Dong Ding Jin Xuan Oolong

Very nice flavor from this jin xuan. Lightly roasty with buttery notes. I got distracted by work while drinking this, so my thoughts aren’t really all together right now!

First, I’d like to thank Eco-Cha for giving me the opportunity to be one of the 10 lucky people to get a free yixing clay pot on their recent giveaway. I got my order today with such a lovely little pot! Came in a nice box, all wrapped in a pretty asian style red towel.

I am already brewing one of their tea in it tonight.

I did not know what to expect from this award winning Dong Ding. If anything, award winning won’t necessarily make me like a tea.

I do a quick rinse. This is heavily roasted so I’m expecting some big char notes, and this is pretty much what I get on steep one. Nothing special, just very roasted.

Then…vavavoom! Whoa, fruit! I get a mango mouthful. Yes I know, it’s not really supposed to be there, but that’s what I get! And it’s not subtle, I get that even from the wet leaf.

But that’s not it, this tea is kind sweet and savoury. It’s paired with creamy butternut squash…and roasted root vegetables.

Wow, it is so fragrant, every time I open the pot, I get tropical mango wafts.

As expected, it produced many steeps, but of course, I never count when I get caught up in the moment.

This tea was expensive, but totally worth the bucks.

My first Eco-Cha experience, and I am quite impressed. Quality in every possible way, with an impeccable presentation.

Thank you!

Pics of the order and session:

http://instagram.com/p/ru67ULwh_J/

http://instagram.com/p/rvjrjTQhwr/

What a long-lasting tea! At first steeping of 3 minutes in a 6oz. yixing after rinsing, I was shocked by how forward the smoky flavor was. Very complex nutty, slightly sweet aftertaste, with a slight back-of-the-throat lingering tannic flavor you get from a greener oolong. I steeped this 6 times, and the flavor was still decently strong at that point. The smokiness was less overpowering each steeping, and the sweet, stonefruit-like flavors became stronger until the 5th steeping or so. The first steeping was a bit unbalanced, but the 2nd through 4th steeping were great.