluster attached to a stem (the light brown fuse). Brewed aroma is pretty much the same although the roasting flavor comes out and enhances everything. Liquor is transparent and the color of straw or hay.

The flavor is more of the traditional floral/vegetal flavor I have experienced with green oolongs. However, it is smoother than others and has zero bitterness. I think it tastes a little better and is a little higher quality than say, Rishi’s Bao Zhong (although I am unsure if that tea is charcoal-roasted).

I’m not sure if I know green oolongs well enough to give this a number rating, but if you like quality green oolongs, you should enjoy this tea.

I’d like to thank Fong Mong Teas for sending me this sample!

I’m not a big fan of greens and oolongs, so I was not really sure about this one at first. I added a hint of sugar since the initial taste was a bit too strong for me. But then it got better – I could feel a nice bouquet of flavors – mint, floral hints and a decent strong roasty base.

This tea leaves an interesting tingling sensation in the mouth which I like very much, reminds me of mint candies. But the best thing about this one is the base. It’s deep and solid and is filling the whole spectrum of taste, so to say.

Overall, it’s not the best one I’ve tried, but it is definitely good and the mint-y hint is a really great touch to the taste.