Brewing Dan Cong oolongs.
I’ve noticed that I find dan cong oolongs really tricky to brew well. There’s always so much aroma and texture in the leaf, both wet and dry, that I know there is an amazing tea in there — I just can’t steep it out.
Is this just me, or do others find dan congs challenging as well? Any tips or suggestions?
Honestly, it’s a delightful problem to have – maybe I should declare this to be the Year of Dan Cong, and really get into this tea.
So far I find it really varies from tea to tea. Sometimes I use my normal parameters for Oolong’s but there are others that ?I have had that require much more leaf and very short steep times. Here’s some sources.
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.ca/2008/01/how-to-brew-dan-cong.html
http://www.kyarazen.com/chaozhou-gongfu-tea/
There are links to other brewing methods at the bottom of the other link.
I had a Dancong today (Phoenix Dancong – Rishi Tea) but I couldn’t seem to pick out the floral, nectarine notes it’s supposed to have. It’s also the same thing about my Dancong from The Finest Brew. I can appreciate the links above but I just don’t have any bamboo charcoal to change the PH of the water. I’m wondering if there’s anything else I can do….
I found with the finest brew that I had to significantly overleaf it compared to my other Dancong to get the fruit to come out and then I basically flash steeped it.
They can be tricky, but personally I’ve found a short steeping time and a temperature that’s well below boiling seems to do the trick for me. I have a couple of dancongs that are just so easy going and it takes nothing to produce the flowery, fruity flavor it is supposed to have. They are both Milan Dancongs, one is rated AA and the other AAA.
I had Dancong from the Finest Brew today and used the Gong fu method but chose their high temperature they recommended. I just wasn’t very happy about it. I’m beginning to think I just don’t like DanCongs.
Ubacat – that might be true :) But in my experience there is a huge difference between the average kind and the high end expensive ones.
I thought the one from The Finest Brew was supposed to be a high end one. I am stuck with loads of it too! It sounded so good on the sale.
Ubacat, if you brew in a gaiwan, about 7-8g is perfect to really get the taste out. This is how much I put in earlier, hopefully might help you measure – http://imgur.com/K6p77In (This one was a 2011, so it was super smoky)
Also, after boiling the water (filtered) leave it to cool for about 2 minutes before you pour. After a good rinse of 10secs, a second steep of 15-20secs should bring in some of the taste notes whilst later brews will bring in more with the leaves opening up well. Experiment with your brewing time for later steeps, I’m sure you will love it.
I love aged Dan Cong and wouldn’t want you or anyone to give up on it, let alone after a limited batch we sourced. So I hope I was of some help to you
I’m definitely trying with this tea! Thanks for your help on the brewing. I think the most I used was 5g of tea which seemed like a lot for a little 70ml gaiwan. I’ll give it another try following your directions very closly.
I am still struggling with this tea. It just doesn’t show well. Not even well enough for me to think it’s worth taking the time to review. Nor so badly that I think it’s worth taking time to review, so that’s something.
I think I am going to try a really heavy leaf next. 1g per 10 ml.
It could be the tea that’s causing the problem. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s sold as Dan Cong that isn’t REALLY Dan Cong. A big indicator for me is when they only call it Dan Cong or Phoenix Oolong without giving the “fragrance”. My all time favorite is this Huang Zhi Xiang from Seven Cups:
https://sevencups.com/shop/huang-zhi-xiang-yellow-sprig/
Notice how they detail about as much as you’d ever want to know about the tea and where it came from? I brew 8 grams in an yixing for 30 seconds with boiling water and it tastes amazing. The fragrance comes out even more when brewed in a gaiwan.
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