1988-1995 “Silver Medal” Aged Dong Ding Oolong – awarded in 2015

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Berry, Butter, Cherry, Fruity, Jam, Meat, Metallic, Mushrooms, Nutty, Peat, Petrichor, Pleasantly Sour, Sap, Smooth, Sweet, Umami, Walnut, Wax, Wood
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Togo
Average preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 4 oz / 115 ml

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2 Tasting Notes View all

  • “My first aged oolong. 5g in a 90ml Hongni. Dry leaves: interesting nuts/acidic/chocolate/peanuts skins. Wet leaves: roasted peanuts, something nutty and chocolate/fruity/floral deep and difficult...” Read full tasting note
    78
  • “Just like Tea_Ass, I haven’t had much exposure to aged oolong, a category that is notoriously tricky to get in the West. That is why I was happily surprised to see TheTea carrying quite a few. As...” Read full tasting note
    81

From TheTea

Origin: Dong Ding area, Lugu, Nantou, Taiwan.
Harvest/vintage: estimated 1988-1995
Tea cultivar unknown, probably Qing Xin

Something unique this time.

Dry stored aged Dong Ding oolong awarded in 2015 Lugu Lao Cha Dong Ding Competition held by Lugu Dong Ding Tea Production Union.

To participate in competition the tea should be aged for at least 20 years.

This medium/gently roasted oolong was sourced by my friend before 2015. He found it in the old taiwanese shop when the owners were selling out their teas because of retiring and closing the business.

The tea was so good already so he decided to participate in old tea competition in Lugu.

It won Silver Medal.

After the competition all awarded teas are packed and sealed in official ceramic jars – with numbers, seals and information about the tea.

We sourced few jars in total but we want to keep one-two for ourselves

The clean storage of tea and 6 years of additional storage in the jar after competition made the tea which will stay in your memory long time after you taste it.

Taste/aroma profile: wood, incense (oud/agarwood), dry leather, forest honey, roasted vegetables, nuts, dry moss and wild herbs.

It’s really like a mixture of rich, exclusive incense like perfumes with experience of walk into the dark mountain forest.

(batch/jar number 191) 1988-1995 Competition Grade Aged Dong Ding Oolong – awarded in 2015 (prize: silver medal)

About TheTea View company

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2 Tasting Notes

78
43 tasting notes

My first aged oolong. 5g in a 90ml Hongni.
Dry leaves: interesting nuts/acidic/chocolate/peanuts skins.
Wet leaves: roasted peanuts, something nutty and chocolate/fruity/floral deep and difficult to pinpoint. Yeast, “sparkling fermentation”.

1.
Light and fruity/floral, with an old furniture feeling similar to some aged Heicha brick. Juicy and thin mouthfeel, extremely smooth, faint aftertaste. Warming.

2.
a more solid character, but still very light and smooth even with a 30sec steeping time with less water. Feels really elegant with a mulled wine spiciness. Cloves. However I need more protein, so I’ll make a 75 sec steep for the 3rd one. The leaves look delicate and I feel like they may overcook. But I need a stronger brew.

3.
Now we’re talking. Richer and satisfying liquor, with a spicy cinnamon/clove/mulled wine quality and a base of orchid/old furniture. Very light and elegant tannins, zero bitterness. Qi is mellowing. The leaves preserve a stimulating fruity sourness.

4. – two minutes.
Similar to 3, but less body and a sense that is already dying a bit. At this point is very similar to an heicha brick I tried from Yunnan Sourcing. I’m going to do a 6 minutes infusion. Maybe I should have used the whole 10g sample in my 90ml teapot, because even if the tea is delicious I’m craving more intensity.

5.
With the 6 minutes brew the tea is kicking back, now with a slight beginning of bitterness and a mildly drying astringency. The spices are the main characters now, lingering nicely on the roof of the mouth. I feel slighly sedated, the Qi is probably the strongest I had from an Oolong.

6. – 12 min.
Much thinner with a faint sweetness and spiciness.

7. 30 min.
Light with more floral aftertaste.

Final thoughts:
This tea was at the same time surprising and familiar. I enjoyed it but I don’t think it offers enough (for me) to justify the price. I also want to improve my brewing skills.

Preparation
Boiling 5 g 3 OZ / 90 ML

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81
943 tasting notes

Just like Tea_Ass, I haven’t had much exposure to aged oolong, a category that is notoriously tricky to get in the West. That is why I was happily surprised to see TheTea carrying quite a few. As one would expect with a scarce product, the price/drinking value ratio is higher than usual among these. The educational value, however, is quite high for me.

The qi is very warming, and can be felt throughout chest and arms. I didn’t find it to be particularly sedating, rather it is generally just a pleasant tea to drink.

The dry leaf aroma is hard to describe other than just an “aged aroma”. There are, however, some hints of old wood, peat, and cherries. Also the smell of wet leaves is unique and cozy. It reminds me of candle, berry jam, matured cheese, glacier, petrichor aromas.

The taste feels a bit muted at times, even when brewed stronger. Its character interpolates sweet fruity notes with woody/nutty ones. Once again, I detect fruit jam in the liquor, but also tree sap, Chanterelle mushrooms and walnuts. Some steeps are a little sour, but not too much. In the finish there are some umami notes, such as butter and chicken meat. The aftertaste is actually quite pungent, but without any overwhelming flavours.

I found the mouthfeel to be a little dry, warm and bubbly. It is better when the tea cools down a bit in my opinion. There is some astringency, which doesn’t detract much from the smoothness of the liquor. I also get a lasting metallic sensation in the mouth.

Flavors: Berry, Butter, Cherry, Fruity, Jam, Meat, Metallic, Mushrooms, Nutty, Peat, Petrichor, Pleasantly Sour, Sap, Smooth, Sweet, Umami, Walnut, Wax, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 140 ML
Leafhopper

I’ve been tempted to get some of TheTea’s aged Dong Dings. I’m still on the fence after your review.

Togo

They are not teas I would buy for drinking, but I’m certainly glad to have tried them myself. I am fairly certain I will buy some oolongs for ageing purposes at some point, and having exposure to more examples of these is certainly instructive :)

Togo

I did, in the end, buy one of their aged oolongs in larger quantity, just not one of the Dong Dings. I will post a review about the 2004 Bao Zhong at some point :)

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