2025 Dong Ding Oolong Tea, USDA Organic

This factory’s Dong Ding last appeared in our shop back in 2014. And now it’s here again — a fresh batch with a careful medium roast.

The aroma of the warmed leaves tells us: there’s milk chocolate and fruit hiding inside the gaiwan.

The fragrance of the liquor offers even more epithets: shortbread cookies, cinnamon, buckwheat honey, milk chocolate, and a mix of apricot, plum, and peach jams — in short, stone fruits.

The oolong drinks incredibly easily — almost unusually easy for a young Dong Ding. Which immediately makes you want to increase the steeping time, and that’s exactly what I did. The longer exposure adds a touch of astringency, tannins, grassy notes, and wild strawberry nuances to an already rich bouquet. I’d say this is the melody I’d mark as the optimal one for myself.

I stepped out of the room where this Dong Ding was being brewed and, returning five minutes later, caught a clear impression: the room smelled like milk chocolate with a fruity filling. A wonderful profile — balanced and beautiful. The aftertaste is long, oily, with a grassy–wild strawberry–chocolate theme running through it.

I don’t usually notice any particular “effect” from oolongs; for me they’re either dessert teas or, on the contrary, teas to get you going.

But for a cheerful company that appreciates refinement and attentiveness, this tea will be a real treat — it creates a genuinely festive atmosphere.

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