Dong Ding Oolong vs. Traditional Dong Ding Oolong Tea from Taiwan | Eco-Cha Teas

In this video we will be tasting and talking about Dongding oolong tea versus traditional Dongding oolong tea from Taiwan. Hi, today we are tasting and talking about traditional Dongding oolong tea versus Dongding oolong tea. And the traditional part of traditional Dongding oolong tea is simply that it is left unroasted. Everything else is basically the same. Specifically in our case where we source both of these teas from the same source now. Same farm, same factory, same farmer, same tea maker, our good friend Mr. Chen. And we've been waiting to be able to do this for some time and are very excited to now have these two versions of a local specialty to offer side by side and allow people to experience the unroasted version and the roasted version and see which one they like better or just how they differ and how they compare with each other. The only difference between these two teas and our current stock is that the traditional Dongding oolong tea is spring harvest 2023 and our Dongding oolong tea is winter harvest 2023. Our friend likes to make his tea more oxidized with a higher level of oxidation than most tea makers even in the Lugu area these days because he thinks that's representative of his local tradition and he's right. And it's simply a little bit more time consuming and arduous and a little bit riskier in terms of the final results. You have to know how to bring these leaves into uniform and more thorough oxidation and that is a skill that comes only with years and years of experience. So it's roasted versus unroasted and it compares to other types of things like vegetables even or fruit that is raw or cooked. The unroasted version is sweet and has a fruity profile and when I brewed this and I dumped the leaves out of the cup that's when you really get the best aromatic hit on terms of the wafting volatile aromatic oils that are still doing their thing and it was a really nice sweet pastry and fruity aromatic profile. The roasted version on the other hand was more pine sap like freshly cut wood and a little bit of smoke maybe campfire smoke given the roast factor. Not intense though just kind of subtle smoky factor basically bolder and there's it's more in your face so to speak in terms of the character that results from roasting tea leaves. Let's just taste and see how we go from there. I'm going to do the unroasted first. I brewed six grams of tea in these 150 milliliter tea judging cups for two minutes twice. First brew is closest to me second brew further away. Yeah sweet. One of the things that popped into my head was like maple syrup oatmeal like the quaker oats kind. It's not really maple syrup flavor but it has that kind of heavier syrupy flavor. Pastry. There's a little bit more subtle notes it's very mild it's not really astringent or tart at all this particular batch. So there's a fruity note but it's mostly in the sweet category rather than astringent or sour. I've come to really appreciate this unroasted version for its subtlety. There is a lot of flavor there and it's balanced and integrated and you never get tired of it. It's not really a super obvious profile but there's enough going on there to keep you interested in a way that you could drink it all day long and just continue to get satisfaction from this character of tea. Okay so yeah nice sweet pastry. There's a very subtle underlying you know a subtle subtle bitter note that makes things pop enough to say that it has maybe a floral or fruity profile. Oatmeal cookies even maybe just a hint of molasses or brown sugar. It's not quite caramel yet. That is what we'll get to experience from the roasted version. So as you may imagine and you don't have to imagine because it's true, roasting brings a caramelized aspect to the flavor profile. Just like if you were sautéing onions and caramelizing onions but it's not onions it's tea. So in a way there's almost a sweeter aspect to it. It's definitely bolder. If I could do a blind tasting and I'd never tasted this before I don't know if I would think roasted. It's not it doesn't have any sense of burnt or charcoal flavor. Our friend likes to just bring it to this level and consciously and purposely not make it taste like something that might have been overcooked. So he brings the inherent qualities of his unroasted produce to another level of a stronger profile. And in the profile as well I get this I just think of freshly cut wood, campfire smoke from a distance that you know alluring smell of campfire. I could tag on the leathery qualities to this. I don't know if I would go so far as pipe tobacco on this one because it's a nice relatively mild roast. It does bring a little bit more astringency out but that just makes the flavor profile more bold. There's enough sweetness that it's not overly bitter or astringent. It just makes it a little more vibrant and obvious. I would say obvious is the best term in terms of comparing the two. The unroasted version is the traditional version that is unroasted is subtle and very integrated and balanced and may not be a lot of people may not find it impressive at first encounter. And if that was true for me also you know once I tasted the roasted I was like oh this is where it's at. But maybe it's age or you know the fact that I'm drinking this stuff for decades on end. I just really appreciate the unroasted version for its face value for what it tastes and smells like and the experience of drinking it. But also to kind of understand the actual substance that the tea leaves themselves and what happens to them when they are treated in this fashion and cured in this fashion with extensive oxidation that's not overly is not overdone or carelessly done. One of the indications that it was done with finesse and done well is the coloring of the tea. The unroasted traditional version is still a golden color rather than a reddish orange color. A lot of well-oxidized teas that are done with less finesse are more reddish in color. So the roasted version as you may imagine is considerably darker. It's got a deep copper tone to it. It looks more flashy also. So it you know it's not surprising that the Lugu Farmers Association chose a roasted version to promote for more reasons than just how it looks and smells also. Roasted tea has a better shelf life. It actually usually will get better with age if stored properly. But I think in terms of the face market value or the attraction of this product it just has a more obvious flavor profile that impresses people more immediately. And I must say that personally, and this is strictly a personal opinion thing, if there were only one tea that I could have for the rest of my life I would probably choose this roasted version still just to have that more augmented character of tea to appreciate. When I took the leaves out of the cups and they were still hot it's probably not much going on anymore. Yeah they're all cooled down now. This one's got a little bit. This is I think my favorite thing about Dong Ding Oolong, the roasted version, that you know most people think that Dong Ding Oolong must be roasted and on the market that's basically true. But I would like to make it clear that before it was a commercially promoted product the farmers didn't roast their own teas. The merchants that bought the tea from them and had leftover stock started roasting the previous season's stocks and offering a roasted version. That's where it started and then like I said the Farmers Association took it from there. But that's one of my favorite aromatic profiles, a Dong Ding, a roasted Dong Ding, and that smell when you're brewing it in a gongfu teapot and you smell the leaves effervescing, so to speak, just the aromatic profile coming off the steaming leaves. It's quite impressive and I will never tire of that. These are again the leaves when they're brewing are subtler and you get nice floral fruity and sweet pastry notes that are milder basically. So this is a mild version of Oolong that like I say it doesn't get old in my experience so far and I just I find myself just especially if I brew it grandpa style working at my desk I'm just continuing to pick up that tea. It's not like it's getting boring ever. This doesn't get boring either but it's a stronger bolder profile and you might just you know not be hitting it so hard when you're drinking a big mug of it. A sip is pretty intense if you brew it strongly and it can be enjoyed more slowly. I was just about to grab that and take a swig but I'll be a little bit more refined in this respect. One more sip of the roasted. You sometimes get tired of adjectives on how the tea tastes. We are excited to offer both versions of this tea from the same farmer and we may and we'll let you know if we do put these two together on a product page and let you buy both of them at the same time. Of course you can do that now separately just go to the traditional Dongding Oolong page which is a limited edition black label tea. We don't get a lot of it and that only comes in the 75 gram size. Our normal Dongding Oolong tea you can buy a sample or a 75 gram pack or 150 gram pack and if you buy them together you'll get to experience what I've been blabbing away about for the last probably too long. Check it out it's worth it and this is the most popular traditionally made Oolong tea on Taiwan and we think it's for a good reason. It's our favorite tea in the world. Thanks.