Reading others reviews makes me even more sad that I apparently cannot appreciate this variety of Dancong. I had a Mi Lan Xiang from Chicago Tea Garden and got the same grey clay taste with a slight astringency, even though I am doing very short steeps. No honey or orchid to speak of, maybe a tad bit of grapefruit (based soley on the fact that I don’t like grapefruit) and I didn’t even get much aroma from it. I’m not sick, my water is nicely filtered and my teaware was properly cleaned and rinsed with boiling water prior to use so no residue or oders. It is a little better after the third steep, but gets weak by the sixth. This and CTG’s both to have a nice sweetness that lingers on the tongue once swallowed but its getting to that point that’s the issue. I have not completely given up hope, I have a pitcher of this cold brewing in the fridge after reading Verdant’s newest newsletter. Here’s hoping I find more to appreciate.
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I’m not sure that dan congs are for me either, but darn it I’m going to keep trying for a while yet! I like them more than most straight blacks… which is something, at least!
yeah I’ve been having dan cong “issues” as well…
See I like Verdant’s other two dancongs better, especially the Huang Xhi Xiang. The cold brew is very interesting. Lots of honey, like woah and more floral but unfortunately there’s this really wierd astringency that brings up the unfortunate association of Cold Eezze and the horrible drying thing it does to the mouth. Grrr.
Not sure if it will help or if you have tried, but you may wanna back your water temp down to around 190°F and steep a tad longer (non-gongfu). I’ll usually give it about 2min30sec on first steeping, after washing the leaves. This might help noticeable astringency problems. It’s certainly worth working through such issues!
Thank you I will certainly give it a try!
I’m not sure that dan congs are for me either, but darn it I’m going to keep trying for a while yet! I like them more than most straight blacks… which is something, at least!
yeah I’ve been having dan cong “issues” as well…
See I like Verdant’s other two dancongs better, especially the Huang Xhi Xiang. The cold brew is very interesting. Lots of honey, like woah and more floral but unfortunately there’s this really wierd astringency that brings up the unfortunate association of Cold Eezze and the horrible drying thing it does to the mouth. Grrr.
Not sure if it will help or if you have tried, but you may wanna back your water temp down to around 190°F and steep a tad longer (non-gongfu). I’ll usually give it about 2min30sec on first steeping, after washing the leaves. This might help noticeable astringency problems. It’s certainly worth working through such issues!
Thank you I will certainly give it a try!