DongDing

I thought I'd try being more scientific about steeping tea. Well I was only measuring one variable, steeping time, so it barely qualifies as being scientific. Really ought to measure water temperature as well.

The tea under examination is a dong ding from Tea From Taiwan.

Steep 1: 30s
Smell: not much tbh, a little creamy?
Taste: a little floral? sweet, pear, like boiled pear with rock sugar
Note: leaves not yet unfurled

Steep 2: 45s
Smell: sweet, peaches/nectarine
Taste: sweet, fruity (prob peaches), light mouthfeel
Note: leaves starting to unfurl, decreased water to leave ratio as not much leaves left

Steep 3: 60s
Smell: back to not smelling like much, maybe a hint of sweetness?
Taste: a little of the floral smell came back in taste, not particularly fruity anymore

Steep 4: 1:15min

Smell: back to fruity! I think this note is released because of the higher temperature of the water.

Taste: still a little floral, a hint of bitterness

Steep 5, 6, 7: 1:15-1:30min

Smell: fruitiness is not as pronounced as before

Taste: getting some sweetness back

Steep 8: 2:30min

Increased steeping time to see what other flavours I can get out of the leaves. The fruity notes reappear, but more mellow.

I had the ambition to make a gif of the tea liquor, but didn't take good enough photos. The taste is also quite different from the first time I made this tea. This time is far less fruity, which I was disappointed in. The sweetness is dominate taste, true to the website's description.

As dong ding is a heavier roasted oolong, it does taste quite different from the greener Taiwanese ones. Would definitely try out more of this from other vendors.