Description
Welcome to our Flight of the Phoenix Oolong tea tasting boxes! These were designed and selected to provide a wide selection of different types of Dan Cong tea crafted by Master Huang. Each tea flight box contains 6 teas, each in two separate 7g packets. These are perfect for gong fu sessions, allowing to sample different styles and compare them. The selection of the boxes is split into Volume 1 and Volume 2. You can read more about each tea on the specific tea page. There is further information about the tea master and brewing instructions on each page and towards the bottom of this page. We hope you enjoy these Phoenix Oolong tea flights!
Volume 1:
Dan Cong Ba Xian is a complex Eight Immortals oolong from a tea plantation located in Tianliao Village in the Phoenix Mountains. The bronze liquor has a smooth fruity profile that has sweet, baked and herbaceous notes with a tangy and softly tannic tropical fruit finish.
Dan Cong Bai Ye is a balanced White Leaf oolong from a tea plantation located in Tianliao Village in the Phoenix Mountains. The bright golden liquor has a smooth profile with a lightly sweet baked edge, lychee fruit notes and a tangy, lightly mineral aftertaste.
Dan Cong Organic Lei Kou Chai is a delicate yet powerful Thunder Struck oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. It has a strong mouthfeel with light mineral, baked, floral and fruity notes that give way to a bold and lasting aftertaste.
Dan Cong Organic Mi Lan Xiang is a classic Honey Orchid Fragrance oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. Large leaves produce a golden liquor with a floral and fruity honey taste and a lasting lightly roasted, mineral finish.
Dan Cong Organic Xin Ren Xiang is a sweet and complex Almond Fragrance tea from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. The syrupy liquor has mineral and creamy notes of raw almonds with a persisting sweet and fruity aftertaste.
Dan Cong Organic Ye Lai Xiang is a delicate Night Fragrance oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. Neat twisted leaves produce a soft liquor with baked, sweet floral and exotic fruit notes and a clean, tangy aftertaste.
Volume 2:
Dan Cong Hong Cha is a light yet complex Hong Cha crafted from the Mi Lan Xiang cultivar plants grown in Tianliao Village in the Phoenix Mountains. The sweet smooth liquor has fruity, honey and malty notes that give way to a tangy lychee fruit aftertaste.
Dan Cong Tong Tian Xiang is a delicate Heavenly Fragrance oolong from a tea plantation located in Tianliao Village in the Phoenix Mountains. The light golden liquor has a soft and balanced fruity profile with creamy raw almond notes and a lasting, lightly mineral finish.
Dan Cong Organic Huang Zhi Xiang is a classic Gardenia Fragrance oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. It produces a zesty liquor with a floral taste that has sweet and creamy osmanthus notes with a mineral, citrus finish.
Dan Cong Organic Shui Xian is a classic roasted Shui Xian oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. It produces an amber liquor with a balanced roasted profile, notes of stewed fruits, sweet tobacco and a tangy finish.
Dan Cong Organic Song Zhong is an exquisite Song Zhong type of oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. Aromatic leaves produce a complex thick flavour with fruity, sweet, creamy and toasted notes and a powerful lingering aftertaste.
Dan Cong Organic Ya Shi Xiang is a famous Duck Shit oolong from a fully organic tea plantation located in Gaoyuan Village in the Phoenix Mountains. The light golden liquor has a pronounced floral profile, fruity citrus notes and a tangy, creamy aftertaste.
General brewing.
Brew western style, at 90°C for 3 minutes 3+ times. For best results we highly recommend gongfu style brewing. For gongfu, we recommend using traditional glass or ceramic teaware or a gaiwan. Or you can use your favourite yixing or chaozhou tea pot that already performs well with Dan Cong teas. Make sure to preheat all teaware thoroughly. Use water brought to 100°C and a very high tea to water ratio of 1g per 10ml. We find anywhere between 7g (more conventional gongfu) and 10g (more local chaozhou gongfu style) per 100ml to be a good measure, depending on your taste. As an alternative visual guide, your brewing vessel should be about 75% full with leaves. Start with 10 second infusions for the first 4 infusions. Then start slowly increasing the infusion time after that. You can adjust the quantity of leaf and infusion time to your taste, however the bittersweet complexity that comes through when using the traditional method is very much a desired feature in Chaozhou.
Location of the organic tea garden of Master Huang near Gaoyuan Village (高原村):
Location of the conventional tea garden of Master Huang near Tianliao Village (田寮埔):
About our Dan Cong oolong teas from Master Huang.
Master Huang is an expert tea maker and has two gardens (one fully organic and one conventional) growing various varieties of Dan Cong trees. The organic tea garden is located in Gaoyuan Village (高原村) where the trees are approximately 15 years old. This garden is certified organic to EU and USDA standards. The conventional garden is located in Tianliao Village (田寮埔) where the trees are older, with most of them being approximately 30 years old. Both gardens grow a wide variety of Dan Cong cultivars used in making various traditional oolong teas. All trees are only handpicked, with most being picked in April; although the full picking season extends from March to May.
Dan Cong oolong undergoes a complex processing after picking, which starts off with withering in the sun on bamboo screens for 20-30 minutes, generally between 15:30 and 17:30 in the afternoon when the temperature is around 22-28°C. After the initial withering in the sun, the tea is brought indoors and allowed to cool in a well-ventilated place that results in reduction of moisture in the leaves, while increasing the aroma and flexibility of the leaf. This is then followed by a process known locally as ‘touch green’ (peng qing 碰青) where the tea leaves are shaken together to induce cell bruising of the edges of the leaves and achieve light oxidation. This process is done both by hand and mechanically with machines, usually at least 5 times and is repeated every two hours. In between each repetition the leaves are allowed to rest, promoting loss of water, increase in temperature and softening of the cells. Once the desired bruising and moisture reduction has been achieved, the leaves are pan-fried for about 15 minutes to stop oxidation. The leaves then undergo rolling to achieve the classic twisted Dan Cong shape. The rolled leaves are then dried to remove any residual moisture left.
Finally and most crucially the tea undergoes a roasting process, which is the main contributing factor to the variety of Dan Cong flavours. While of course the choice of the cultivar, the picking time and standard and initial processing all play a role in the final taste, the roasting process is really what brings out the wonderfully diverse flavours of Dan Cong teas. The roasting process differs for each tea and some will be more heavily roasted while others will go through a low level of roasting. Generally, the temperature is 90-110°C and the first roasting stage is about 2 hours. The second and third baking would be around 12 hours or more. Each batch of tea would be baked differently in order to achieve the desired outcome. Hence the skills and knowledge of the tea master are paramount in achieving the perfect flavour.