Today was a good mail day! Days when I get things in the mail are the best, especially when something I was not expecting till later in the week arrives significantly early, it was such a pleasant surprise! Not surprising it was tea, along with a new double walled glass travel tea tumbler thing. This will be very useful since my previous tea tumbler fell apart and I have not been able to have tea on the go. After I experiment with it I will have to give an official review of it. Hopefully it will be worth the money!
Presenting today’s tea: Medium Roast Dong Ding Oolong by Green Terrace Teas. From Nantou, Taiwan, this Oolong was given a longer oxidation period and a slow roasting, sounds like my kinda tea. What can I say, roasted teas rock my socks off, something about them are very comforting to me, if I am having a bad day or feel icky, I almost always reach for a roasted tea. The aroma of this particular roasted oolong is toasted and nutty, with notes of roasted nuts, sesame seeds, and fresh bread. There is also a tiny bit of fresh vegetation at the end. I find this amusing, like a little bit of the pre-roasted aroma hanging on.
Steeping this tea, the aroma of the now wet leaves is smoky and toasty! There are strong notes of coal and smoke, along with equally strong notes of sweet yeasty toast and roasted sesame seeds, it is nicely blended. The liquid, having been removed from its leafy companion, has the aroma of yeasty bread, sesame seeds, and honey.
The taste is exactly what one expects from a medium roasted Dong Ding Oolong, the taste starts out lightly toasted and honey sweet. This builds to a more toasted, actual toasted bread taste, which fades to a creamy, honey sweetness at the finish. The mouthfeel starts out smooth and fades to a slight dryness at the finish.
On the second steep, there is a much stronger toasted aroma, with notes of freshly toasted bread, sesame seeds, and a bit of popcorn. The mouthfeel takes its cues from the end of the previous steep and has a nice dryness that encompasses the entire sipping experience. The taste is intensely toasty with notes of freshly toasted bread, sesame seeds and a rich honey sweetness at the middle. Right around the finish and staying until the aftertaste there is a strong popcorn (specifically it reminds me of kettle corn because it is sweet) taste.
Third steeping time! The aroma is mostly roasted sesame seeds and a touch of popcorn, it has a tiny touch of floral of the finish. The taste has a bit of a smoky tone this time around, it no longer has a dry mouthfeel. The initial smokiness fades to popcorn and then finally a finish of sweet. I really liked this tea, not just because I have never met a roasted tea that I did not like, this one had a great comforting feeling. I found myself sipping it before sleep.
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/07/green-terrace-teas-medium-roast-dong.html
Flavors: Honey, Smoke, Toast
