Dong Ding

Dong Ding — literally "Frozen Summit" — is a classic Taiwanese high-mountain oolong tea named after the mountain in Nantou County where it was first developed in the nineteenth century. The leaves come from tea bushes grown above 600 metres on the slopes of the central mountain range, where cool mist, well-drained red soil, and wide day-night temperature differences slow the leaf growth and concentrate the aromatic oils. The classic cultivar is Qing Xin (Green Heart), processed by partial oxidation (around 35-50 percent) followed by a careful ball-rolling step that gives the dry leaf its distinctive tight, twisted pellet shape.

The processing is a craft passed down within family tea factories: withering in sun and indoor racks, gentle tossing to bruise the edges, partial oxidation, kill-green in a hot wok, ball-rolling by hand to shape the pellets, and a long charcoal or electric drying that brings out a lingering floral fragrance. The brewed liquor is pale gold to amber, with aromas of gardenia, ripe stone fruit, and a creamy buttery note, finishing on a clean, sweet aftertaste. Aficionados brew it gongfu-style in a small porcelain gaiwan, using boiling water and very short infusions.

Today Dong Ding is grown throughout the Lugu, Shanlinxi, and Alishan regions of central Taiwan and is sold direct from family farms in Nantou and Taipei's tea markets. Tea houses in Taipei (Maokong, Yongkang Street), Taichung, and Tainan pour it from clay teapots, and it is exported to Japan, the United States, and Europe as one of Taiwan's premium teas. It is the everyday premium oolong in Taiwanese tea culture, often paired with light Taiwanese snacks such as pineapple cake, sun cakes, and a bowl of braised pork rice.