Guiyuan Roasted Dong Ding

And now we’re watching the Superbowl, because…well, because I’m at Tony’s house & that’s what we do. It’s not Baseball, but I usually enjoy the commercials. :)

I’ve been working my way through the Oolongs in the Steepster Select boxes from Dec & Jan. It’s been really nice drinking them, one after another, & enjoying their differences.
The first thing that really stood out to me with this one today is the light charcoal taste from the roasting. This is nice, creamy in a coconut milk sort of way, sweet, with a fruity aftertaste. It’s also my 4th sipdown of the day I think, 9th of the weekend!

Very slow getting around to my steepster select box when I’m backed up on my BBB box and my million tea swap with yyz, but I decided that I need to start drinking these as another box from steepster is on the way. So I reached in the bin and grabbed one to try it out. This was winner!

I’m not really an oolong kinda gal. The roasted ones just taste like hojicha to me. But, I need to try all the teas, so i’ll give it a go. This one is surprisingly good. A definite roasted quality to it, but also very sweet and coconuty. I may have to try a few more Dong Dings. Maybe my tastes have evolved again! Keeps happening lately.

I suspect that this is a very fine tea, just not a type I am particularly fond of. It is roasty and very sweet, but kind of weak, in a way. I think I would appreciate it more if it was a bit more bold. Again, very appreciative I got to try it though! :)

Sipdown! Sadly. I really like this one. It’s just roasty enough to be comforting but there’s also an intense sweetness to it that I’m amazed is natural. I would definitely buy more but four ounces is a lot of one tea that isn’t a 100 for me… It’s also expensive to buy in that quantity so I’m still wavering. I guess once I sip down about 150 samples (yes, really) I’ll decide what I really want to keep around.

I am very behind on tasting notes!
I had this last week. And its definitely my favorite of the Steepster Select Box. I’ve never had an oolong, especially a green oolong that has held this much complexity and richness. I am truly in love with it. Where has this been all my life! The first steep you can tasye and smell the coffee. The richness of the brown sugar sweetens this cup and gives the tea an amazing amber color. So pretty! You also get the tart rich flavor from the concord grapes, and ooooh my favoritr part! The creaminess of the coconut. The steepings only get better each infusion:):) man if only I could afford this.

Backlog:

This was the first tea that I tried from my December Steepster Select box. I like that the new Steepster Select boxes offer true “samples.” There is one serving in each little package. Nice.

My full-length review can be read here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/12/26/guiyuan-roasted-dong-ding-oolong-steepster/

This tea: Sweet and smooth. Silky. Nutty and a delicious creamy note. This tea reminds me of toasted coconut. Notes of charcoal develop in later infusions. Notes of flower and hints of freshly roasted coffee are also more apparent as I continue to steep.

A really nice Dong Ding.

Steepster Select!

If I was blindfolded, I woulda swore this was a houjicha I was drinking – similar roasty light flavor. The light tart grape and creamy coconut finish I found very interestingly mysterious, causing me to drink more and more to
solve the mystery.

Full review of the Steepster Select Dec 2013 box on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/steepster-select-january-2014-teas-oolong-owl-tea-review/

I was a bit skeptical about signing up for Steepster select because I can be picky, but I’m really excited to try all of these teas! Anyway, this is the first tea I’m trying from this month’s package. There is definitely a strong roasted taste with maybe just a bit of smokiness. It’s also surprisingly sweet. For me, roasted + sweet + oolong is turning out to be one of my favorite combos, so I’m really enjoying this one!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a roasted oolong like this one. I’m definitely getting the grape/fruity notes with some gentle coffee type flavors from the roasting. I’m not sure I’m getting all of the subtle flavor in the first steep here.

The second steep I am getting more of the coconut flavors and it reminds me a bit of burnt toast. I’ve enjoyed trying this but it doesn’t really make me want more somehow… I think perhaps gong fu style for the next packet is a good plan.

I love roasted oolongs, so I was very happy to receive this sample from Jason at the last NYC meetup. This is indeed roasty, but it’s surprisingly light at the same time. A bit too light for me, in fact—I love those super dark, strong-bodied coffee-esque oolongs, and this is not one of them. It almost reminds me of houjicha. I’m enjoying this and would happily drink it again, but it’s probably not something I’d want to keep around.