Lugu Competition Dong Ding Oolong Tea

US$29

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  • Flavor: Mildly smoky, cedar wood aroma. Notes of roasted yams, cashews, and warming spices. Robust, spicy/sweet, lingering finish.

    Garden: These tea leaves were harvested in spring from the Alishan region and oxidized about twice as much as a standard High Mountain Oolong. The leaves were roasted by one of the most skilled roasters in the local industry. In recent years, he has won 3rd and 10th Place, and multiple top 2% awards in the Lugu competition of more than 6000 entries.

    Harvest: Hand-picked, medium batch. Alishan, Taiwan. Spring 2024.

    Elevation: 1300m

  • The flavor profile of this competition standard can vary to an extent, but it must exhibit quality leaf that was processed with skill and care. The basic characteristics of Lugu Competition Tea are a rich, robust, yet smooth flavor profile that is a balanced composition of sweet, bitter, astringent, aromatic and has a lasting finish that is both heady and exceptionally satisfying. The individual aromatic and flavor notes can include caramel, toasted grains, fruit compote, pipe tobacco, fire roasted yams... the list goes on! It's a complex and full flavored tea!

    Given that these leaves have been well groomed, meaning that they have been destemmed and sorted to glean the prime leaf material from the crop, less leaves can be used in brewing. While we generally recommend a 1:15 leaf to water ratio for most rolled leaf Oolongs, we suggest a 1:17 or so ratio for Gongfu style brewing. We've really enjoyed varying our brewing methods with this tea, as it behaves differently with each one. It does quite well Grandpa style as well. We used 10g of leaves in a 500mL mug, filled it with boiling temp water, and drank it until it got a bit strong, then just added room temp water from there on. We got at least two full mugs worth of deliciously brewed tea!

  • The name of the competition is included to designate it as competition grade tea, i.e. tea that was prepared for this competition. To meet the quality standard for the Lugu Farmers' Association Dong Ding Oolong Tea Competition, the leaves must be sufficiently oxidized in order to be suitable for medium roasting. The leaves must also be quality stock that was hand-picked in either spring or winter. The competition entries undergo extensive scrutinization, and almost half of all entries are disqualified. The 55% or so that get entered are then graded into several tiers of awards.

    This batch of spring tea is from the Alishan High Mountain Tea growing region. Our friend prepared enough for two competition entries from this crop. One entry received the Three Plum Blossom Award, designating it as among the top third of all entries. The other was not entered because he could not find a local Lugu resident to register it for him. This resulted in us being able to procure it at well below the market value of award winning competition tea.

  • Mug: 8g tea in 300ml 100°C water. Steep for 3 minutes. Re-steep. Adjust to taste.

    Cold Brew: Use 6g of tea per liter of water. Brew tea at room temperature for 2-3 hours, and enjoy. Or you can put your cold brew bottle in the fridge to brew overnight and be ready to drink the next day.

    Gong Fu: Start with a 1:17 leaf to water ratio, e.g. 10g of tea leaves for a 170mL teapot. Use boiling temperature water and brew for about 50 seconds. Increase brewing time with each successive brew. The leaves can be brewed 6 times.

Customer Reviews

Based on 12 reviews
92%
(11)
8%
(1)
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C
Christoph
NPS score:
0 (Not at all likely)
10 (Extremely likely)
Likes: Quality of the tea & smooth delivery
Improvements: Get even more of roasted oolongs like this one ;)
My favourite so far

I dipped my toes into the world of Taiwanese loose-leaf Oolong tea during my Taiwan trip earlier this year. But the real revelation came through Eco-Cha's online shop, where I discovered my love for roasted Oolong teas. Tried a bunch from Eco-Cha, liked most, but the one that stole my tea-loving heart is the Lugu Competition Dong Ding Oolong Tea.

Sure, it's a bit on the pricey side, but I'm sold. The nutty, smoky goodness in every sip is just too good to resist. And it's not just about the taste; there's something wholesome about it (maybe the caffeine level is just perfect for me). So, yeah, even with the cost, Lugu Competition Dong Ding is my go-to. It's like a warm, flavorful hug I can't get enough of.

J
Jeff Abrams
Three tea comparison

My first purchases from Eco-Cha were: Eco Farm Heavy Roasted Oolong, LUGU COMPETITION DONG DING, AND ROASTED TSUI YU OOLONG.
I did a side-by-side comparison of the three, steeping 4 grams of each tea in 10 oz of just below boiling water. I let them all cool slightly because I can’t recognize the flavors at too high a temperature. I also tasted each when cooled to room temperature.
Here are my observations:

Lugu Competition Dond Ding:
Subtle woody aroma. Full body, rich, full mouth feel, very bold flavors. Smoothest of the 3. As it cooled, floral oolong notes came out.

Eco Farm Heavy Roasted Oolong:
Very similar in aroma to Competition. Bold woody taste. Mouth feel is narrower, it doesn’t explode like the competition. It’s a little more astringent. When cooled, floral notes weren’t present.

ROASTED TSUI YU OOLONG:
WOODY AROMA WITH DEFINITE Spicy notes. The woody taste is more subtle, balanced out by other flavors like licorice, cardamon, and vanilla. All in all, more nuanced. The only drawback was it was a

I think my order of preference is; ROASTED TSUI YU OOLONG, COMPETITION, AND FINALLY THE ECO FARM. HOWEVER, THEY WERE ALL EXCELLENT. I WOULDN’T HESITATE TO PURCHASE ANY OF THEM AGAIN.

S
Samuel Hsu
Great tea.

I don't like the price I'm paying for this stuff. Yet this is the second time I'm doing it. I got hooked the first round. I dreamed about it when it ran out. Enjoying the second batch now and trying to find fault with it so I don't make the third round of doing something I don't like.

N
Nathan BONIN
Very good Dong Ding

Very good tea !
Deep taste

R
Ryan
Converted me to Roasted Oolongs

I was never really into roasted oolongs until I tried this tea! It has more complexity and lingers longer in the mouth than others I’ve tried. I like brewing in clay over porcelain. Will be coming back for more.