Dong Ding Oolong

I think I’ve only had one other dong ding oolong, I think from Verdant, and I liked it. I remember it having sweet corn notes for some reason. Thus, I don’t really know what they are supposed to taste like. This one is absolutely fantastic!

With the first infusion, I tasted buttery vegetal notes with brown sugar and toast, but with the second and subsequent infusions, this beautiful peach and dried apricot nectar came to the forefront! It reminded me of those thick nectar juices we used to sometimes enjoy as kids. I forget the brand name. So juicy sweet! This tea has earned its place in my cupboard! Mmmm!

On the first steep, This oolong has light roasted notes of nuts and barely, with a vegetal taste which is kind of minty, and almost like it’s lightly spiced with sweet cinnamon. The aroma is on the smooth side, hinting at fruit and nut flavours.

Third steep is my favourite so far. All the flavours mentioned about have been smoothed out to a sweet, nutty silk.

For me these notes are filling- I can almost forget I haven’t eaten anything yet. It’s a satisfying cup and quite the contrast to my two other Tea Ave samples, which are both flavoured/fragranced and use the Alishan Jin Xuan as a base.

On a side note, I love that Tea Ave includes the altitude, as well as the roasting and oxidation levels with scales, on the packets. It’s incredibly helpful and informative to an oolong newbie like me!

Thank you Tea Ave for the wonderful samples, and I look forward to the launch of your online store! First, I must comment on the packaging of the sample packaging I received, which has a wonderful labeling of information that is sure to please even the most tea aficionado by listing: tea name and description, origin, growing altitude, roasting level, cultivar, oxidation level and brewing instructions for gaiwan, tea bag, tea pot and cold brew! Most companies don’t even have this much information on their website, much less on the package. It is much appreciated and graphically well done to convey lots of information in a clean and simple design.

I have been tasting a wide variety of oolongs this past year, and this DongDing by Tea Ave is one of the very top three of this type that I have had the pleasure of tasting. I brewed mine in my gaiwan, as per the instructions on the packet of 8gr/130ml for 1 minute, adding time for multiple steeps. It has a wonderful silky texture or mouthfeel as I believe gmathis’ review noted. Definite aroma of dried fruits, light amber color and held up well through 6 steeps. It has a nice light roast and med/light oxidation level that is approachable and suitable for drinking alone, with a snack or after dinner. Very, very pleasant! Not too bold, not too subtle, not too complex, not too simple. Just right!

First off thank you very much Tea Ave for the wonderful sample set! I finally got it on Valentines day which was an awesome surprise. I decided to try this first because I absolutely love Dong Dings and I am happily not disappointed! Roasty, nutty and sweet this is a delicious Dong Ding. I’m looking forward to trying my other samples

Out of the tea samples I got from TeaAve (which included Magnolia Oolong and Alishan Jin Xuan), this is my favourite!

I’ve steeped it gongfu style in my gaiwan as well as Western style (90C ish water for 3.5mins)

This tea is delicious both ways!

Western style, it has a slightly stronger nutty flavour (which comes out lightly in some of the gongfu steeps), as well as the taste of very rich fruit! I get peach and plum a lot. Like, stewed peaches and plums. Mm.

In the gaiwan the flavour is similar – its a joy to drink. Its not overly strong but its not overly light, its just perfect, and delicious. Its sweet with that rich fruity taste (peaches n plums!) and some steeps get a nice nutty roastyness to them. It has a silky smooth feel in the mouth though leaves a dry finish thats kid of fun, not unpleasant at all!

I’ve steeped it gong fu in my gaiwan twice now.. and… Each time it made me incredibly sleepy! I felt so relaxed and drowsy, like I could melt right then and there and go to sleep. Is that what it is to be tea drunk? If so its pretty great.

I’m not sure that its appropriate for a heavy-handed, cheapster, black tea-loving amateur to provide the initial review for such a fine and lovely oolong, but with mine in place, there’s nowhere to go but up, yes?

One of the things that a very good quality oolong impresses upon me is its texture. This slides across your tongue like soft, heavy silk. I feel like I just put on lip gloss. At the recommended 1-minute mark, it’s the color of champagne. So the sensory impact of this one is significant.

I don’t feel as vocabulary-equipped to address the flavor. “Roasted” is an adjective used in Tea Ave’s vendor description, but I’d call it very lightly roasted on its way to the fruity-floral spectrum. If you break a twig off a tree in very early spring to see the pale insides—-this tastes like what that looks like. How’s that?

Label says this will take multiple steeps with ease. Next time I’m going to dredge it a little longer to see if I can kick up the roast a notch.

Equally impressive is the presentation and sincerity with which Tea Ave has presented their samples —my very sincere thanks!