Evol Ving Ness Send Message

184 Followers / 400 Following

Evol Ving Ness drank Dong Ding Oolong by Eco-Cha Artisan Teas

1403 tasting notes

Sipdown 26

Here I need to divulge a guilty secret: Daylon R Thomas sent me this quite some time ago and I have hoarded, read neglected, this in addition to a couple of other things still left in his original posting box. On the upside though, I am currently on a green and oolong whirl, so that’s better because I am appreciating such teas more at this time, right, right?

So here I am having the last of this now. I have had it before and loved it.

Today, I reached blindly into Daylon’s box, knowing that whatever I found would be an oolong, and pulled this one out. The context here is that yesterday I spent the day with that honey caramel sweet spice Jin Guanyin Wuyi oolong from Verdant with the sweetness continuing throughout all the steeps. I wasn’t necessarily in the mood for a something all that sweet today after that extended session, but here we are.

Yes indeed—sweet. Caramel sweet. Maple sweet. Someone mentioned chestnut. I can see that. I just had some roasted chestnuts last week and this tea shares a bit of that caramelized sweet starchiness of them. I can see the whiskey or bourbon aspect too with the richness of the roast. There’s a bit of spice and a bit of wood. Roast sweet potato with marshmallow and caramelized nuggets of walnuts or pecans perhaps.

There’s a considerable overlap in flavours with yesterday’s tea, but here the char and strong spice and woodiness is absent.

It’s interesting that the more I drink oolongs, the more sensitivity to their flavours I develop. Of course, that makes sense. Truly when I was just starting out on oolong journey and I read someone posting reviews with one tea containing twenty-five or so flavours, it seemed a bit much. I get it now. I am becoming much more familiar with how a tea can morph in flavours and how each sip can contain several. Tea journey is a fascinating thing.

To be continued.

Thanks, Daylon, for the share.

And it’s a sip down!

Steeped: 5

Flavors: Caramel, Chestnut, Honey, Maple Syrup, Roast Nuts

I Like This

14 likes

2 comments

Daylon R Thomas
Delete

It’s a roasted Dong Ding, so it can actually improve with age lol. That was one of the better ones I’ve had and one of my favorite fall/winter teas because of its flavors. I’m glad you enjoyed and appreciated it :)

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Hahaha, yes, good point. I will buoy myself up with that. :)
And that I did. It was a happy way to spend my day with all
else that I was doing.

People who liked this

Comments

Daylon R Thomas
Delete

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Hahaha, yes, good point. I will buoy myself up with that. :)
And that I did. It was a happy way to spend my day with all
else that I was doing.

Profile

Bio

A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer