Taiwan Dong Ding (Tung Ting) Oolong Tea

This sample came with my order I placed a while ago. So thank you Teavivre!
Oooo the dry leaf smells so sweet. The flavor is lovely. It’s sweet. Like a light lemon/peach or something. There is a faint butter flavor that blends in. I really enjoy this oolong. :)

I think I’m discovering that my tastes lean towards the darker teas (though I’m yet to order any samples of puerh—I’m afraid of it!). But that’s not to say that I haven’t enjoyed all of the greens and whites I’ve had. I haven’t had that many oolongs yet; this may be my third or fourth one. Descriptions I’ve read of Dong Ding in general and of this one by Teavivre sound delicious.

As usual, I’m following Teavivre’s recommendation of steeps of 1, 2, and 3 minutes with boiling water. I’m using the whole 7g sample package for 200-250ml.
1st steep: Opening the package I found lovely scents of gardenia that remind me of my mom, sweet grass and a buttery note. The wet leaf is amazing: I found it hard to keep my thoughts together as the scents raced around, full of cooked greens, heavy white florals, a light vanilla (but only just), and then butter, butter, butter! I could not believe that a tea could have this much butteriness just in the wet leaf, let alone the liquid! In the cup it was a pretty pale yellow, very smooth feeling and maybe a little oily. There was a very slight bitterness, but that seems really fitting with the flavor full of buttery greens and white florals that are lighter than in the wet leaf.
2nd steep: It’s hard to pour the right amount of water in the pot this time because the leaves take up so much more space in the infuser, so there’s probably closer to 250ml or maybe even more. Despite extra water, the tea is darker now as a nice light sunshine yellow. The flavors are also more equal now between the buttery greens and the white florals, but the florals really linger in my nose. Lil’ Miss is watching her shows now, but even with Postman Pat and Peppa Pig on, I manage to feel a little refined while drinking this on the couch.

And once again, the day took over and I never got to a third steep.

Backlog (from this past week). The tea I have is actually labelled “Taiwai Dong Ding”, and I swear I’ve reviewed this before, because I had either 3 or 5 packets of it… but I can’t find a tea by that name anywhere on here. Sigh. I know I wrote a note because I way oversteeped it the first time and didn’t like it, therefore thought I didn’t like Dong Dings (I was very, very wrong). Anyhow, this was delicious, and almost creamier than the Jin Xuan I had from Tea Ave earlier in the week. I really quite enjoyed it, actually. I’m hesitant to rate this tea because I’m uncertain that it’s the same tea others have reviewed, but it’s definitely deserving of a 93. Delicious.

ETA: Well, it turns out my other note is under this heading too, so I opted to rate this tea as I stated. And what has annoyed me for the past while as a bug – when, after posting a tasting note, the system actually shows you the first tasting note you posted on this tea instead of the one you just posted – actually worked in my favour here, since it brought up a note I hadn’t thought existed (because I had no rating for this tea and didn’t bother to scroll through the ratings to look for a note). Anyhow, happy day :)

Today I’m trying Taiwan Dong Ding gong fu style using the instructions provided by Teavivre. I got 7 infusions, tasted each one a few times, then poured them together to finish. This is a lighter roast, more green oolong. It had good character and flavor through 7 infusions. I would describe the flavor as light green vegetable with underlying floral sweetness, even a hint of buttery character. It will appeal to those who enjoy lighter oolongs and is a good value-a very nice tea.

I was really excited for my box of different teas to come from Teavivre. Spent too much money, but it’s been absolutely worth it.

It’s an oolong with the larger dry leaves, like a Li Shan or Ali Shan. They smell good, and promisingly like those of Shan Lin Xi, which is my all-time favorite. The liquor is a vivid gold, almost green, like brass. It smells sweet and floral, with just a hint of that bakiness that some of the more traditionally made oolongs have.
This steeping seems to taste rather vegetal, but still rather flora, with an aftertaste of that bakey flavor. This seems to be how some teas are supposed to taste, and others, it’s when I haven’t made it quite right, so I’ll be making a followup review, just in case. As it cools a little, that herbaceousness takes more of a background role, and it turns into a delightfully well-balanced tea. In the aftertaste, I see what people have been saying about that butteriness; it’s smooth and quite pleasantly mild.
My adjective department is somewhat lacking today, which I’ll try to fix in the followup review. Really tasty tea, and I’ll be purchasing again from Teavivre when I run out.

I got a sealed sample pack of this in a swap with Dinosara ages ago. Because it was sealed it got moved to the bottom of the “try me!” list and semi-forgotten! Found it again and decided a nice oolong sounded good today. It is nice and light, very green and floral. Me likey.

Nice sweet Oolong. Slightly buttery and nutty and vegetal. It feels like an everyday tea for me. Easy not too flashy, still good.

This tea is a sample provided by Teavivre for review. It seems to be of very high quality. When I opened the package it had that floral sweetness that I love in an oolong. But, when brewed it is more of the vegetal spinachy variety. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but not my cup of tea.. heh. If you like the more vegetal variety of oolong, then you will love this tea. Giving it high marks for the quality and for the fact that it tastes really good for a Dong Ding.

Second time I’m trying this and I like it much better. Upping the rating!

Dry Leaf:Has a sweet vegetal smell.
Wet Leaf: Has a warm floral aroma with a sweet aroma.
Liquor: Is a yellowish color.
Taste:Has a sweet floral taste with a vegetal flavor in the background. The broth feels rich and thick in the mouth.
Overall Opinion: I give this a score of 90.I think this is a good tea for someone that likes a lighter tea with a nice floral aroma.