Zhushan Dong Ding darkA tea as popular as Dong Ding is bound to grow out of its eponymic origins and find itself in other tea growing regions. This one comes from a village not too far away, in Zhu mountain about 10km east of its original homestead. While aiming to retain its genealogical roots, the maker has chosen the Qing Xin cultivar to craft a clean tea, roasted dark to bring out its warmer tendencies. The first sip is a grazing alongside molten sweetness and it

almost piney aroma and honeyed sweetness

grounded motif resonates with the gaiwan's earthy tones and flat

We used these very jars in our erstwhile teahouse

It is not hand-built like Yixing teapots which leads some stylistic differences between the two

The liquor is soft golden-amber

the taste is characterized by a dominant but satisfying bitterness

pale green leaves showcase this beautifully: a first sniff from the pouch offers vibrant aromas of freshly cut grass

the Taiwanese Dong Fang Mei Ren

doesn’t need to shout

over-roasted character

For a younger tea

he selects plots across Taiwan according to the expression he seeks to craft