Thanks to Teabento for providing this sample. I really enjoy dan congs, though I don’t have much experience with them. Due to some over-enthusiastic pouring into a damp teapot, I steeped about 4-5 g of this in 120 ml of water. I kept the temperature around 205F and followed Teabento’s instructions for gongfu brewing: 15, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 120, and 180 seconds.
True to the name of this tea, honey and florals are the dominant flavours in the first steep, backed up by stonefruit, citrus, and grains. The roast doesn’t seem to be obtrusive, though it’s not soapy or way too flowery like some other dan congs I’ve had. I oversteeped the second brew by a couple seconds and it ended up being dry, meaning that this tea isn’t too forgiving. Still, the honey, orchid, citrus, and malty notes come through.
From the third steep onwards, there’s more maltiness and roasted character, though the other flavours are still very much present. I can even understand how Teabento can describe this as woody or mossy. The aftertaste is long and fruity and a lovely aroma persists in the cup. The tea remains pretty consistent until the final steep.
This was an excellent dan cong. I can only hope that the other dan cong samples I’ve been accumulating since 2015 are aging as gracefully.
Flavors: Citrus, Grain, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orchid, Roasted, Stonefruit, Wood
