Dong Ding Competition Special Mention #9 - Cooked Wulong

After quite a long hiatus, I’m back again on this blog. A lot happened (death, birth, house, yada yada) and now I have more time at home to write this. I recently bought a lot of different matcha from Ippodo (online shop) so I’ll be sure to add matcha testing to my list (plus one I still have from Matsu Kaze Tea shop). I’ve got from low cooking grade to fancy koicha higher grade and even a first harvest matcha which is not unlike Shincha.

Some months ago, I purchased a cooked wulong from the Camellia Sinensis shop which got a special mention during a tea competition last year. Quantity were scarce and quite pricey but when do you get to taste something like this, right? Unless you’re a judge or part of the competition, you’d have to be pretty lucky to get a sip. Or you find out a 10g quantity for $30 like I did and wait for the perfect time to test it. *sigh*

I was literally afraid something or someone would ruin the moment. There is basically enough for one infusion and a half in there if you go for the Gong Fu Cha method. Which I did as it was recommended. Hopefully the Camellia Sinensis shop will continue to offer such products in the future. They also offered two other wulongs, but considering the price and that my order included other teas as well, I settle for the Dong Ding Competition Special Mention #9 (I need a new pair of pants. Let's buy $200 worth of tea instead!).

Dong Ding Competition Special Mention #9

Cooked wulong from Taiwan
Sold by the Camellia Sinensis Tea Shop

Notes from the Camellia Sinensis Tea Shop:

Its golden liquor is vivid and fleshy, combining its wonderfully tangy and sweet pineapple and candied fruits notes, with oatmeal cookie fat and almond butter nuances. Supported by well integrated tannins, it also has a subtle bitterness giving it strength and evocative of cedar resin. This masterpiece evolves into a long finish where the more volatile accents of vanilla, coconut and flowers take flight. For the fortunate!

Kaytee's notes: A cooked wulong is a wulong that is roasted between 2 to 60 hours depending on the desired result. It rounds up the floral notes, kinda makes it taste more mature but not yet the nutty long oxidized wulong you may know. Also, in this case here, roasting wulong is pretty much the signature of the Ding Dong wulongs. You're buying one? Chances are it's a cooked one!

Dry leaf:
- Tightly rolled very dark green balls with medium green and some blond colours visible

- Balls are approximately 1 centimeter diameter

- There are some flakes, small particles

- Oatmeal cookie smell and Oatmeal cookie fat smell, powdered almonds aroma

- Light flowery aroma, the one you’d expect from a green wulong

- Sweet aroma like that of maraschino cherries

There is a comforting aroma that’s nostalgic especially for those who had oatmeal cookies as kids. My mother used to make a lot of them from scratch.

Steeping Method: Rinsing, 2 teaspoons of tea (as per instructions), 95°C, 250ml of water
Gong Fu Cha method

Steeping times: 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 30 seconds, then double subsequent steeping times

Wet leaves after rinsing: Charcoal and buttery aroma

Liquor:

• Clear and Shiny
• Mellow straw-yellow colour with a hint of pink-peach colours
• Oatmeal and flowery aroma

Wet leaves:

• Milk chocolate (Lindt), dried papaya & pineapple, light oatmeal cookie, and charcoal aroma
• Fruity with smokiness

1^st steeping (一煎目), 45s:

Fragrance smelling cup:

• Oatmeal cookie, buttery, cotton candy

1^st taste:

• Dried papaya
• Mild in taste and powdery (light astringency)
• Liquid in mouth but not silky
• Light floral taste
• Lingering smokiness like charcoal at the back of the mouth

The first taste lacked body and was not rounded.

2^nd steeping (二煎目), 30s:

• Colour was slightly darker than previous steeping

2^nd taste:

• Mild and smooth
• Texture was more oily and had slightly more body and roundness than 1^st steeping
• It was also slightly more astringent but not too much
• Sort of salty-sweet taste on the tip of the tongue
• Slight floral and fruity (dried fruits: papaya, pineapple without sourness)
• Dried garden herbs
• Quick to disappear coconut butter aftertaste (it was pretty hard to discern)
• Light buttery finish

I had the feeling I was tasting a slight undertone of shellfish but I guess I lacked the confidence to confirm it.

3^rd steeping (三煎目), 30s:

• Lemongrass whiff emanated from the infusion as I was pouring it into the tea pitcher

3^rd taste:

• Smooth and oily
• Dried papaya and pineapple tastes which built up in pleasant strength in the aftertaste
• Pleasant astringency, vivid sensation
• Buttery aftertaste (pineapple butter if there was such a thing) with light charcoal undertones

I had a feeling of a light corn oil taste and it seemed that the infusion would get oilier in texture with each subsequent infusions. However I stopped at the 3^rd infusion as I wanted to share this precious tea with my family before the taste became too subtle for them to appreciate. The liquor was definitely more vivid after the 3^rd steeping. In fact, the 3^rd steeping was the best one; it definitly tasted better and was better structured. I felt there was a sort of cacophony of flavours… Cacotaste? Cacophagy? With the 3^rd steeping, the flavours became clearer, easier to discern.

As the tea cooled down a bit, the floral and astringency parts built up in strength especially in the aftertaste.

I’m not a fan of greener wulong and this is what this cooked wulong seemed to be, albeit “cooked” which means that it has less of that floral and greenness you'd find in a short oxidized one, however, it was definitely one of the better ones and most enjoyable.

3.9/5 is what I'd give it for personal taste

If I were to be more neutral, definitely a 4.4/5.
Why so low for a competition tea? One part probably my fault, as I waited quite some months before trying it. Although... It WAS in an airtight package. I don't know.
The other part is that I find it took some time to build in greatness. I know that originally, the first steeping is discarded (I wouldn't dare do that!) but still, it took 3 steepings to get there. The notes were fantastic, but it still felt like a better green wulong to me (don't throw me rocks, please!).

Extra notes:
I waited a few hours to try for a 4th steeping with my family and maybe because the vessel had considerably cooled down and I may have lost a few degree although I tried pouring hot water on the teapot, the tea tasted weaker than the 3rd steeping. Either its peak was the 3rd one or losing between 3 and 7 degrees made a bit difference. I will never know, but I thought I ought to mention that I did try another steeping. Anyway...