Taiwan Dong Ding (Tung Ting) Oolong Tea

THANKS TO ANGEL FOR THIS SAMPLE…THEY ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED

These are beautiful leaves and so aromatic. This tea is extremely satisfying even before the first sip. It may sound a bit geeky, but to watch these vibrant green leaves open up and release an undeniably beautiful aroma could be considered a transcendent experience.

The somewhat grassy dry aroma, when awakened, blossoms into a very green, asparagus-like aroma mixed with floral overtones. A very enticing lt. green liquor also emits a slight evergreen scent.

This lightly oxidized oolong possesses a delicate taste that is pleasing and noteworthy enough even to someone (me) who usually demands and enjoys the big, bold tastes of shu puer. The taste has the complexity most will enjoy. Green beany, asparagusy vegetal predominate, but there are a host of others which I am unable to concisely identify. Nonetheless, multiple flavors abound in this cup.
Obviously, this is a high quality tea,possessing attributes typical of many good Taiwan oolongs. This tea has a very clean, pleasant throat. A subtle throat belonging to a subtle tea. One shouldn’t expect more.

My only regret regarding this oolong is that I exhausted the leaves when I could have drunk more.

This is a very nice, complete oolong with no obvious flaws.

Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review

After having the Milk Oolong today, I didn’t expect to be so blown away by Dong Ding’s scent. When I stuck my nose in the small tea pouch, the scent of lichee was a nice surprise.

Sipping from the first steep, tasting something quite earthy, a little sweet, and still has a touch of lichee fruit flavour with a hint cinnamon.

Third through fourth steeps continued to build in flavour, with the fruit flavour remaining.

I could keep resteeping but decided to stop here as I grew less interested in drinking more Dong Ding. It satisfied me and that’s enough.

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of experience with Dong Ding oolong so I can’t say how good this is compared to others. What I like about this tea is the fruity flavour, it keeps the tea interesting and slightly sweet without becoming too sweet for my tastes (I do not have a sweet tooth, so this is important to me). But the fruity flavour is not very strong, just a hint of it.
My husband came home to try the third and fourth steeps. He liked it but was not too interested. I think the thoughts of bringing a bit of Milk Oolong to work tomorrow raised his tea expectations too much. ;)

125ml yixing teapot, 1 packet (5g?), 4 steeps (rinse, 30s steep, +15s resteeps)

This is really good! It’s strongly vegetal, but also very sweet. It’s almost creamy and buttery, although I didn’t expect that at all. Each sip is refreshing and light. Beautiful.

I’ve been sampling a lot of Teavivre’s oolong’s lately, and I think this one is my favourite so far, although I still have three more Taiwanese oolongs to try after this one!

This is a sample tea from Teavivre by way of Krystaleyn. Thanks for the sample!

Let me just say I’m new to oolongs. It’s an area I’ve been wanting to explore for a bit and now I’ve got some to try. I looked the brewing parameters up on Teavivre and have stuck with gringo brewing since I’m pretty comfortable with it. The gaiwan is a bit tricky to pour still! Very messy tea making.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as taste, but I’ve found it pleasant so far. My first surprise is a butter association. I looked in my cup to be sure I didn’t drop some in there some how. Not one little oil bubble on the top of my tea, no butter added! I get a vegetal taste but it passes quickly. I’m kind of playing with it now. Holding the tea on different spots on my tongue. Yay! Another surprise! Now I get a hint of fruit. Very interesting tea. I shall have to see how it goes for the rest of the day. Thanks again Krystaleyn!

This sample was provided courtesy of Teavivre for review.

I decided to use two of the sample packets in my Gaiwan because I wasn’t sure one would have given me enough leaf.

My first steep was with around 180 F water for one minute. It is buttery, very rich and fresh. I got a tiny bit of sharpness towards the end so I think I may have steeped it too long that time.

The second steep was for around 30 seconds. The leaves have expanded so much that they have almost filled my entire gaiwan so I’m not sure using all that leaf was such a great idea. hee hee… but now I am picking up a bit on that lychee flavor and it’s still very nice and buttery.

Third steep: a little less butter and a little more fruit. It’s really a nice relaxing cup of yum-ness. I do happen to like Dong Ding oolongs quite a lot.

Fourth and Fifth Steep: still going strong in terms of flavor and richness.

Overall I give this good points on flavor but I’ve been drinking sooo many Taiwanese green oolongs lately that I’m not sure it really stands head and shoulders above the crowd. It is very enjoyable though! I would have liked to seen this roasted a bit.

Dry Leaf – Milky, buttery sweetness with some sweet pea scent.
Wet Leaf – Buttery, Sweet and nutty. Slightly milky.

- 1st Steep – Sweet and slightly savory background with nutty taste. faint vegetal scent.

- 2nd Steep – Nutty sweetness resembles sweet corn and some raw honey. (smells like roasted sweet corn). Starts sweet and nutty with savory hints and buttery feel that then feels clean.

- 3rd Steep – Slightly smells like sweet corn when roasted. the leaves opened fully and the brew is sweet with floral tones and butter like feeling.

- 4th Steep – Sweetness fades away and more floral, is not at clean as the first steeps this steep has a floral aftertaste to it.

Good tea, not the greatest to me, but If you like smoother Oolongs this is one to try.

Naturally Sweet and Fruity – I would agree with that! This is very tasty! It’s good hot or cold and it makes my mouth water! YUM! Special thanks to LiberTEAs for this one!

Thanks to Krystaleyn for the sample!

The scent of this tea is like steamed vegetables on a breezy summer day, there’s just a hint of floral in the aroma that doesn’t quite fit in with the veggies. It smells good, but it’s almost like you’re smelling two different things at once.

The flavor of this oolong is very earthy, with a deep almost roasted vegetable flavor. Definitely a little buttery, and if you swirl the tea around in your mouth a little bit, a light fruitiness starts to show through the buttery vegetables.

It’s a very interesting, flavorful tea that I’m glad to have experienced. It doesn’t quite fit what I want, but is easily the best oolong I’ve had so far. Quite tasty, actually.

Received this one from Teavivre’s Autumn tea contest.

This is a very pleasant oolong. It is lightly floral. There is definitely a naturally fruity taste. Reminds me of stone fruits, apricots, peaches.

I brewed this one 1tsp for about 2 minutes, it was quite thick. Still good, but I think I would prefer it for less steep time.

Edit: Made this one at a 1 min steep. I think the flavours are much better at the lesser steep time. The flavours are much lighter, and subtle, but I find I am better able to distinguish the flavours. Whereas at a 2 minute steep, it still tasted good, but I think some flavours were overpowering others.

This is another tea from my swap with stephanie

I’ve been in a green oolong mood these days and I have become particular about what I like and don’t like. This oolong is heavy on the creamy texture side, but lacking in complexity of flavor. It was a pleasure to drink nonetheless.