Honey Fragrance Phoenix Mountain Oolong

Thanks to Lindsay for this yummy tea!

I finally got around to trying it this morning. When I drink new oolongs, I like to be in a quiet place where I can focus on the tea. This has not been possible for a long while. :( But today! No obligations until afternoon and husband out for a 12 mile run (in 16 F weather!). I have plenty of time to savor a new oolong.

I opened the pouch and it smelled like honeyed leaves and sweet fruity nectar. Yum. The directions called for near boiling water, which I usually don’t do for oolongs. But I went ahead and followed directions. It’s always good to see how the tea sellers think the tea should taste.

The first steep yielded a lovely cup. The taste was lightly honey and more heavily leaf. Like an autumn forest. It’s not as smooth and syrupy as I’m used to for Honey Fragrance oolongs, probably because of that stronger roasty quality.

The second steep was more to expectation. Syrupy sweet with a supporting autumny background. It’s still roasty. The flavor is not so complex as others I’ve tried. This is more straight forward, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but not so interesting. The Honey Phoenix from Canton Tea, for example, had more lychee fruit and ripe peaches going on, while this one is more just honey and autumn.

In the following steeps, the honey flavor decreases and the roasty autumn leaf aroma becomes stronger. Very pleasant and relaxing.

While this is not my favorite Honey fragrance dancong, it is still pretty good. I normally don’t like dark oolongs, but dancongs are an exception. I’ve been focused on the honey fragrance ones, but I want to branch out and try different fragrances. I’m especially interested in the almond variety.

This oolong also has a bit of a caffeine kick. I’d say medium buzz. One more infusion and I’ll stick with caffeine free stuff for the rest of the day. :) And while I’ve still got some quiet time, I think I’ll curl up under the covers with a book and a puppy or two.

omigod I made this exacting to the instructions set out by the steeping instructions. It smells crazy! There are roasted, honey notes that are very surprising for the 30sec. steep time. I’m really surprised because my last dan cong did not really smell quite like this; I’m starting it might be the steeping instructions? The liquor itself is very light, almost as clear as white tea.
Mmmm this tea is excellent! I was expecting it to be more harsh. But it was very light, very slightly roasty, and lots of honey. There is a very light amount of floral flavor at the back end of this sip that is really awesome. I am a convert to dan cong now. :p
edit
drool as this cools another flavor stands out. It has this almost lychee flavor! The stark clean flavor of lychee is what I’m noticing. I would recommend this one!

So I was curious about Asha’s teas after reading some of the high praise its Pure Heart Alishan Oolong has received here recently. When I found out they were doing a Fall promotion and free shipping, I went to have a look at the offerings. I was definitely curious to try a sample of the Alishan, and also saw that they had this honey scent Phoenix Mountain oolong. The samples were pretty minimal in terms of cost, so I decided it couldn’t hurt to try out some of Asha’s teas.

I made a half ounce order of the Alishan and a one ounce order of their Phoenix Mountain. Order placed on Wednesday and received today (Saturday). Pretty nice for service! And my order included an extra ten gram sample of thier Yunnan Golden Buds tea, which looks and smells quite good. On the service side, my only issue with Asha is that I think their website is not user-friendly and could stand to be improved quite a bit.

So right now, I’m drinking the Phoenix Mountain oolong gongfu style, and am brewing up infusion five or six in my gaiwan at the moment. For this kind of tea, I have the reference point of the sample I recently tried from Goldfish Tea. I was quite impressed with that one, and wanted to gain more perspective on it by trying other Phoenix Mountain oolongs. Overall, I think Asha’s is good, but that I found the one from Goldfish more enjoyable.

Comparing the two, I would say that Asha’s has a richer body, with a mouth-feel that is somewhat syrupy. The fragrance and flavor of this one are stronger, but not necessarily better. There’s definitely a familiarity between the two, as they are basically the same kind of tea; but I somehow feel that this one is lacking a number of the refinements that I experienced in the sample from Goldfish. The one from Goldfish definitely tasted sweeter, and had a softness to it that I found exceedingly pleasant. Asha’s tastes a little blunt by comparison, and doesn’t rise to the high sweet notes that I so much enjoyed in the Goldfish sample. The aftertaste here isn’t as interesting either.

That said, I do like this tea and think that it’s certainly worth drinking. I’ll finish this one before I try ordering yet another Phoenix Mountain oolong to round out my perspective. Though for the time being it’s making me miss and more deeply appreciate the first Phoenix Mountain oolong that I tried. If after a third attempt from a different vendor, the offering from Goldfish Tea still wins out, I may have to revise my rating of that one up.

To be fair, this Phoenix Mountain oolong from Asha Tea is half the price of the one from Goldfish, so I have to imagine a qualitative difference does exist between the two. For the price, Asha’s is good, but it’s not the best I’ve tried.

Striking aroma from the leaves after first brewed, so sweet! Its very true to its name, wonderful honey floral taste almost like a honeysuckle, just a little hint of oxidation, smooth with a good heaviness on the tongue due to the astringency. I got to sample this with BTVSgal and was very sad upon learning it’s no longer for sale.

So this was another sample that David sent me last week along with the King’s Tea oolong sample. The dry leaf smells sweet..and faintly honey like. I warmed my gaiwan and put a tablespoon of tea. I followed instructions and did a steep of 30 seconds. I smelled the wet leaf….HOLY CRAP!!!! Amazing, just amazing. I was so intoxicated by the smell that I forgot there was something to drink right beside it. I wish I could make a candle out of this. It was like sweet melon and honeysuckle. I went to taste the liquor and it was sweet and honey like on the top of my mouth. I waited a bit before I took the next sip. The melon hit the back of my mouth…WOW.
Asha Tea House does not disappoint. I’m so glad I have been ordering from David. He has a great selection of oolong as well as great customer service. I was happy that I did not wait too long to order again from him, since this is now sold out. Although this is the second order in two and half weeks….lol. My apartment complex thinks I’m into some shady stuff since I have boxes coming almost every week. Between Steepster select and Asha I have a nice supply. I little too much tea. My DavidsTea, Samovar, and Teavana tea has been taking a back seat.

The sample that he gave be was big enough to have 3 good tastings. I’m writing this after the second tasting. Still the same experience as the first time I had it. This would impress my mom who is a coffee person. :)