Thanks so much to Scott for sending a sample of this my way along with the hand written brewing instructions! :)
I really enjoyed trying this one. I did notice how the dried leaves even smelled so aromatic in the bag. I was trying to not too be too stingy with the leaf so I used about 3 tsp in the gaiwan with around 180 F water. I’ve been keeping my steeps short, around 30 – 60 seconds.
I am getting delicious peachy-plum notes with some charcoal essence. This tea is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be (although not cloyingly so). The sweetness reminds me a bit of blackstrap molasses in the finish, kind of dark and tangy. Or perhaps a bit of caramelized sugar.
Around the third steep it is turning into more honey like notes and has the loveliest fragrance wafting in the air. This is really much better than I thought it would be. Really a treat!
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I love dan congs – they are by far my favorite oolongs. Sounds like you got a good one!
Can you recommend some others that you like?
I’m really glad you liked it, and I’m not sure I got thr charcoal, but that is what makes reviewing interesting! I really liked this Dan Cong:
http://www.teaspring.com/Feng-Huang-Dan-Cong.asp
I posted a review their on 5/18/2008. The newercrop may be a different experience, but it looks the same as the 2008 lot. I think it was a higher grade, than Uptons, or maybe a better lot. My experience was that it was slightly more astringent than Upton’s, so if you don’t want that keep steep times around 30 seconds. :))
thanks Scott!
I haven’t tried many, but I like the Dan Cong from thepuriTea. It is very fruity (peach/apricot fruity) and has this lingering aftertaste that is apparently characteristic of good Dan Congs (the Tea Trekker website told me that, anyway!).
The only thing is, it was really expensive for my budget (even though it’s not a bad price at all – I’m just a broke student!) and it frustrated me that there were no additional details on the specific varietal. But they offer a sample size for a relatively nice price, so if you ever order anything from them it might be incentive to add that too…
Peach is the main fruit I get from both Dan Congs I’ve tried, but the one from teaspring allowed for one or two additional steeps if my memory is correct. :))
I love dan congs – they are by far my favorite oolongs. Sounds like you got a good one!
Can you recommend some others that you like?
I’m really glad you liked it, and I’m not sure I got thr charcoal, but that is what makes reviewing interesting! I really liked this Dan Cong:
http://www.teaspring.com/Feng-Huang-Dan-Cong.asp
I posted a review their on 5/18/2008. The newercrop may be a different experience, but it looks the same as the 2008 lot. I think it was a higher grade, than Uptons, or maybe a better lot. My experience was that it was slightly more astringent than Upton’s, so if you don’t want that keep steep times around 30 seconds. :))
thanks Scott!
I haven’t tried many, but I like the Dan Cong from thepuriTea. It is very fruity (peach/apricot fruity) and has this lingering aftertaste that is apparently characteristic of good Dan Congs (the Tea Trekker website told me that, anyway!).
The only thing is, it was really expensive for my budget (even though it’s not a bad price at all – I’m just a broke student!) and it frustrated me that there were no additional details on the specific varietal. But they offer a sample size for a relatively nice price, so if you ever order anything from them it might be incentive to add that too…
Peach is the main fruit I get from both Dan Congs I’ve tried, but the one from teaspring allowed for one or two additional steeps if my memory is correct. :))