Competition Winner Dong Ding Oolong "Two Roses"

I got this and a few other teas the other day from J,s Teas. First of all I don't pay too much attention to the claims of vendors spouting a tea is a competition winner. They never say what competition the tea is supposed to have won. Or the claim is of "Awarded" awarded what? And by whom? But having said that I wouldn't be surprised if this tea did win some kind of mystery competition. This tea is gorgeous! This stuff rocks! This is a baked Dong Ding Oolong which both the fermentation and the baking are a perfect match. Not baked so much that all you taste is the roast. Whats really unique about this tea is that the floral aroma despite being roasted is very much intact. This tea makes most of the other Baked Oolong,s Ive had recently seem so hum drum. These little tea pellets are the smallest Ive ever seen. After opening they are all pretty uniform in size and reveal their true color which is a deep, deep forest green. Obviously a handpicked and processed tea. For this teapot (225 ml.) I,m using 12 gm.s of tea. 205 degree water and a first infusion time of 1 & 1/2 min. 2nd infusion, 1 min. 3rd infusion, 1 & 1/2 min. then after that gradually increasing the time by 20 seconds with each additional pot. The aroma wafting from the cup is rich, floral and robust. The (florality) is there such a word? Spell checker says no, Screw you spell checker I,m sticking with it. Anyways the florality is what really sets this tea apart. Also just a touch of something that reminds me of a Rou Gui in the aroma. Ive never had a roasted oolong that I thought of as being elegant before. Durability is decent, about 5 pots or so and then it starts to really thin out but what is unusual is the floral smell still remains. This stuff ain't cheap, $200.00 Lb. Not a tea I could afford often but a 4 oz. bag every once in a while is in my budget.

A lot of the tea,s that J,s Tea,s has are high end $$$$$$ but it,s worth it every now and then to splurge and indulge yourself. I think these are some of the best tea,s Taiwan has to offer.

Next up? Gui Fei Mei Ren Oolong. Wait till you see this one.