An immensely complex tea that retains its nuances through many infusions. I love it!

The dry leaf doesn't quite betray the complexity...it has a mild aroma, slightly toasty but mostly hiding the explosion of fragrances that happens when steeping this tea in water.

Upon brewing, the aroma suggests apple, orange, honey, and flowers, with a hint of spice. Octavia describes this as resembling buttery cinnamon buns, and I definitely sense this. I found this tea to be much more aromatic than flavorful. In spite of using a very generous amount of leaf, the flavor was very subdued. Lemony in the finish.

Infuses slowly. I used steepings of 1 minute, followed by four minutes, then a final infusion of eight minutes. Each infusion was very similar: light, with a very clear liquor. Very smooth, not much bitterness. Probably the smoothest dancong I've tried.

I think I probably could have steeped the leaves at least once more...they still had some fragrance left.

I thought this tea produced an exquisite aromatic experience, but I would not rank it among my very top favorite teas because the flavor was so subdued. I actually like Dancongs to have more edge, more astringency and bitterness than this one did.

I think the price, especially if buying in bulk, is very good.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.