dong ding??

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.


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May 4th, '08, 20:21
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by Chip » May 4th, '08, 20:21

Thanx ABx. I suspect they do not really want us to understand fully what is going on. Creating mystique is common in Asia. Every utterance from a Taiwan oolong vendor is full of ambiguity.

Gotta love it. :wink:

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May 4th, '08, 20:38
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by ABx » May 4th, '08, 20:38

I think it's really true for any kind of business. They all want to blur the lines and get you to see what you want to see regardless of what they're selling. They tend to like people that don't know exactly what they're buying unless that business is really heavily focused on being the best quality; at which point they want you to be less knowledgeable about their closest competiton. Some vendors are more knowledgeable and careful, but even then I'm sure they get taken in occasionally.

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May 4th, '08, 21:52
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by tenuki » May 4th, '08, 21:52

Vendors tell about growing it in China ABx, and winning competions under that name. lol. You better check your sources again.....
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May 4th, '08, 23:18
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by ABx » May 4th, '08, 23:18

tenuki wrote:Vendors tell about growing it in China ABx, and winning competions under that name. lol. You better check your sources again.....
There I go being too abstract again :) My point was that it probably depends on the vendor. Some will be technically precise while others will use it as a more generic term. I've seen all sorts of crazy stuff when it comes to terminology and tea vendors.

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May 4th, '08, 23:23
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by bambooforest » May 4th, '08, 23:23

I have some winter dong ding from tft en route to me. I've been very satisfied with Tea from taiwan's quality. Dong ding rules :-)

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May 5th, '08, 09:48
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by stargazer » May 5th, '08, 09:48

THANKS...

I think i will try tft and teaspring.
Has anyone tried Frozen Dongding from Tching??

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May 6th, '08, 21:20
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by Salsero » May 6th, '08, 21:20

Tenuki, I am trying some Teahome Luu-Guu High Mountain Green Oolong "Tung Ting" and don't know what to make of it. The first couple infusions just seemed bad. I actually threw them out. Later ones (I've lost track) are better, but still a bit peculiar. After several infusions, my mug-sized infuser basket is not quite full with the leaves. Do you have any comments or suggestions about this stuff that might help me understand it better or brew it better? Also, I am a little suprised at its nearly ginger ale color.

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May 6th, '08, 22:15
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by tenuki » May 6th, '08, 22:15

You didn't get the Legend eh?

Mug sized infuser basket?!? surely you jest?
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May 6th, '08, 22:30
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by Salsero » May 6th, '08, 22:30

I tried the Legend also recently. I got a bunch of samplers. I also found the Legend unusual, but not as perplexing as this one. I will probably go back to the Legend after getting though all these samples. I see that the High Mountain Tung Ting is a good bit cheaper, so maybe it's just not as good a tea.

Yes, my infuser basket just fits into my 6 oz mug.

Did you mention that the bao zhong #2 from Floating Leaves is a first class oolong? I have been drenching myself in oolongs lately after some months of fasting and I am having a wonderful time. It's like I was famished and didn't know it till the Dr prescribed food.

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May 6th, '08, 22:40
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by tenuki » May 6th, '08, 22:40

Ya, I don't care so much for their regular dong ding, legend is my daily drinker and my favorite dong ding around to date.

I generally gongfu dong dings at 30 secs, boiling water, flash rinse wait a minute before brewing (leaves open faster after the tea wakes up this way), then +10. Leaves should pack the gaiwan by the third brew and even be pushing on the lid.

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May 6th, '08, 23:00
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by Salsero » May 6th, '08, 23:00

That helps a lot. I am not using quite enough leaf, infusing too long, and not staring out with the rinse. Also, probably expecting too much. It would be nice if they labeled with "regular" tung ting or something. I will try again tomorrow.

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May 6th, '08, 23:36
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by tenuki » May 6th, '08, 23:36

Salsero wrote:Did you mention that the bao zhong #2 from Floating Leaves is a first class oolong?
Yes, but you could also wait until the spring season is in and I've had a chance to sample the new crop, the farmer's choice is usually my favorite... ;)
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May 6th, '08, 23:41
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by Salsero » May 6th, '08, 23:41

tenuki wrote:Yes, but you could also wait until the spring season is in and I've had a chance to sample the new crop, the farmer's choice is usually my favorite...
Since I am overloaded with these Teahome samples at the moment, waiting is an attractive alternative. You will maybe open a thread about new oolongs like the shincha thread? Is there a spring oolong season like for the China and Japanese greens and first flush Darjeelings?

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May 7th, '08, 00:36
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by tenuki » May 7th, '08, 00:36

Salsero wrote: Since I am overloaded with these Teahome samples at the moment, waiting is an attractive alternative. You will maybe open a thread about new oolongs like the shincha thread? Is there a spring oolong season like for the China and Japanese greens and first flush Darjeelings?
Yes, but it's staggered due to the pretty big differences in elevations, I think some stuff has already being harvested. (someone more knowlegable please fill us in with details. :) )
Last edited by tenuki on May 7th, '08, 00:41, edited 1 time in total.

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May 7th, '08, 00:40
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by tenuki » May 7th, '08, 00:40

Salsero wrote:Also, probably expecting too much. It would be nice if they labeled with "regular" tung ting or something. I will try again tomorrow.
A lot of times oolongs go stale, this is because they have a relatively short shelf life if stored improperly (unless they are good at aging, which some oolongs really are, but those have to be stored right to age right). The really cool thing, and something that all oolong vendors probably do a lot, is occasional reroasting. Chances are, if you don't like the oolong, and it has good 'tea quality' (a term that is vague because I couldn't tell you what it is but I recognize it when I see it ) a simple 10 minute refresh roast in your rice cooker warm cycle will put it back to special. That doesn't work? try another cycle, repeat until satisfied. I have never failed to 'bring back' an oolong of decent quality.

If you are overwelmed with samples, maybe now would be a good time to experiment with refresh roasting.. ;) Keep enough of the old tea so you can compare, it's very educational.

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