Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Dan Cong is the champagne of oolong tea: ripe with intense fruit and sweetness. The first time people taste this tea they are astonished by the arresting honey and floral notes – all completely natural. The tender leaves are thoroughly fermented and baked to produce a rich liquor bursting with peach, lychee, honey and orchid flavours. Grown on a plantation on the lower slopes of Wu Dong Mountain, Chao Zhou, this high-grade Chinese tea can be enjoyed through multiple infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I so adore this Mi Lan Dan Cong Oolong from Canton Tea Co.! It has a delightful honeyed flavor with notes of flower and lychee fruit.
The description above suggests notes of peach and yes, I definitely do taste peach but I also find myself tasting plum-y notes too. Like hints of sweet and sour from a ripe plum. I taste distinct floral notes – orchid! – and I love the way the orchid melds with the fruit notes and the sweet, honey taste.
The flavors all come together so smoothly – seamlessly. It’s sweet with the contrasting sour notes. It’s nicely round with very little astringency and no bitterness. Just very, very beautiful to sip.
Later infusions offered even smoother flavors – the sharpness of the Lychee notes have softened somewhat now and melded with the other fruit flavors, creating a sort of unique fruit taste that’s a little Lychee, a little peach and a little plum. I’m picking up on fewer sour notes now, just a hint here and there.
But the cup is still delightfully sweet and honey-esque.
I’d recommend this tea to any tea lover looking for an exceptional tea experience! This tea delivers!
Feng Huang Dan Cong Special Oolong Tea from Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Le Palais des Thés
Tea Description:
Feng Huang Dan Cong “Special” (Special Phoenix tea) comes from Guangdong province (Chao Zhou district) in China. The leaves, which are only fermented briefly, are generally very long (5 to 6 cm), and the liquor evokes fruity, floral and spicy notes.
This superior quality tea grows at a high altitude (1,500 metres), and pluckings are often reserved in advance by wealthy connoisseurs.
An exceptional tea with intense fruity, floral and spicy notes. Very rich and incredibly long in the mouth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I prepared this tea, I was impressed with how fragrant it is. The strong aroma of spiced fruit with notes of flower filled the kitchen. My mouth started watering because my taste buds were anticipating the luscious flavor of a Phoenix Oolong! Yes!
To prepare this “Special” Feng Huang Dan Cong, I used my gaiwan and measured a bamboo scoop of tea into the bowl of the vessel. I then added enough water to cover the leaves (heated to 180°F) and let the tea “rinse” for 15 seconds. I strained off the liquid and discarded it, and then I steeped the rinsed leaves for 45 seconds. With each subsequent infusion, I add 15 seconds. I combine the first and second infusions to make my first cup. My second cup is infusion three and four. And so on . . .
When I brew tea this way (gong fu), I find that my first cup is usually the softest in flavor because the leaves haven’t fully opened yet. But this first cup is quite strong in flavor! Sweet! Delicious! Fruity, floral with intriguing spicy notes. It’s so warm and beautiful – a perfect tea for this chilly autumn day.
The sip starts with a note of sweetness that isn’t immediately recognized, but after a moment or two my palate decides it tastes like honey. I notice fruit notes – stone fruits, like a cross between nectarine and plum – mingling with the honey flavor. Floral notes begin to weave their way in and out just before mid-sip. There is a delicate undertone of spice throughout the sip and by the time I reach the tail, the spice comes through for a strong finish.
The second cup is much smoother than the first. It’s stronger in flavor, but the flavors seem to be more mellowed out now. They are less focused, as if they’ve been softened around the edges. The honeyed notes meld harmoniously with the fruit and flower notes and the spice is still strongest at the tail.
Later infusions continued to mellow. The flavor still strong, I kept noticing a more unified flavor where the fruit and the flower became more of a seamless note, and the spice progressed softly and came on strong at the end. The honeyed notes became less distinct as they seemed to become part of the floral, fruity flavors rather than it’s own individual flavor.
This is a really beautiful tea that was a real treat to explore! I highly recommend it!
Green Dan Cong Oolong from Grand Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Grand Tea
Tea Description:
2014 Spring Limited Edition: Green Dan Cong
Green Dan Cong is unusual light oxidized (approx.8%) and incredibly floral. The taste of it reminds of high grade green tea which is refreshing, pure and sweet.
Because Green Dan Cong is so delicate and fresh, the best way to preserve the flowery aroma would be keep it air tight in the refrigerator.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! SO GOOD!
This Green Dan Cong Oolong from Grand Tea is the best Dan Cong Oolong that I can remember ever tasting. It’s so light and flavorful. As the description above suggests, the very light oxidation gives this tea a “high grade green tea” taste but it has a creamy, soft texture that you’d expect from a greener Oolong.
So sweet! The aroma is very floral and the taste has a strong flowery essence but I like that the sharper floral notes are somewhat softened by the aforementioned creamy notes. It has that light freshness of a green tea, vegetal without bitterness. It’s not really “grassy” but more like mild steamed veggies with a drizzle of butter.
This tea reminds me of spring, when everything starts to come to life again. The grass is growing, the leaves on the trees are budding and you can smell that freshness in the air. Flowers are beginning to bloom after a cold winter. The aromatic air of spring is what I smell when I smell the tea and that’s what I taste when I take a sip.
Later infusions were a little less creamy and softly flavored, I found that as I continued to infuse the leaves, more of the floral notes emerged – these are lovely! – and I could taste soft notes of fruit and the vegetal notes coming forward slightly. This never really becomes a strongly “vegetative” tasting Oolong. This is more ‘floral’ than anything, so for those of you who love a delightfully flowery Oolong – you’ve got to try this one!
The dry leaf reminds me of a green tea more than it does an Oolong because when it comes to “green” Oolongs, I have come to expect a tightly wound pellet. These leaves look a little more like a Chinese Sencha leaf, but the leaves are deeper and darker in color. They have a strong floral fragrance with notes of grass.
I brewed this tea in my gaiwan. First I steeped the leaves for about 15 seconds to “rinse” them. Then I strained the liquid and discarded it. Then I steeped for 45 seconds for the first infusion and added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. This tea holds up through multiple infusions quite well, and I got eight very flavorful infusions from one measurement of leaves.
A truly pleasurable experience, this Green Dan Cong. If you love Oolong tea – this one should be on your must try list, if for no other reason than that it’s quite unique from any other Oolong that I’ve tried. Every tea lover should be trying this tea!
2014 Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong Oolong Tea from Grand Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Grand Tea
Tea Description:
Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong Limited Stock Dan Cong is family of stripe-style oolong teas from Guangdong Province. Dancong teas are noted for their ability to naturally imitate the flavors and fragrances of various flowers and fruits, such as orange blossom, orchid, grapefruit, almond, ginger flower, etc. This particular Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong oolong has a lovely aroma and a sweetness reminds of honey.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s Oolong time! Oh, happy day, today I’m drinking this delightful Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong Oolong Tea from Grand Tea that was harvested in 2014. It’s fresh and it is really good.
Really good!
It’s sweet! And just as the description above suggests, it is very reminiscent of a honey-like sweetness. I taste notes of fruit – a slightly under-ripe plum that’s both sweet and just a little sour. There’s a hint of grapefruit, I taste that tangy note from grapefruit as well as just a hint of the bitterness that I’d taste from the citrus fruit. I am also noticing a woodsy tone that continues to develop as I sip this first cup (infusions 1 and 2 following a 15 second rinse.)
The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) offered stronger fruit notes – I can really taste the grapefruit note this time! It’s a bright note, complex with notes that are tart and sweet. I find that the aforementioned plum note is maybe less prominent, allowing for the notes of the grapefruit to shine through. Lots of sweet honey taste and I taste less of the woodsy tone that I noticed with the last cup. This cup is all about sweet honey and fruit!
Later infusions produced a more unified taste. The honey notes became smoother and softer, while the tangy notes of fruit became more subdued, allowing for the sweetness of the fruit and some notes of flower to emerge.
I really enjoyed this tea. Yes, this Dan Cong Oolong would be welcome in my teacup anytime!
Guang Dong Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Phoenix Dan Cong is a famous Tie Guan Yin from Guangdong Province. The tea has a high aroma with a different taste between the first sip and aftertaste. Along with the fragrance of sweet potato, an aroma of litchi will also be felt from the liquid. Be aware of the infusion of this tea. If you use gai wan, remember to quickly pour the liquid into your pitcher, instead of a long time’s infusion. A shorter time for the first brew will bring a more wonderful taste because the fruity aroma is stronger by now.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
So good! I’m really glad that I read the website’s description of this Guang Dong Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea from Teavivre (the description above!) before I steeped this. I took extra care to only steep the first infusion for 30 seconds rather than the usual 45 seconds (I add 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion), because this ended up tasting amazing with just 30 seconds infusion time!
It has a strong litchi (or lychee) fruit taste to it. In fact, had I not known this was a pure (unflavored) tea, I would think it was a lychee scented Oolong. The fruit flavor is really quite profound! I am also getting the sweet potato notes that the description suggests – not just in the aroma but in the flavor – a note that is especially distinguishable in the aftertaste. This is a very flavorful Oolong.
It has a pleasant, silky texture to it with a mild astringency. There are some woodsy notes to this tea as well as the fruit notes. I am surprised at just how flavorful this first cup (infusions 1 and 2) is. I find myself looking forward to my next set of infusions!
The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) to be sweet and very flavorful. I am noticing more of the aforementioned “woodsy” notes in this cup than I tasted in the first. The litchi notes are still quite profound here. I notice fewer of the sweet potato notes in the taste and aftertaste. This cup is a little less “silky” feeling. It has a dryer finish than the first cup.
With my third cup (infusions 5 and 6), I found the flavors beginning to soften and become more unified. The flavors here are less sharp and focused, but, there is something quite lovely about the way they all come together. It is still sweet, fruit-like, and delicious. In fact, this may be my favorite of the three cups because it is much more relaxed.
This is a unique Oolong – quite different from any other that I’ve tried … or at least, any that come to immediate memory! I can’t recall a pure Oolong tasting so distinctly of litchi. It’s rather remarkable and I enjoyed it.