Lugu Competition Dong Ding Oolong Tea
US$30
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Flavor: Crisp autumn, pine forest aroma. Balanced, fruityl/nutty character. Roasted, 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 2022.
Elevation: 1300m
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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!
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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 entry was disqualified, which resulted in us being able to procure at well below the market value of award winning competition tea — simply the luck of the draw!
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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 1:18 leaf to water ratio, e.g. 10g of tea leaves for a 180mL 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.
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.
Very good tea !
Deep taste
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.
I was gifted a tin of competition-grade Dong Ding Oolong that won 3 plum blossoms back in 2018. Since then, I have been on the hunt for a similar tasting Dong Ding across multiple vendors, and often times other vendors have competition-grade Dong Ding that happen to be heavily roasted (which is not a bad thing, just not what I was looking for).
Finally, after 5 years of searching, this Lugu Competition Dong Ding from Eco-Cha has come the closest to replicating that taste profile I remember all those years ago. The color of the dry leaves is almost stone-like (Not too dark but not too light either). The taste of the liquor is floral and fruit compote with a pleasant slight astringent finish. The smell of the wet leaves is almost metallic in a good way.
I will be sure to purchase more of this tea whenever I get the chance!
Usually I prefer the unroasted high mountain tea, but this one is balanced between sweet and smoky. Very nice and impressed.