Tong Tian Xiang Phoenix Mountain Dancong

My initial reaction to this one was just that my palate still has quite a bit of conditioning needed in order to comprehend the subtleties that others are describing. Having never tried a Dancong and only once before ever even tasting a dark oolong – Big Red Robe – that also left me feeling overmatched, I was set to merely finish out the ounce or so that came with this month’s order by enjoying the flavors for what they are and give up on trying to define them in a way that would warrant posting my thoughts here for others to read.

My wife and I are anxiously shopping for our first house and dealing with the ups and downs of balancing what we want, need, and can reasonably afford. As you can imagine or have experienced, this process can make for some trying times! After an afternoon of disappointing news from the realtor then followed by a surprisingly tasty effort at home-made carne asada tacos, I put my daughter to bed by reading a few pages of Ferdinand (about the length of her attention span) and then proceeded to doze off next to her unintentionally. When I woke up an hour later, it was too late to put on a pot of coffee so I decided to pitch the last 5 or 6 grams of Tong Tian Xiang Phoenix Mountain on the steep and make an effort at this week’s team assignment for my online classes.

And wouldn’t you know that when I stopped trying to focus so hard on what the tea was supposed to be, it stood up and demanded to be appreciated like a clingy toddler! The cacophony of flavor became distinctly layered weaves of dried apricot on the nose and what I can only imagine petrified wood might taste like on the lingering finish. Although not as comforting as other types of tea I’ve tried, in its own way it was very pleasant throughout the times I enjoyed it over the last two weeks but never more than tonight. As it is now all gone, I do look forward to trying other Dancongs in the future so I have something to compare it with and will save any ratings until then.

Hm, looks like I had this before, but never got around to writing a note for it. Anyway, better late than never, right? (Speaking of late, this is a backlog from a few days ago.)

I got this tea as a sample from an order from Verdant a while back. I already tried some a few months ago, I guess, but I don’t really remember it, heh. Anyway, I brewed this gongfu style, since I didn’t have very much of it left. I wrote some notes that I could make sense of and read back when I was writing it. Now it kind of looks like a gigantic jumble of scribbles on a small notepad. Time for some deciphering!

Dry leaf: Sweet, roasty-ish? Kind of reminds me of a lighter version of Big Red Robe or something.

Steep 1: Very mineral-y with a sparkling/light mouthfeel at the end. Sort of numbing on the tongue. Smell reminds me of my uncle’s house (my uncle is a huge tea lover).

Steep 2: Definitely still very mineral-y. Lightly fruity aftertaste that lingers in the throat/nose.

Steep 3: Mineral fades. Fruit notes more prominent. Kind of ‘juicy’, if that makes any sense?

I stopped taking notes after that, since I think I was lured away from my tea with the promise of chocolate peanut butter cookies made by my suitemates. :)

Many thanks to David, Weiwei, and the rest of Verdant Tea for such a delicious sample. I was initially greeted by jasmine. A nice surprise! But, then there was apricot, which combines well with the jasmine to add just a slight hint of vanilla. Touches of hard wood and honeysuckle ballances things out nicely, and crafts a very smooth and lingering aftertaste.

i’m the first reviewer, whoop de dee~

this tea is finnicky (which i understand is a common trait in dancong). out of all my infusions i had one (which i believe was the second one, not counting the rinse) that was not bitter at all and tasted mind-blowingly delicious, like toasty oranges. i have to be more careful with this tea but it’s ridiculously good.

Ahh! It’s been so long since I last logged a tasting note, mostly because I’ve been away lately. I have written several physical notes of some teas which I’ll be uploading in the coming days.

>Dry Leaf Appearance/Aroma
Large long twisted leaves, mostly unbroken, light brown in color with some leaves tinted with a yellowish green hue. Faint tangy citrusy aroma.

>Brewing Method
Small gaiwan, gong-fu style, boiling water, two rinses.

>Liquid Appearance
When viewed in large quantities, such as a glass server, the tea has a clear honey-like amber color. In smaller cups, it’s a beautiful golden color.

>Taste/Aroma
The first cup had a sweet tangy aroma. The tea was sweet and very accurately described by verdant tea, sparkling. I did not find this “sparklingness” similar to that of a wuyi rock oolong, but more of a feeling after drinking it. It’s hard to explain but it gives me a feeling of “brightening” up my body, if that even makes sense. I also found it to be a bit silky and with hints of citrus.

The second cup became thicker and notes of apricot began to surface. Third cup retained the basic flavor profile, but that thickness of the liquid became almost “juicy.” In the 4th cup, I noticed a strong apricot taste that started sweet and juicy, then finished with a slight dryness in the mouth.

The apricot hint and dryness were mostly gone in the 5th cup. Now the tea has a very pleasant thickness to it that fills your mouth with every sip and after a while, the taste lingers in your mouth well after you have put down the cup.

The 6th and 7th cup lost most of the thickness of the previous infusions and lost most of its aroma, but still very flavorful. While I ended my session there, this tea can very well take more rinses. I re-infused the leaves 2-3 more times but I did not write any notes about the taste, but I do remember the basic flavor profile remained there.

>Wet Leaf Appearance
Yellowish brown leaves, other than that, nothing out of the ordinary.

>Overall
If I had to summarize the taste/feeling of this tea, these words would be the perfect description: Sunny, Sparkling, Refreshing, Summer. I don’t know why, but this tea reminds me so much of summer. Maybe its the citrusy tangy taste, the juiciness and subtle apricot notes, who knows, but it’s definitely a very different experience from other oolongs.

little glass pitcher (grandpa style)

a strange tea ;)

when I smell the leaves dry, they smell floral

when I smell the leaves wet, they smell like wine and grapes

when I smell the brewed tea, it smells like wine and grapes

when I taste the brewed tea it tastes like wine and grapes too :)

many thanks to toad Thomas for this neat tea

This and the huang zhi xiang in Verdant’s latest club shipment have opened my eyes to dan congs, and I want to try lots and lots of them now. I think I once tried one I didn’t love and decided ‘dan cong bad.’ Duh. This one has a delightful woodsy sweetness, and I think the only reason it doesn’t go back on my wish list is that the huang zhi xiang knocked it off the list with its non-woodsy marmalade toast sweetness. Still, this is a really charming tea and still working on convincing me to keep it. Which I might.