Old Style Dong Ding Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea Leaves
Flavors
Floral, Flowers, Smooth, Honey, Orchid, Osmanthus, Peach, Apple, Apricot, Butter, Cinnamon, Cream, Cucumber, Honeysuckle, Lettuce, Pear, Nutty, Sweet, Nectar, Caramel, Coconut, Grass, Mango, Vegetal
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by eastkyteaguy
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec 4 g 26 oz / 757 ml

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From Our Community

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8 Want it Want it

5 Own it Own it

17 Tasting Notes View all

  • “TeaTiff TTB #28 I pulled a few small oolong samples from the TTB to try before sending it off. This was one that had barely enough for 1 Western-style mug left. I’m guessing someone who enjoys...” Read full tasting note
    60
  • “TTB Review #52: Simple yet enjoyable. There is a cacophony of flavors, individually subtle, but together present and pleasant. Tastes more like a green tea than an oolong. Better cold than hot....” Read full tasting note
    67
  • “Nothing like the first aroma of a bag of freshly opened tea. Granted it doesn’t compare to smelling it fresh off the processing line. But the mineral and floral scents emanating from this bag are...” Read full tasting note
    66
  • “10g sample was actually 9.5g (no big deal). Used 4.8g for competetion-style brewing. Will follow up with gong fu brewing test. I usually use 7g for gong fu so with 4.7g I’ll use a bit less water...” Read full tasting note
    87

From Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company

This tea is hand-picked, hand-made the old-fashioned way with floral overtones and a very smooth drinking experience.

Here’s an interesting tea. 30 years ago, the most sought after teas on the local Taiwanese market came from three areas: Wenshan, Muzha and Dong Ding which produced a rolled oolong. As the High Mountain Oolongs expanded into other higher mountain areas like Alishan, Shanlinxi and Lishan, the popularity of the lower elevation Dong Ding started to get crowed out. In time, the farmers there started making their teas in more modern ways to cut costs.

Fast forward and now there are a few farmers who have decided to go retro and make Dong Ding Oolong with the same production methodology as 30 years ago! Their goal is to remind everyone why Dong Ding got famous in the first place. We think they succeeded.

This tea is more floral and reminds one of a nice Tieguanyin. We really like this tea and hope you’ll give it a shot!

About Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company View company

Company description not available.

17 Tasting Notes

99
676 tasting notes

I’ve never understood the fuss about dong ding. I know its a prestigious tea and all, but none of the ones I tried ever made an impression on me. So when I received a sample of this tea with my recent BTT order, I kind of groaned. My cupboard already had two other dong dings which I practically have to force myself to drink.

But when I opened the envelope and took a whiff, I knew this tea was going to be different. Unlike dong dings of past, this one was unroasted and had a sweet floral fragrance. The flavor is true to the aroma. This is such a flower packed tea. Wet leaf smells like hyacinth in full bloom. There is honeysuckle and lilac at the beginning of the sip and a strong osmanthus note as it goes down. The floral overtones are harmoniously balanced by a sweet nectar goodness, which Daylon Thomas correctly describes as tropical fruit. I’m impressed by how natural the tea’s floral tones are.

And boy does it have staying power. It held up admirably through 8 steeps with minimal loss of flavor. Even though I steeped it at high temperatures there was no bitterness whatsoever. Just a tangy lip smacking sweetness that lingers in the mouth.

As someone that regularly drinks jade oolongs, the distinction between them can sometimes become blurred. This one really sets itself apart with its unreal flavor. Thanks to Paul at BTT for an awesome sample!

Flavors: Flowers, Honeysuckle, Nectar, Osmanthus, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 45 sec 3 g 100 OZ / 2957 ML
Rasseru

Sounds like I need to try some of this, I am the same and never took to dong ding from the ones I have tried.

Rasseru

is it full leaf or are the edges trimmed off like in modern tieguanyin?

Rasseru

and has a lot of branches?

LuckyMe

Yup, green dong ding tastes like a totally different tea. Roasting seems to strip much of its flavor.

This tea has whole, full leaves. Didn’t examine the branches but there didn’t seem to be any more than usual.

Daylon R Thomas

Plus the leaves are pretty big.

yyz

Oh yum.

Daylon R Thomas

Have you tried this one grandpa, LuckyMe? I’m considering it for my tumbler if I am to get more.

LuckyMe

Would love to try it grandpa style but unfortunate I got a bad batch and had it throw it out. :-(

Daylon R Thomas

Man that sucks! Was it from a previous harvest?

LuckyMe

You might want to hold off if you’re thinking of ordering this tea. I just bought some again during their Chinese New Year sale and for a second time, the tea was stale. This was the Winter 2016 harvest. Thankfully, BTTC was very good about refunding me.

Seems there could be a problem at the farm that supplies them. I’d wait until they can sort out the issue.

Daylon R Thomas

Thanks for telling me. I had a gut feeling about it and was glad I went with another option for some Gaoshan.

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921 tasting notes

Today has been a painting day, working on finishing up the miniatures for people’s Christmas gifts, specifically the people whose gifts get mailed away, and I happen to almost be finished. I think that after I finish with these I am going to break into assembly mode and put together the ships from Dreadfleet, the newest addition to Ben and my gaming library. He was a sweetheart and bought it, see a year ago my local gaming shop had a copy of it and I was going to buy it after saving up a good bit of money…and the day I finally had enough to buy it, someone bought it. So we have been hunting it on ebay and found it for a steal, which is awesome since that game has been out of print for a while. Yay for crazy ships!

For today’s tea I am looking at Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company’s ‘Old Style’ Dong Ding Oolong, a Taiwanese Oolong made in the form that was all the rage thirty years ago, nothing like keeping tradition alive. It is also nice to see Dong Ding outside of my usual sought after roasted form, because you cannot have a good roasted oolong without a good green oolong to start with. And the leaves are big, with hearty stems and rich emerald greens, yeah with leaves this big I am going to need a big gaiwan. The aroma of the leaves is really sweet, buttery and creamy, notes of sesame custard and chestnuts, and flowers. Of course there are flowers, honeysuckle and hyacinth, with very gentle lilac note at the finish. Flowery and sweet, just the way I like it!

So, about that big gaiwan, yeah, it is time for the golden flower queen! The aroma of the unfurling leaves is pretty potent, very strong notes of spicy lilies and hyacinth, with strong buttery undertones, and a gentle vegetation note at the finish. The liquid is wonderfully sweet, strong notes of lilies and hyacinth, honeysuckles and lilac. Underneath the flowery burst is gentle sweet creaminess and a touch of vegetation.

The first steep starts out with a great creamy texture, it is silky and smooth, and that smoothness wanders into the taste as well. It starts with a light creamy taste, like custard and chestnuts (can chestnut custard be a thing?) It then moves on to a cascade of flower nectar sweetness, lilacs and honeysuckles dance over my tongue, with a finish of gently spiced lilies. The aftertaste lingers for quite a while.

Second steeping time, the aroma is sweet and flowery, notes of chestnut and honeysuckles, lilacs, and lilies…lots of flowers going on there. The taste is buttery and sweet, the texture is buttery and thick, it coats the mouth thoroughly. The taste starts with sweetness, honeysuckle nectar and flower blossoms, chestnut sweetness, and a finish of vegetal brothiness that gives a slightly savory finish to the tea.

Third steep, and wow, these leaves, they are so big! I feel like I could wear them as a hat or something, use them as a sunshade on a summer day. The aroma is still going strong with sweet flowery notes, so many flowers, lilacs, honeysuckles, hyacinth, it is like a spring bouquet. The taste is still quite flowery, though the green notes that showed up previously are now stronger, like fresh vegetation and summer growth. Combine that buttery chestnut sweetness and you have a really good tea, I can certainly say this one made me re-think my tendency to prefer roasted Dong Ding.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/11/beautiful-taiwan-tea-company-old-style.html

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100
1704 tasting notes

Really nice oolong, and Andrew, this was a great one that I had to try. A little bit more floral than the other ones I’ve had, but still mildly fruity, with a weird vegetal caramel character in the aftertaste. The company’s mention of a resemblance to Tie Guan Yin is also pretty accurate. Nice leaves, faint fragrancy, light flavor profile, decent resteep-ability, and complexity all make this a high rating. A lot of people would like it, though I think that newer tea drinkers might be looking for something heavier, and a black tea dominant person would be underwhelmed. Obviously for oolong lovers and green tea lovers looking for new horizons.

My only hesitation is my bias to the tung ting Liquid Proust Teas Elixir #9. I was looking for a more nectar like profile which is more in super green oolongs. With that said, this one DOES have a nectar taste, it was just fainter and I could tell that leaves were a little more roasted (barely more). As with the Misty Mountain, I think I have to go back to this one again and use less water and or more leaves. I was trying to slow down my tea usage, and I did, but I need to figure out better parameters to do so.

With a full tea spoon, it’s closer to a tropical fruit nectar, specifically mango with a side of coconut shavings…if that makes any sense. I got it more in steep two the second time drinking it. I’m enjoying it a little more the second time.

Flavors: Caramel, Coconut, Floral, Grass, Honey, Mango, Nectar, Smooth, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Liquid Proust

This one is a work of art.

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493 tasting notes

Stephanie shared this tea with me – thank you so much
Im on oolong quest. I know that im not a fan of floral oolong especially those ones rich in white flowers notes.

This tea reminded me gingerbread cookies in first five steeps. Its spicy, sweet and cinnamon-y. Yum. later on florals took over but they were still pleasant.
i steeped this tea dont know how many times and left for tomorrow as grandpa style.

Overall I’m very happy being able to try this tea. Its my 3rd sample from BTT. I find their teas very impressive. If you are Oolong lover this tea shouldnt be missed.

https://instagram.com/p/6dbCQ1Bwqi/

https://instagram.com/p/6dcye6hwuJ/

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 tsp 4 OZ / 130 ML
Kirkoneill1988

Looks tasty

boychik i really enjoyed this tea

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