Dong Ding

Also known as ‘tung ting’ or ‘frozen summit’ this is a wonderful tea from Nantou area of Taiwan ( a varietal export from the Wu Yi mountains in China) and one of my favorites (that I always keep in stock). This is the first time I’ve had chance to sample this tea from a direct Taiwanese importer like Naivetea, having usually gotten this from other sources. I am used to this tea having a very rich, buttery, vegetal sweetness with a deep, sweet and clean undertone. So I saved this sample for the last after having gone through an amazing sample box kindly sent to me by this company. I wanted to make my last cup from this beautiful gift woven with one of my favorite teas.

Dong Ding Oolong ~ naivetea
Dry Aroma: rich, intense nose, elements of toasted wood, soft smoky hint, and buttery vegitables that causes the palate to salivate
Wet Aroma: woody spicy and smokyness, deep vegetal and puffed rice
Appearance: Dark olive green, tightly rolled (almost pinhead gunpowder) leaves with some hints at orange/copper stems – a much tighter roll then I usually associate with this tea.
Cup:
1st extraction: A deep luster of rich honey yellow and green umber hued liqour. A smooth, butter sweet creamy body, clean- refreshing finish with layers of wood, toasted rice, and hints of kiwi flesh. Sweet lingering finish and without astrigency. Steeped for 3 minutes in 190 degree water.
2nd: a resonate yellow-green olive oil color. Toasted, woody, spicy notes with a finishing sweetness. Very expressive and layered with clean, full bodied finish. Steeped for 4 minutes in 180 degree water.
3rd: deep green olive with nearly cat-eye orange-yellow color. notes of toasted bamboo, vegetal spicy, fleshy fruit mouthfeel, and developing astringency. Steeped in 170 degree water for 6 minutes.
4th: pale yellow extraction. Soft Genmaicha/Hojicha taste with body still present and mild flavor and color. Steeped in 170 degree water for 8 minutes. The leaves are when fully hydrated are much smaller, curved and the stems much thinner and twisted then I’ve seem from this tea. The leaves color is very dark green and seem very well picked and crafted.
My final comments are that this is a wonderful tea and very worth the purchase. It seems to be very well cared for in its processing and its oxidation and is amazingly uniform in its final dried shape. I normally relish the rich buttery, deep vegetal flavors I get from ‘frozen summit’ teas and so was a bit surprised by the almost puffed rice/toasted/smoky flavors, but the overall balance succeeded in making this a great tea, just not what I usually expect from this region and this style of tea.
Many Kudo’s to the people out at Naivetea for their amazing gift and I look forward to more from them.

Method: 3grams of tea in a 6 oz traditional Taiwanese gawian.

I should also say, that considering this tea varietal is from Wu Yi Mountains in China, I have to admit this is probably the first time I have tasted distinctly this link…the flavors were very similar to some I would expect from teas from both regions…very neat.

One brewed the leaves produce a light amber-caramel liquor. The steeped aroma more savory than the dry aroma if that can be believed. The roasty nuttiness of this brew has some weight to it, almost meaty.

With a smooth feel and overtones of roasted vegetables and a honeyed edge you’re drawn to savor this tea’s product. Once past the initial palate sensation I noted more vegetal nuance with each sip.

While not astringent or puckery this tea has a long vegetal tails which grows lighter with each steeping. You can expect a good three or four steeps from this tea before any notable flavor degradation kicks in. I used a good seven or eight steeps before I was essentially drinking water.

I still haven’t gotten around to testing some of my tea-of-the-month samplers, so I decided it was time to break them out (especially considering the November batch is coming soon).

This has a great roasted nutty flavor. I didn’t read up on it at all before steeping, so I wasn’t expecting anything in particular. So it was a pleasant surprise! It has a happy scent, too; it fills my room with that same nutty fragrance. It’s a nice tea for autumn. Works well with my current surroundings, with the falling leaves and brisk air (if I wasn’t sitting at work, that is).

This tea is amazing, but full of surprises. Before steeping I smelled this tea, and was surprised by the floral aroma. While steeping, the floral disappeared into a very dank earthy aroma. The tea has a similar earthy nature when you taste it. The earthiness gives way to a slight fruity and herbal flavor.

I am a fan, and can’t wait to see what re-steeping does to this tea.

Scent is nutty and warm.

Taste is standard seed/nut of Oolong, but only lightly. The main portion reminds me of wheat…the dry raspy stalks rather than the seeds.

There is also a strong dark note I can’t place that covers the tongue as it cools.

Over-all? I like this but doubt I’d buy. Maybe, we’ll see as i have some more. This surprises me as I didn’t much care for American Tea Room’s Dong Ding… I wonder what the difference is? My tongue or something about the teas? Who knows? I’ll revisit the ATR’s one to test my taste buds.