The seasons of Dong Ding Oolong

Let me give you some feedback on my tea event in France during my recent trip there! The light in those pictures shows that we had a sunny but ice cold day for the event. This was a reminder of what real winter is like in Alsace. Actually, usually it's cloudy and we were lucky to have so much sun. These winter conditions and the location (a village in North Alsace) explain why only 2 people attended the class. They felt very lucky. We were a perfect number of people to drink tea according to Chaozhou Gongfu Cha traditions!  

Their luck continued with my choice of subject for the morning class: roasted Oolongs! This class is particularly warming and is a perfect fit for the cold winter weather! And their luck went through the roof with the very first we tasted: a Da Hong Pao mix using the same 3 cultivars as the 4 original Da Hong Pao bushes in Wuyi! This tea alone was worth the price of the class and I was glad to share it with both my students who each travelled over 100 km to attend! It was interesting to start with Da Hong Pao, because this tea is the most famous WuYi Yan Cha and Yan Cha were the first Oolongs invented in China. This is like the gold standard of a traditional Oolong:: hand harvested in late spring, processed in small, single batches, partially oxidized and well roasted over a pit of glowing charcoal. And the result is amazingly good, a balance of fresh and ripe, light flowers and heavy mineral aromas. And he whole is making the mouth feel clean and salivating!  

After this introduction, we studied the difference between the summer, fall and winter Dong Ding Oolongs included in this new sampler. We felt the lineage between Yan Cha and charcoal roasted Oolong, especially the winter version. It's fantastic how full body, mellow and balanced this affordable Hung Shui Oolong tastes! The fall season version was very surprising and interesting. That's why I have included it in the sampler of Seasons of Dong Ding. I will base my coming online YouTube classes on this sampler. Nothing can replace the tasting of the brew, so I recommend that you purchase it in order to learn precisely how Dong Ding Oolong evolves from one season to another. The sampler also contains a Dong Ding competition Oolong to taste the difference between competition Dong Dong Oolong and Oolong from the Dong Ding area! 

The Tea-Masters Boutique renews its 20% and 25% discounts to celebrate the 2025 Chinese New Year now that I'm back in Taiwan! Use these discounts to enjoy high quality tea in cold Europe and North America! A warm cup of delicious Oolong tea from Taiwan is the best preventive medicine against winter!