HE LI

This teas was part of a sample set of Dancongs I got on aliexpress after really enjoying my first one (an Osmanthus Dancong). I was hoping it might help me get an idea of what Dancings I prefer. So far I have the Osmanthus I love and a honey orchid which is OK but that I prefer to brew western style.

The name of this one is a little off putting , but there is an explanation of it here https://www.peonyts.com/what-is-phoenix-dancong-xing-ren-xiang/ and no, it does not smell or taste like its name. For English speaking markets it is often called Black Leaf Dancong. I’m glad I got this sample because the first few steeps are quite good and interesting and afterwords it tastes very similar to a Tieguanyin with slightly different spice notes.

I followed a sellers recommended temperature and brewing times of >95°C for 20s and probably used about 3-3.5 g of leaves so that they loosely covered the bottom of my 150ml Gaiwan.

The dry leaves of this tea are large bars of forest green to dark almost black green. The scent is a very clean, green floral with a hint f orange. It is very fresh, clean scent.

The broth is a hay toned yellow,

The scent is of a soft fruit and floral like some rolled green Oolong’s. There is magnolia, a hint of cinnamon, peach and a touch of orange juice. A soft floral is the dominant sent.
20s after rinse.
Magnolia, light mineral tone, orange juice, hint of cream, fairly dense mouthfeel, sweet underneath like it has a tinge of cane sugar.. Aftertaste of magnolia and oranges. becomes sweeter as it cools the orange also gets this orangina like tang that seems tinged with ginger.
15s. Magnolia with spice, hint of honey cream and orange.
Slightly sweeter than last steep, honeyed orange with a tint of peach meld into magnolia flavour which is less distinct. Very creamy. hint of woodiness, mixed with cooked spinach. The sweet orangey, floral scent is dominant and finishes in fresh ginger.
Gradually develops a warming feeling at the top and back of the mouth.

20s. Cream magnolia spice,orange
Creamy texture and taste orange tone to the forefront, with ginger, fading magnolia, honey, with spinach woody tone underneath very faintly. Flavour still quite rich at short steep.

30 s cream , strong orange, mineral notes, spinach, finishing with ginger.

40s very much like tgy soft gardenia/magnolia, cream spicy tones from fading orange ginger, light spinach, mineral notes and a touch of form. Still ginger in the aftertaste

60s cream honey magnolia, ginger spice and faint tinge of fresh orange rind. The tea still has a nice body.

90s more gardenia than magnolia, floral spice with a bit of nutmeg, cream, hint o sweetness, mineral tones and spinach.

140s. Similar

240 fading remnants of spice and floral, and vegetal notes.

I really liked the first few steeps of this tea, enough that I would like to try more of it and would even consider purchasing this one. I’m glad I picked up the sampler or I would have never tried it.