Tung Ting Oolong No. 628

My daughters were very insistent that we must have tea time today, and before my middle daughter had to leave to take her grandmother to an appointment. I went to a neighbor’s house for a few minutes and came home to discover cute little vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles – mine had a candle in it because today is my birthday – and this lovely oolong.

I made it gong fu style before. This time it was steeped western style. It didn’t lose a THING! Oh my! Floral and wonderful! My daughter was amazed at how large the leaves got when she made it – she drinks black tea only. The liquor is a soft yellow and looks positively elegant in my Old Country Roses teacup, and the floral headiness of the tea was beautiful against the sweet vanilla cupcake. The flavor fills your mouth and dances on your tongue. Oh my cow, this is a lovely pot of tea. Or it was. I just polished off the whole thing by myself!

I can’t wait to try more teas from Tin Roof Tea!

This tea smells soooo good. I just want to stick my face in it.

Tea: 5 grams
Water: 150 ml/5 oz each steep (green gaiwan)
Additive: none

Rinse
1: 25 seconds – light, lightly vegetal, more flowery towards the end of the cup
2: 35 seconds – quite vegetal, grassy even, floral tones as it lingers in the mouth, maybe a bit buttery, lightly bitter
3: 45 seconds – similar to the second steep, as the cup cooled it became more enjoyable
4: 55 seconds – same as third steeping still very strong
5: 65 seconds – floral notes, still strong flavor
6: 75 seconds – tasty
7: 160 seconds (oops) – delicious

While I enjoyed this, I think I like oolongs that lean more towards the darker oolongs. I like the base used for some of the flavored oolongs I have which has darker brown leaves and maybe look like some kind of Oriental Beauty type, more woody.

I wrote that previous bit earlier in the session, I like this more and more as I drank. I think I like the longer steep times, they taste less vegetal. I will have to try this again! I’m not the best at gong fu style brewing, but I’m getting better. If anyone has any steep time recommendations that’d be great.

Ashmanra sent a little sample of this tea our way, not for me, but for the hubster. Now, you have to remember that his oolong gold standard is bagged supermarket Bigelow Oolong, oversteeped until it can stand up without the cup. Set the pricey stuff in front of him, and he generally fusses because it is too fruity or too flowery.

So I was surprised at his reaction to this one: “I’m getting honey. Or maybe honeysuckle.” And while it wasn’t quite a rave review, he didn’t politely “forget” the cup until it was too cold to be useful. Baby steps.

I got honey, too, but with a little toasted homemade bread underneath. Very gentle, very nice. Looking forward to a rerun cup shortly.

Meh. Nothing spectacular. I’m a big fan of Taiwanese High Mountain Oolongs, and I generally really enjoy Tung Ting. However, this was flat, bland, and lacking any complexity or depth. The flavor held as if you were smelling a bag of Jin Xuan, but not actually drinking any. Generally this tea should be kept in a chilled environment, like matcha. I don’t believe this was though, and is probably the reason for it not having any taste. I think i’ll pass.