97

Finished off my sample pack the other day and this is easily the best Mi Lan Xiang I’ve had so far. It’s thick, nectary, and intensely peachy. It needs lots of leaf and flash steeps to express itself and tastes best when the infusions are compounded.

I steeped 5g of tea in a 150ml gaiwan. Following a rinse, I did a 10s steep at near boiling followed by two flash infusions. The three steeps were combined in a cha hai. Sniffing the wet leaf, I get yummy aromas of honey and roasted peaches. The taste is very much true to the smell. In the mouth, I taste juicy peaches, saffron, and a touch of minerality. This is rounded out by luscious honeyed florals in the finish with a prominent note of rose.

I lost count of the number of infusions I brewed, probably around 10 or so and later cold steeped the half spent leaves. The flavor dropped a bit after the initial steeps but the tea held up remarkably well. Cold brewing coaxes out even more subtleties in texture and flavor. The taste becomes softer and allows other flavor notes to come through including apple, white grape, and jasmine. Some might say cold brewing a reserve tea is a waste, but it may just be my favorite way.

This was a very nice dan cong and a step up from the mid-grade stuff I’ve been drinking before. However, I’m reluctant to buy more because it’s quite pricey. I plan to check out YS for something similar at a lower price point.

Flavors: Apple, Floral, Honey, Jasmine, Peach, Rose, Saffron, White Grapes

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML
Rasseru

Try the AAA from jing tea shop, its my fave and others regard it well compared to the AA. I adore it so much.

Not sure how the Lao Cong from YS tastes, but the others are behind jings in terms of baked fruity honey orchid yums (oh a slight salty mineral sprinkled on top) < really really good

LuckyMe

Thanks, I’ve jing’s on my radar for a while, just haven’t gotten around to planning an order yet. The really good mi lan xiangs are sublime, but they don’t come cheap

Rasseru

no I know. I’m waiting for some zong zhong from jing (turning up tomorrow!) And my yearly restock of the Mi Lan. I’ve bought it every year its my go-to for the honey orchid thing. Their Yashii is superb as well as Ba Xian (especially the lao cong ones, you can notice the difference)

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Rasseru

Try the AAA from jing tea shop, its my fave and others regard it well compared to the AA. I adore it so much.

Not sure how the Lao Cong from YS tastes, but the others are behind jings in terms of baked fruity honey orchid yums (oh a slight salty mineral sprinkled on top) < really really good

LuckyMe

Thanks, I’ve jing’s on my radar for a while, just haven’t gotten around to planning an order yet. The really good mi lan xiangs are sublime, but they don’t come cheap

Rasseru

no I know. I’m waiting for some zong zhong from jing (turning up tomorrow!) And my yearly restock of the Mi Lan. I’ve bought it every year its my go-to for the honey orchid thing. Their Yashii is superb as well as Ba Xian (especially the lao cong ones, you can notice the difference)

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My Rating Criteria:

95 to 100: Top shelf stuff. Loved this tea and highly recommend it

90 to 94: Excellent. Enjoyed this tea and would likely repurchase

80 to 89: Good but not great. I liked it though it may be lacking in some aspects. I’ll finish it but probably won’t buy again

70 to 79: Average at best. Not terrible but wouldn’t willingly drink again

60 to 69: Sub-par. Low quality tea, barely palatable

59 and below: Bleh

Fell into tea many years ago and for a long time my experience was limited to Japanese greens and flavored Teavana teas. My tea epiphany happened when I discovered jade oolongs. That was my gateway drug to the world of high quality tea and teaware.

For the most part, I drink straight tea but do appreciate a good flavored tea on occasion. I love fresh green and floral flavors and as such, green tea and Taiwanese oolongs will always have a place in my cupboard. After avoiding black tea forever, Chinese blacks have started to grow on me. I’m less enthusiastic about puerh though. I also enjoy white tea and tisanes but reach for them less frequently.

Other non-tea interests include: cooking, reading, nature, philosophy, MMA, traveling when I can, and of course putzing around on the interwebs.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/melucky

Location

around Chicago

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