I am continue to make my way through a large collection of oolong samples from Teavivre I had recently received. This particlular tea has been reviewed to death on Steepster and this tea being my first encounter with Dong Ding oolongs makes this review totally irrelevant for other people so I am doing it for myself to keep tracks of my likes and dislikes.
Surpisingly, there was not much of fragrance coming out out of pouch when I opened it. Which is rare for oolongs in my admittedly limited experience. Just some spinach/grass and spice. The wet leaf smell was essentially the same plus some butter and a touch of lilac.
The taste was unexpectedly green and vibrant, with spinach, butter, spice, grass, mineral and a touch of berry sweetness. This is certainly not one of those languid , luxuriously sweet oolongs but instead gives an impression of a young full of stored vibrant energy. And a nice dynamic aftertaste.This tea is good to have at work as an additional burst of energy and motivation, it is an I-can-help-to-get-things-done tea. All about business and concentration.
I did not meet to many teas of that mental profile, so this oolong, while not being especially complex or uniquely delightful will certainly occupy one of the permanent places in my tea collection for those special occasions when I need that burst of energy and concentration. Not necessarily this particular Dong Ding though: I am going to explore different offerings of this type of tea so if someone can suggest good (and, preferably, reasonably priced) Dong Dings I would appreciate it.Flavors: Butter, Grass, Mineral, Spices, Spinach
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Maybe it’s just my (admittedly limited) experience, but I always feel as though Dong Ding oolongs are less aromatic and floral and more vegetal than Tieguanyin or Alishan varieties. Which is a bonus for me, as I don’t generally like strong floral notes.
It is an interesting observation that I kinda agree with (with the caveat that I met wildly different Tieguanyins and some were quite vegetal). One of the reasons that I had not explored oolongs earlier is that I am not the biggest admirers of unabashed, luxurious floral sweetness of many oolongs. But I am trying to learn to like them.
I should explore oolongs more as well. I do tend to like the semi-roasted rolled varieties. But I guess I feel oolong lends itself more toward Gongfu steeping, which is not something I ever do. :P
Maybe it’s just my (admittedly limited) experience, but I always feel as though Dong Ding oolongs are less aromatic and floral and more vegetal than Tieguanyin or Alishan varieties. Which is a bonus for me, as I don’t generally like strong floral notes.
It is an interesting observation that I kinda agree with (with the caveat that I met wildly different Tieguanyins and some were quite vegetal). One of the reasons that I had not explored oolongs earlier is that I am not the biggest admirers of unabashed, luxurious floral sweetness of many oolongs. But I am trying to learn to like them.
I should explore oolongs more as well. I do tend to like the semi-roasted rolled varieties. But I guess I feel oolong lends itself more toward Gongfu steeping, which is not something I ever do. :P