Oooooooh man. Now this is what I think about when I hear the words “Dan Cong”. The flavor is tart, slightly nutty, sweet, and with an added dash of butter. It tastes more like an aged Dan Cong than a young ‘un, probably the result of using old growth trees for the batch. Not quite up there with the aged Dan Congs I’ve tried, but pretty darn close.
Xing Ren Dan Cong (Almond)
In Gonghou village, the tea farmer Lin Songzhu (pictured above) is famed for his expert tea-making skills. His Dan Cong teas are rare, skilfully made and very, very special. We are delighted to have two of his teas this year (this Dan Cong and the Jiang Hua Ginger Flower Dan Cong).
Lin Songzhu carefully selects the right trees on his plantation for this tea – they must be Ju Duo Zai trees around 80 years old. This selection of leaves, alongside his expert and dedicated processing methods ensure the best flavour. The farmer stays up all night to process the tea so that it receives just the right level of oxidation to bring out the natural almond flavour – not an easy process, it can only be done by the most skilful tea makers.
The higher altitude the tea trees grow at, the smaller and thinner the Dan Cong leaves – hence why these leaves are quite tightly twisted. Even after several infusions in a gaiwan the leaves will still be quite twisted – a sign of a high mountain tea processed with extreme skill.
