Frozen Summit (Dong Ding) Oolong

Weird?!?!? How can this tea have only one (really great and detailed review and) rating by RedFennekin at 100 and yet steepster shows the tea rating at 82?!?!?! Super, super weird.. Let’s see what my stellar rating does to this teas overall average? I mean, the average of 100 and 100 is…. 100… Math was never my strong point but I’m pretty sure even I can calculate that sum correctly!

Any way, rant over…onto the tea… This is amazing… There simply are no other words… it’s light, it’s refreshing, it’s oolong at its finest!! I think I got at least 8 infusions out of this tea and the flavor just got more complex as the steepings went on and on… Buttery, roasty, vegetaly and with a slight floral note… This really really is an amazing oolong… I just wish I could get my hands on more!!

Ah; another day, another fabulous oolong. This is another of those oolongs that I could just continue to drink forever – light, refreshing, and so, so delicious!

I received this in January’s LTC delivery and was quite keen, given my recent oolong phase, to give it a try soon. Given I’ve now found steeping parameters, for such teas, that I’m happy with, I thought I’d give it a go in the Verdant gaiwan I’ve been using so much recently.

Pleasingly, it was a success – this tea was absolutely wonderful! The dry leaves had that charming, floral fragrance and, when wet, a stronger vegetal note came through (though the orchid and jasmine scents were definitely still present).

After a quick rinse, I did a ~15 second infusion that produced a lovely, quite strong infusion. It was full of intense, floral-and-vegetal flavour, with just a hint of roastiness that, along with the oolong’s butteriness, made this tea almost fruit-cake like. It was really exceptional. It also had a fuller body than the Ali Shan oolong I tried yesterday, which was interesting.

The next few steeps were a little less intense (by preference), but still really delicious. The slight roasty/smoky flavour came through a little more, but it was a gentle flavour note that worked surprisingly well with the floral notes.

I brewed this leaves a lot. Like, maybe ten infusions or so, this afternoon. I threw the leaves away as Mum was starting to cook dinner (an Iranian stew with lots of herbs and onions, which I thought might ruin the leaves a little), but I reckon I could still have steeped them another handful of times.

LTC have an option where you can buy bags (in the usual sizes) of teas you particularly liked from their boxes, so I may treat myself to some of this in the future. A truly fabulous oolong.