Dong Ding Oolong Tea

Posted on August 25, 2018 by vanbraman

Tonight I tried the Dong Ding Oolong Tea that I brought home from Australia.

T2, Tea, Macquarie Shopping Centre, North Ryde, Australia, Oolong TeaI bought the tea at T2 in the Macquarie Shopping Centre. I really like this store, especially the colorful wall of tea. They have a very wide range of teas and I was able to get samples of several of them to try during my stay.

T2 has some stores in the United States mostly on the East Coast, but they may be opening a store in Sacramento later this year.

Saturday Tea, Tea Towl, T2, Dong Ding OolongThe Dong Ding Oolong is from their high end line of teas and came in a special tin. Actually the tin was one of the reasons that I bought the tea 🙂

Dong Ding Oolong, Rolled tea leaves, Oolong, Taiwan TeaDong Ding Oolong tea comes from Taiwan and is named for the mountain where it is grown. It is also known as Frozen Summit or Icy Peak.

Above you see the rolled leaves that are typical of Oolong tea.

Tea, Steeping, Dong Ding Oolong, InfuserHere you can see that the tea leaves have unrolled as they steep. The final stage of preparing Dong Ding is a firing to set the oxidation level. In this case it gives it a nice toasty flavor.

Golden Tea Color, Oolong Tea, Dong Ding Oolong, Icy PeakThe tea has a nice golden color and a nice aroma. The tea has a nice mouth feel and is a bit sweet. There is no need to add sweeteners to this tea. The finish is smooth with no sharp or bitter edge. There is a bit of an aftertaste, but it is a pleasant one.

T2 does not list the oxidation level, but Dong Ding is typically between 15-30%. I believe that theirs is on the higher end of the range. I do not have enough experience to make an estimate 🙂

In any case, this is a very nice tea and I really enjoyed it tonight. It was a nice after dinner treat.

Steven

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Old Cars and Trucks

Posted on August 24, 2018 by vanbraman

Tonight I was going through some old family pictures and a few caught my eye that had something in common. They all had an old car or truck in them. So here are some Old Cars and Trucks.

Old Car, Wedding Day, Model TI will start with a picture of newlyweds in front of a Model T.

Alice and Harry were married in 1927. Alice was a cousin of my great-grandmother Pearl.

Family Picture, Old Car, Touring Car, IowaHere is my Great-Grandmother Pearl with her kids. The picture was taken in the 1930’s. I think you can easily tell which one is my Grandma Mary 🙂

Serviceman, Uncle, 1945, IowaThis is my Great Uncle Joe. It looks like the date is 1945 so he may have just returned from Europe. He served in North Africa and Italy and was a Purple Heart recipient.

Old Truck, Grapes of Wrath, Iowa, Farm TruckWhen I first saw this picture if made me think of The Grapes of Wrath. However, it was taken in Iowa and is of my Great Uncle Bill, his wife Mildred and infant daughter Roberta. I think the little girl may be my Grandma. Update: I talked to my Mother and the little girl is a cousin named Iva LeJean.

Old Truck, Iowa, Family GroupThis picture was taken a few years later. Here Uncle Bill, Mildred and Roberta are joined by my Great Uncle Perry and my Great Grandpa William.

Cars and trucks make good backdrops for pictures 🙂

Steven

Posted in Culture, Family History, Memories, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment