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Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge February 2022: A tea paired to a favorite fairy tale – “The Ugly Duckling” – 2021 Spring Harvest

Ok, this isn’t technically a sipdown, but I couldn’t resist. Also, on a tangent – I’ve had the misfortune of actually having tasted duck poop (advice: don’t scare the ducks into flight, and if you do then don’t immediately stick the lollipop you were holding into your mouth). I’m glad to say this tea tastes nothing like that avian pond sludge.

Aroma: Butter, Butterscotch, Ice Cream Waffle Cone, something Earthy and Roasted akin to Mocha (dark chocolate and heavy roast coffee beans).

The aroma is pretty spot on in alluding to the taste. There is a charming violet cream (Tieguanyin-like) flavour. The earthy mocha turns out to be kind of bitter and very much unsweetened, but tones down as the cup cools. There’s a note of metallic astringency that puts me in mind of an acidic wine (red, for sure). Something fruity-floral sweet and light emerges too (longan or lychee-ish, honeysuckle). Second steep keeps the violets and the earthy roast, albeit on a gentler scale, but introduces a very strong fruit salad cup (honeydew, mixed berries, pomelo). Third steep is kind of creamy, with familiar oolong notes (floral, veg). I’ll need to do a gongfu session for this sometime soon.

I don’t completely love it, but it’s interesting and makes me want to explore Dan Cong varieties. I’d previously written off these guys early on in my tea journey (roasted flowers were a nope at the time), but this has as much “butter” as some milk oolong and that interests me greatly (ever in search of “the great butter”)! If anyone has recommendations or favourites (doesn’t need to be buttery), drop me a line.

Steep Count: 3