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“I received a sample of this tea from Lulu. Thank you! It has taken me a while to get to this tea. This is a wonderful cup! First off the leaf is beautiful. Second the flavors were not quite...” Read full tasting note
“First, thank you Lulu for the sample. I tried the survey link and could not get it to work. I thought Dongding was a heavily roasted oolong. Happily, and to my surprise, this one isn’t. I do my...” Read full tasting note
“Another busy week with a busy start! Yesterday was mostly eaten up by visiting the doctor (and no, I do not want to talk about it, let’s just say I am not happy about that visit) and gaming, Ben...” Read full tasting note
Dongding Oolong Tea is one of the most famous Taiwanese teas. Most people know that Dongding Oolong Tea is grown in Lugu (鹿谷) Township, Nantou County. However, in fact, only the tea grown in Yonglong(永隆), FengHuang(鳳凰), and Zhangya(彰雅) Villages in Lugu Township can be called “Dongding Oolong”.
This farmer’s family lived in FengHuang Village for generations. His Dongding Oolong Tea has won several prizes in Taiwanese Dongding Tea competitions. The tea was baked with Longen in a light baking process, perfect for multiple brews. The tea leaves were rolled in a semi-sphere shape and have deep green color. When brewed, the tea is a light amber almost golden color.
Style of tea Dong Ding Oolong Tea
Harvest date October, 2013
Oxidation level Medium
Roasting Level Light
Location FengHuang Village, Lugu Township, Nantou County
Picking Style Hand Picked
Cultivar Chin Shin Oolong
Farm Elevation 700 meters
Sanne Tea is the place where you can find high-quality and pesticide-free Taiwanese tea. The founder came from a Taiwanese family that loves and drinks tea for several generations. We want to share our enthusiasm and passion for Taiwanese tea and natural farming with the world. As our commitment, we source and sell 100% natural, zero pesticide teas. We are very excited about the teas that we have to offer, and are very much looking forward to meeting other tea lovers here. We worked hard to find the Taiwanese tea that is 100% grown in Taiwan and build the relationships with local farmers, not to mention that the tea has to be affordable. We, along with several tea farmers who we trust, would like to promote true Taiwanese tea to the global market. Thank you for visiting us and please go to our website:www.sannetea.com
I received a sample of this tea from Lulu. Thank you!
It has taken me a while to get to this tea. This is a wonderful cup! First off the leaf is beautiful. Second the flavors were not quite what I was expecting, but they are amazing. I get a sweet floral, slightly mineral taste at the front of the sip and then at the back end I get this creamy smooth finish.
First, thank you Lulu for the sample. I tried the survey link and could not get it to work.
I thought Dongding was a heavily roasted oolong. Happily, and to my surprise, this one isn’t. I do my best to fairly review heavy roasted stuff but it is honestly my least favorite type of tea. So Yeah for this one!
The dry leaf is so floral. Love. The nuggets are tightly rolled with just a little stem tail. After steeping I always am amazed. How did they get all that leaf and stem in there?
So, the taste… this is how I think all oolong should taste. I am not really catching any roasted note at all. Instead, I am catching the orchid like floral notes, followed by a passing buttery popcorn flavor. There is also a spice note along the lines of nutmeg. Very nice.
Another busy week with a busy start! Yesterday was mostly eaten up by visiting the doctor (and no, I do not want to talk about it, let’s just say I am not happy about that visit) and gaming, Ben took me out for a post-doctor, pre-game Korean meal where I promptly OD’d on Kimchi and Okusucha. My Oppressor made his debut and I barely won my game, it was crazy close and awesome fun. My Oppressor and Minder Swarm and my opponent’s Desolator were so well loved that we get to be the photo for next week’s league announcement, I am so proud. Today is Ben’s birthday and we will be celebrating it using the powers of Indian food.
Today we are taking another look at Sanne Tea with their Dong Ding Oolong, this specific Dong Ding is from the winter of 2013 and grown by a farmer whose Dong Ding Oolong has won several awards. This Dong Ding is only lightly roasted, meaning it lacks the really intense roasted tones I find myself going nutty for, but retains that delicate floral notes that give the tea a heady lightness. The unroasted and very lightly roasted version of Dong Ding is something else, if you ever get the chance I suggest doing a side by side comparison of different levels of roast with a Dong Ding, it is quite the adventure! The aroma of this particular Dong Ding is right in the middle of being floral and roasted, with notes of popcorn, spicebush, hyacinth, honeysuckle, toasted sesame, and a distant note of orchid. I really enjoyed how the roasted notes and floral notes played off each other rather than clashing, so mad props to the roaster for knowing exactly when to stop, something I am still learning with my little personal roaster.
I was torn rather or not to brew this tea in my roasted Oolong yixing or in a gaiwan, I decided on going with my yixing, theorizing that a little bit of a floral note being imparted into the clay would not ruin my seasoning. So, after steeping the leaves, the aroma is strong with notes of spicebush, hyacinth, and lilac, it is very heady with only a touch of toasted sesame at the end. The liquid is sweet and floral, with notes of spicebush and lilac, with a distinct sweet finish of honey that lingers in my nose for a while.
This is a smooth and silky tea, the mouthfeel is just delightful, it coats the mouth with its smoothness. The taste is primarily in the camp of a green, floral, oolong, with notes of fresh vegetation and flowers. It is very sweet and heady, starting off with lilac and hyacinth and moving on to honey and broken leaves at the midtaste. The end has a hint of toasted sesame and spicebush, tying in the roasted tones and giving the tea a level of richness.
And onward to the second steep the leaves go! This time the aroma gets a little bit more of the toasted quality, with spicebush and toasted sesame being more dominant and the heady floral notes of lilac being secondary. The taste is even more floral than the first, it is super heady and sweet, like drinking the nectar of lilacs and hyacinths. Yes, I do in fact have hummingbird envy, and yes I have tried to drink numerous flower’s nectar, it is hard! The finish is a tiny bit of toasted sesame, which I think is pretty fun. As much as I love roasted Dong Ding (and totally picked the wrong pot, oops) this only lightly roasted Dong Ding was delicious.
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/03/sanne-tea-dong-ding-oolong-tea-review.html
