This little treasure has been hiding in my baby onggi jar since this April. Finally, the right moment came and I shared it with my friend
Michael Turek and Italo. With 2 other teas: 80's cooked tuocha, and a 1600+ yrs Chairman Mao.
My friends were new to tea tasting, and they both thought the DD is a bit on the mellow and quite side. Nice clear brew, aged character stimuated both sides of my tongue and made me salivate. Need to have a quite mind for this tea, perhaps? But my wife preferred this over the 80's tuo.
I wonder if I did not push it enough when both my friends prefered the other comparing to the DD? Or is it just that they were looking for instant gratification because of the promising aroma?
Most often when we do group tasting, we are more likely to jump to the gun... or impatience? There is a big difference in drinking tea to purify the mind vs drinking tea as a social event. Later one makes you feel that the clock is always ticking, and moving on to the next is a constant concern?
So I brought the pot back home, and slowly brew it with one of my favorite Cohiba Siglo VI 2003 companying it. The cedar, coffee, leathery aroma with hint of grassy tobaccoy paired well with subtle floral of this Dong Ding. The sweetness of the tea, balanced out the tarry nutty smoke. Then the creamy texture of the aged tobacco added dimension to the clean candy water at the end. What a bliss, and this combination made me feel complete and satisfied. Thanks again for ABx for his generosity.
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