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As much as I love Taiwanese oolongs, I have never spent all that much time on Dong Ding oolongs. For the most part, I have limited myself to baozhong, various jade oolongs, Jin Xuan, and the occasional Alishan. After seeing a ton of positive reviews for this tea, I knew I had to try it. I knew my Taiwanese tea journey would never be complete without an experience with an authentic Dong Ding.

I prepared this tea gongfu style, though I did not follow any of the traditional Taiwanese gongfu guidelines. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 13 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute 5 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, a glance at the dry tea leaves confused me. I think I was expecting a much heavier roast because the olive green rolled leaves with their buttery, floral, and creamy fragrance were certainly not what I was expecting. After the rinse, the previously mentioned floral, creamy, and buttery aromas were still there, joined by subtle traces of spice and orchard fruit. The first infusion produced a similar aroma. In the mouth, I mostly picked up mild notes of cream and butter balanced by fleeting impressions of flowers, cinnamon, and some kind of fruit. At this point, I realized that not only was my rinse too short, but my first infusion was as well. I decided to repeat it and then move forward. This time I got a much more floral, buttery aroma and slightly more pronounced notes of cream and butter. The floral notes began to separate a bit. I started to pick out distinct impressions of osmanthus, lily, hyacinth, honeysuckle, and lilac. I also noted a hint of cinnamon. Subsequent infusions brought out the tea’s spicier, fruitier, and more floral characteristics. I began to note more distinct impressions of cinnamon, lily, lilac, osmanthus, honeysuckle, and hyacinth to balance out the consistent cream and butter aromas and flavors. I also began to note an impression of fresh cucumber on the back of the throat, as well as impressions of apple and pear blossoms both on the nose and in the mouth. The extended later infusions absolutely intrigued me. The floral notes receded into the background and the cucumber was joined by a note of leaf lettuce. The cream, butter, and cinnamon were still there, but those apple blossom, pear blossom, and osmanthus notes gave way to actual flavors of apricot, fresh apple, and pear. I should also note that I never noted any mineral aromas or flavors, which is kind of strange considering that I pick up minerals consistently in the later infusions during many oolong sessions.

This tea hit me on several different levels. First off, I have to say that I was expecting a much more robust, syrupy flavor profile, but I did not get that. This tea was very smooth, balanced, and sophisticated, though it was also a bit more restrained than expected at points. Part of that may have been due to the completely off-the-wall way I decided to brew it. I also loved the orchard aroma and the orchard fruit flavors that emerged in the second half of this session. Many people do not know that I was raised on a hobby farm that primarily produced apples, so this tea created a series of childhood flashbacks for me. Finally, I should note that this tea had considerable staying power. It consistently offered something unique with each infusion. Even though I am not certain my brewing methods did this tea justice, I was still happy with the results. I’m going to play around with this one a little more, but all in all, I think it would be safe for me to say that this is pretty much a world-beating Dong Ding.