Dong Ding takes its name from the mountain it grows on, in Nantou County in the central highlands of Taiwan, and its Chinese name translates roughly to "frozen peak" — a nod to the cold high-altitude ground where the plants were first grown. The tea traces back to the 19th century, when a scholar named Lin Feng Chi returned from studying in China's Fujian province with twenty tea plants, which he set into the mountain's fertile soil. He also worked out the withering, rolling and roasting process that gave the leaf its dense, fragrant character, and Taiwanese farmers have followed roughly the same method since.
Making it starts with plucking a bud and two or three young leaves by hand. The leaves wither in the sun, then move indoors, where oxidation begins. Shaking and bruising the leaves in bamboo baskets ruptures the cell walls and pushes oxidation further, typically to somewhere between 15 and 30 percent, putting Dong Ding between green and black tea in style. Pan-firing halts the oxidation while preserving the fruity, floral notes underneath, and the leaves are then rolled into tight little balls, which locks in aroma and shapes how the tea unfolds over multiple steeps. A slow, low-heat drying keeps the aroma stable and the leaf structure firm, and some batches get a further charcoal roast for extra depth and less bitterness.
In the cup, expect roasted, nutty notes running alongside a sweeter, floral thread — orchid in particular — with a smooth, full body and hints of stone fruit and honey. Later steeps tend to soften into more cream and floweriness as the rolled leaves continue to open.
Tea & Coffee recommends water around 85–95°C, using about a teaspoon of leaf per 200ml, with a first steep of two to three minutes; Teatico's own reference point is 85°C for 150 seconds per 200ml. Because the leaves are rolled rather than fully broken, Dong Ding takes well to multiple infusions, each one drawing out a slightly different layer of flavour — steep it a few more seconds each round. Caffeine sits in the medium range, somewhere around 30–50mg per 200ml cup, and it keeps for up to two years if stored cool, dark and sealed away from other smells.
