High Elevation Mi Lan Xiang

2021 Harvest. 4 steeps at 208 F. 6 seconds, 8 seconds, 15 seconds, and 25 seconds.

Brisk, strong, and somewhat clever, this is a tea that presents itself as a hike amidst evergreens but encourages you to stop and take in the sights.

The scent of the dry leaves was reminiscent of sandalwood, and my initial rinse married this to a nice gladelike earthiness. Steeps one and two offered me powerful cups of pine needles and minerality, but I was left believing that’s all it had to offer; this is where I was wrong and why I referred to this tea as clever.

The expression “stop and smell the roses” applies here quite heavily, or at least it did to me. I wasn’t bothered by how forward this tea seemed to be with its pine flavoring, quite the opposite, really, but after the first two steeps and halfway through my first sip of the third, I realized I’d been enjoying the flavor so much that I’d gotten carried away. I stopped myself from gulping down that first sip and allowed it to linger on my tongue, and as if to say, “Well done,” these leaves greeted my palate with an unmistakable hint of rose.

Subsequent sips had me focusing a lot more on those rosy notes that only really seemed to come alive when I took my time to savor this tea, and what started with an outdoorsy briskness really rounded off into an almost thirst-quenching freshness of spring water with a zing of white grapes. Zesty, even. Holding back a smile would have been difficult at that point, so I didn’t try.

These are leaves that don’t chide you for being overly eager, but they do reward you for exercising patience and care. I would absolutely recommend this tea to someone looking to celebrate the subtleties that can emerge from slowing down and taking the time to really enjoy something.

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.