Dong Ding Ming Xiang (冻顶蜜香)

I started in on this oolong after 2 rinses for 10 seconds each with 190 degree f and let it sit for 2 minutes in my yixing. My first steep was at 190 for 50 seconds. Incredibly floral, very long tea echo, very slight earthy…the beauty of this tea is in the aftertaste…its not very strong tasting while in my mouth but after it goes down, theres this explosion of sweet, perfumey flowers with a hint of citrus that reminds me of the same citrusy note i get from a yutaka midori fukamushi sencha. All in all a very enjoyable oolong that doesnt let your mouth forget its flavor after its long gone.

First of all… I think this tea is mis-named. On the package it says “Dong ding ming xiang” but then the Chinese characters are “Dong Ding Mi Xiang” (i.e. 冻顶蜜香 = Frozen summit honey fragrance). I don’t know what this “Ming” is… I’m assuming it’s just a typo.

Anyways, I might change my rating a bit later, but for right now I’m comparing this mostly with the Wu Ling (also by Teas from Taiwan) that I tried just a couple days ago. This one is a bit smokier and less sweet. Around the 3rd or 4th steeping I tasted hints of the same butterscotch-ish flavor, but it wasn’t nearly as pronounced. I liked this tea, but I think it was different from Dong Ding Wulong that I’ve had in the past.

Overall, a nice relatively mild but satisfying balanced tea. It rates below the Wuling, but it is still good!

Drank this one as a commute tea on the way to work this morning. Grandpa steeped 1.3g in my 10oz tumbler using just under boiling water. Leaves had a subtle aroma of caramel and flowers. The brewed tea smelled of dried prunes. The flavor is somewhat different than other Dong Dings I’ve tried in that it doesn’t have the toffee and caramelized notes. Instead it has a syrupy buckwheat honey flavor. As it steeps I get notes of brown sugar and sticky buns.

Though this is not the most nuanced Dong Ding, it’s a sweet easy drinking tea. Smooth and dark without any roasted/char flavor.

This is another sample from Bear With Me, received at the Victoria Tea Meet-Up 2015 (omg). Despite the vacuum seal and preserve pack I worried this one had gone bad when the dry leaf smelled of marine. My fears were put aside after I gave it a rinse however; dry marine morphed into an undeniable liquid honey. Leafhoppers are beautiful bugs.

To taste, this is a subtle cup compared to other bug-bitten teas. There’s a bit of honey, a hint of malt, and flowers. Like with the Hua Gang Oolong, I’m not sure whether to attribute its delicate profile to age or tea type (or both).

Steep Count: 2

I had a sample of this tea in one of my tea boxes and it proved to be a great start of a weekend. This Dong Ding was incredible throughout the Gongfu session (seven steeps total), starting with moderate floral notes and creamy mouthfeel followed by mild buttery notes and finishing with honey impression in throat. Along this profile, every sip is followed by clear notes of stone fruits and mild sweetness. I didn’t try as much Dong Ding oolongs but this one was the best so far!

Tea From Taiwan is right to call Dong Ding Ming Xiang (loosely translated as “fragrant tea from the frozen peak”) a dark-colored oolong. I immediately notice the difference with the dry leaves. These tightly curled pellets aren’t various shades of green, but a blackish brown with streaks of green. And while most oolongs produce a golden liquor, Dong Ding Ming Xiang results in an alluring dark amber that grows more lustrous with the longer brew times.

Aroma is another area where Dong Ding Ming Xiang deviates from its fellow oolongs. The dry leaves give off a slight forest scent that strengthens with the first steep. Instead of the usual orchid base, moist earth, wood, and hints of coffee lilt from the liquid and wet leaves. It’s not an unwelcome change. In fact, the mix of smells reminds me of early fall in New England. I wonder if the tea will taste like autumn, too.

And it does! With my first steep of 45 seconds using the instructions above, Dong Ding Ming Xiang offers an autumnal flavor foliage. Earthy and faintly tannic, it carries accents of coffee, caramel, and – as Tea From Taiwan described – honey. Not a dominant honey, but it’s there in the aftertaste. The second steep (about 90 seconds) highlights the honey without becoming overly sweet and introduces wood and roasted tones. This is when Dong Ding Ming Xiang reminds me of the current season. If I sit back and sip this tea, I can picture myself strolling along a tree-lined road, surveying the red and orange leaves, and savoring the crisp, bonfire-tinged air.

Longer brew times for Dong Ding Ming Xiang lead to a more outdoorsy infusion. My fourth and fifth steeps (about 3 and 4 minutes, respectively) bring out more of the earth and wood flavors. The honey and caramel notes have also disappeared. These later brews are more like a soft black tea than a typical oolong. They also lack the clean or creamy finish and orchid currents that most oolongs have. (So did the earlier steeps.) While I miss those familiar qualities, I can’t complain about Dong Ding Ming Xiang’s departure from the norm because I enjoyed every drop of it.

Read my full review here: http://bibliophilesreverie.com/2014/10/23/tea-from-taiwan-dong-ding-ming-xiang-oolong/

Tried this in my brand new gaiwan that I just received yesterday from Jings Tea Shop. Much lighter than the mainland oolongs I have been drinking lately. Actually smells and taste lemony-sweet on the finish as do the leaves after the first steeping. Other than that, I just can’t get into these type of teas. Just too “light” for me. Maybe I should have prepared it in the Yixing? Oh well…sample is gone now.