94
drank Dong Ding Oolong by Tea Ave
371 tasting notes

Many thanks to Tea Ave for providing me a free sample to review!

Brewed gongfu-style in a gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times: 10, 10, 15, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 120.

The dry leaf aroma smells roasted and seaweed-y. This roasty quality becomes more powerful once the leaf is rinsed, after which I also get cooked dark vegetables, such as char, kale, and spinach. Using the aroma cup, I’m able to smell the liquor aroma, which is unexpectedly different – fresh strawberries! A little apricot appears later on.

The liquor is pale gold, lovely appearance in a white cup. Full-bodied, very flavorful yet light. Creamy and soft texture. I feel of mid-summer, a sunny and breezy afternoon. Definitely a summer tea.

The first infusion of the session greets me with roasted vegetables and a pure sugar aftertaste. The second tastes of grilled yellow zucchini, which I find to be sweet cooked just right. The third is still vegetal, but this note is but mellower. The texture is at its creamiest, and there is a fruity aftertaste.

Infusions four through six are nearly pure fruit: strawberries, bananas, and peaches. The texture is no longer creamy, but is still soft as ever. Roasted vegetables return in seven through nine (probably because I drank them after an hour break and had to become accustomed to drinking this Dong Ding). A peachy sweetness lingers.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 g 3 OZ / 88 ML
Teaave

Thank you so much for sharing the review at teaave.com, that helps us a lot for the visitors to get to know more about what the oolongs are actually like from the tea drinkers point of views.

KiwiDelight

My pleasure! I post reviews on websites if I can since people aren’t likely to know about Steepster.

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Comments

Teaave

Thank you so much for sharing the review at teaave.com, that helps us a lot for the visitors to get to know more about what the oolongs are actually like from the tea drinkers point of views.

KiwiDelight

My pleasure! I post reviews on websites if I can since people aren’t likely to know about Steepster.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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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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