94

Thank you, Angel, for providing me a sample!

Brewed gongfu style with a gaiwan. Steeping instructions are from the website. 5 second rinse. Steeping times: 30, 30, 35, 45, 60, 100, 120.

After the rinse, the leaf has floral and buttery and sweet notes. Following the actual infusions, the aroma smells mainly vegetal, of creamed spinach.

The liquor is pale golden yellow, clear, and full-bodied with a creamy texture. The first infusion reminds me kukicha: vegetal, seaweed-like, and sweet. The second, which is even sweeter, tastes of mid-summer floral scents, if these could be captured in a tea. The third infusion is a little strange. Roasted vegetables on the tongue, candy on the roof of the mouth – completely separated, not meeting and mixing, as if this tea has a double personality, of which both personalities simultaneously emerge. At this point in the session, the sweet aftertaste is strong and truly lingers for minutes. The fourth through seventh infusions have only fruity notes. Peaches and berries, mostly blueberries. A little tart. As the tea sit in the mouth, the fruits change into flowers.

I believe this is my first non-roasted Dong Ding. I had an enjoyable session with it. Delightful and complex all around!

Preparation
Boiling 7 g 3 OZ / 88 ML

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Bio

I began drinking tea because its complexity fascinated me. I love learning about its history, its manufacturing processes, and its place in various cultures.

Japanese greens were my first love and gateway into the world.

My favorite teas are leafhopper oolongs, pu’erh (shou and sheng), and masala chai. My favorite herbal tisanes are spear/peppermint, lavender and chrysanthemum.

I’m currently exploring pu’erh, and any Chinese and Taiwanese teas in general. I’m not much into flavored teas, unlike when I first started. The only teas I truly dislike are fruity tisanes and the ones that have too much fruit. I do like hisbiscus, especially iced.

I like to write nature essays. I’m a birdwatcher as well as a tea enthusiast. The kiwi is one of my favorite birds. I also like Tolkien, Ancient Egypt, and exercising.

IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ: After two and a half years of having an account here, I will no longer will provide numerical ratings as an addition to the review because the American school system has skewed my thoughts on numbers out of a hundred and the colors throw me off. Curses! My words are more than sufficient. If I really like what I have, I will “recommend”, and if I don’t, “not recommended”.

Key for past ratings:

96-100 I adore absolutely everything about it. A permanent addition to my stash.

90-95 Superb quality and extremely enjoyable, but not something I’d necessarily like to have in my stash (might have to do with personal tastes, depending on what I say in the tasting note).

80-89 Delicious! Pleased with the overall quality.

70-79 Simply, I like it. There are qualities that I find good, but there also are things that aren’t, hence a lower rating that I would have otherwise like to put.

60-69 Overall “meh”. Not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good.

0-59 No.

If there is no rating: I don’t feel experienced enough to rate the tea, or said tea just goes beyond rating (in a positive way).

Location

Westchester, NY

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