Tea tastes can change. Even dramatically. My feelings about Dan Cong oolong are a great example. The first time I tried a Phoenix Dan Cong–many years ago now–I was not impressed. I don’t remember how I brewed it that time, so it’s hard to know whether my brewing technique and/or my palate have changed.
I am now a huge fan of Phoenix Dan Cong. I’ve learned to deeply appreciate this Chinese, twisted-leaf oolong from the Phoenix Mountains ( in Chinese, Fenghuangshan). The more common flavor notes among the different floral and spice notes in the varieties that I’ve tried so far are: minerality, hops, and a slight and beautiful bitterness (if brewed carefully). There’s always a lush fruity and/or floral aroma(s) as well. These leaves are so fragrant–despite not being blended or scented–that they are named for their floral and/or spice aromas.
I have deeper experience with a couple Dan Cong oolongs. The first is named misleadingly. I’ve loved Ya Shi Xiang, translated as “Duck Shit Aroma,” although it smells beautifully floral. There are lots of theories about why this tea is named this way. I’ve also had many beautiful sessions with Mi Lan Xiang (Honey Orchid Aroma). I even named one of my tea pet rabbits Mi Lan (shown in the nearby photo), in honor of this tea. 🐇
I’ve long wanted to explore a fuller range of Phoenix Dan Cong, so when Azenbor reached out and offered to send their “10 Aroma Tea Sampler Box,” and were happy with my review policy, I gladly accepted.
10 Aroma Dan Cong Sampler
As the name suggests, Azenbor’s 10 Aroma Tea Sampler Box contains 10 different Phoenix Dan Cong oolongs. The tea arrives packaged as loose leaf, with 7 grams of each selection.
The box includes, in alphabetical order by English name:
- Almond Fragrance (Xing Ren)
- Cinnamon Fragrance (Rou Gui)
- Ginger Flower Fragrance (Jiang Hua)
- Honey Orchid Fragrance (Mi Lan)
- Jasmine Fragrance (Mo Li)
- Magnolia Fragrance (Yu Lan)
- Night Blooming Fragrance (Ye Lai)
- Orchid Fragrance (Zhi Lan)
- Osmanthus Fragrance (Gui Hua)
- Yellow Gardenia Fragrance (Huang Zhi)
Benefits of This Phoenix Dan Cong Sampler
7 grams of tea is a generous amount of loose leaf to have one gongfu session for each of these teas. Azenbor recommends 5-7 grams per 120 ml teapot. I know from experience that when I’m drinking tea solo, that’s too much caffeine for me in one session. So, the 7 grams is perfect for me to prepare 3.5 grams of the tea twice. I’ll use one of my smaller–80-100 ml–gongfu teapots so I get a good leaf: water ratio.
The sheer number of teas–10–in this sampler box is wonderful! It allows you to get a good sense of the varieties of Phoenix Dan Cong.
What’s more, by including so many different varieties, this Azenbor sampler allows you to see which teas you might like to order more of to explore in more detail.
Preparing to Steep
I only do tea tasting when I have a lot of time and in the right mindset, so I haven’t torn through these Phoenix Dan Cong samples. I have, however, savored them!
To date, I’ve steeped (sometimes twice) the Huang Shi (Yellow Gardenia), Ye Lai (Evening Fragrance), Mi Lan (Honey Orchid), and Zhi Lan (Orchid Fragrance).
Here are some of my aromatic and tasting notes! I went back and forth between steeping in a Chaozhou clay teapot (from the area where Dan Cong is produced) and in glazed clay or porcelain teapots. Their outcomes are slightly different. I can never decide which I prefer.
My Tasting Notes
Each tea, below, had a minerality, a degree of hops, and a blend of sweet and bitter notes–the latter in the best sense, to keep it from being cloying and adding interest. I will mention the hops or bitter, at times, if it shows up in distinctive ways.
- Huang Shi (Yellow Gardenia): Warmed leaves exude a floral fragrance with other notes like hops, and touch of sweet corn. My flavor notes include: floral, touch of orange and roasted corn. I note the third infusion aroma smelled remarkably similar to a wildflower honey our family has been getting for years. (Yum!)
- Ye Lai (Night Blooming Fragrance): The warmed, dry leaves smell of berries and flowers. As my daughter. Clara, astutely noted, it was floral just like “the blooming camellia house” at our local arboretum. She dubbed this aroma “greenhouse core,” which made me chuckle. I also detected a slightly earthy/ woody note hiding out in the stacked aromas. The aroma is absolutely delightful. The flavor is amazing, too. The floral notes were well integrated into the flavor profile. I detected that floral and the flavor of fresh tomato vine in the second steep. Clara noted that mild and pleasant earthy flavor in the third steep. In her words “like the roots in the greenhouse.”
- Mi Lan (Honey Orchid): I already had substantial experience with Mi Lan Dan Cong. Azenbor’s did not disappoint! The dry leaf was floral and peachy. The wet leaves added a note of hops to the dry-leaf aromas. The tea flavor was a delightful tapestry of flowers, hops, and almond.
- Zhi Lan (Orchid): I wish I could remember the aroma of orchids. The orchids I grow at home don’t emit any fragrance. I was able to faintly smell an aromatic orchid at an orchid show, but with so many people and other plants, it didn’t imprint! So, although it might smell like orchid, the Zhi Lan Phoenix Dan Cong gave floral, peach, and almond extra aromas. The warmed leaves shared a fragrance of light marzipan, flowers, and tomato vine. The taste was sweet and simultaneously bitter, in a pleasant way. The tastes match the dry leaf aroma with a plum blossom flavor also showing up in the early steeps.
Exploring More Phoenix Dan Cong
This Phoenix Oolong 10 Aroma Tea Sampler Box from Azenbor has inspired me to continue exploring the varieties I am less familiar with, and maybe slip in more Mi Lan in my next order! I can’t wait to steep the others. I’ll be trying to decide which I might order in regular sizes to get to know better.
Do you have a favorite Phoenix Dan Cong variety? Do you prefer unglazed or clay for steeping your Dan Cong oolong? I’d love to know.