57

I finally decided to heed Geoffrey’s advice and steep this in the gaiwan with a very large quantity of leaf.

First infusion: Steeped for 45 seconds. Aroma is very roasty. Got a thick, yellow liquor that reminds me of buttery honey, a definite bitterness in the finish.

Second infusion: 45 seconds. Leaf is now filling up half the gaiwan. I am still getting lots of bitterness although my water temp. is around 180F. I wonder if I used too much leaf but when I used less leaf I could barely taste anything at all. The only other phoenix oolong I have had is from the Tao of Tea which was much less fussy and high maintenance than this. The aroma of it is awesome but the bitterness is not appealing to me.

Third infusion: 20 seconds. I am finally getting something closely approximating a decent cup of tea. Aroma is roasty and buttery, smells better than it tastes but at least it isn’t bitter now.

4th Steep: 30 seconds or less. Just measured my water temp and it’s around 140F and still bitter. Does this tea think it’s a gyokuro? Maybe I just need to try cold brewing the rest.

Conclusion: ??? Not sure if Dancongs are not my cuppa or if there is something more to be done to make this more palatable to me. The first time I tried it with less leaf I thought it was flavorless but perhaps there is something between that and this bitter thing. I have one or two coming from other places so soon I will be able to make a better determination. I see Krystalen had to try this three times before she finally found a way to make it appealing. Gah! :(
-———————————————————————————————
I just went to Verdant’s website and watched the video of how to brew this tea so I will try it again.

New Leaf! lots of leaf and did a quick rinse. 10 second steep and it is better than the ones above but I swear I can still taste the bitterness. Phooey. I’m kind of… OVER IT! God knows I have done my due diligence with this one.

Give me a wuyi yancha, please…

Kittenna

I suggest you read my second/third tasting notes on this. I had major problems; found that a 15s infusion worked best. Geoffrey wrote a nice long comment to me about it as well.

Kittenna

Uh, totally just saw my name near the bottom, so assuming you already read them.

TeaBrat

Ha – thanks Krystalen! Yeah I have messed this up twice now already, what a bummer!

LiberTEAS

Not all teas are for everyone! We all have different palates and every tea tastes different to every palate.

And… don’t necessarily give up on all Dancongs just because this one didn’t work out for you. There may be another out there that’s more to your liking.

TeaBrat

@LiberTEAS – thanks. I feel bad writing such a pissy tasting note but I was quite frustrated by it all!

ScottTeaMan

I tried a this Dan Cong from TeaSpring 4 yrs ago:

http://www.teaspring.com/Feng-Huang-Dan-Cong.asp

I found it to be really good, but tempermental steeping. I kept the first 4 steeps short- 30s, 45s, 45s, 45s. I enjoyed the astringency. Upton Tea had a Dan Cong I reviewed that was alot less fussy, and quite delicious!

http://steepster.com/teas/upton-tea-imports/23902-zo97-feng-huang-dan-cong

I thought I sent you some, and you seemed to enjoy that FHDC Amy. :))

Autumn Hearth

Sigh, I really liked this one when I first tried it in an oolong tasting with a friend back in February and based on my tasting note I was going to order more this weekend with my $10 off coupon since its low stock. However I tried it again today, 5 infusions and only enoyed the first one which really should have been the the rinse, the other were too astringent for me, the second was like putting out an incense stick with my tongue. There were some lovely smells and I did pick up on a bit of orange, but I found those other notes I don’t like in some Dan Congs. The funny thing is I was brewing western in Februaty and gongfu today, I didn’t have as much leaf as recommended, but I can’t imagine that resulting in a smoother less astringent brew. Sigh, a bit disappointed but glad I can apply more money to to the shu I want.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Comments

Kittenna

I suggest you read my second/third tasting notes on this. I had major problems; found that a 15s infusion worked best. Geoffrey wrote a nice long comment to me about it as well.

Kittenna

Uh, totally just saw my name near the bottom, so assuming you already read them.

TeaBrat

Ha – thanks Krystalen! Yeah I have messed this up twice now already, what a bummer!

LiberTEAS

Not all teas are for everyone! We all have different palates and every tea tastes different to every palate.

And… don’t necessarily give up on all Dancongs just because this one didn’t work out for you. There may be another out there that’s more to your liking.

TeaBrat

@LiberTEAS – thanks. I feel bad writing such a pissy tasting note but I was quite frustrated by it all!

ScottTeaMan

I tried a this Dan Cong from TeaSpring 4 yrs ago:

http://www.teaspring.com/Feng-Huang-Dan-Cong.asp

I found it to be really good, but tempermental steeping. I kept the first 4 steeps short- 30s, 45s, 45s, 45s. I enjoyed the astringency. Upton Tea had a Dan Cong I reviewed that was alot less fussy, and quite delicious!

http://steepster.com/teas/upton-tea-imports/23902-zo97-feng-huang-dan-cong

I thought I sent you some, and you seemed to enjoy that FHDC Amy. :))

Autumn Hearth

Sigh, I really liked this one when I first tried it in an oolong tasting with a friend back in February and based on my tasting note I was going to order more this weekend with my $10 off coupon since its low stock. However I tried it again today, 5 infusions and only enoyed the first one which really should have been the the rinse, the other were too astringent for me, the second was like putting out an incense stick with my tongue. There were some lovely smells and I did pick up on a bit of orange, but I found those other notes I don’t like in some Dan Congs. The funny thing is I was brewing western in Februaty and gongfu today, I didn’t have as much leaf as recommended, but I can’t imagine that resulting in a smoother less astringent brew. Sigh, a bit disappointed but glad I can apply more money to to the shu I want.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

My profile pic is of a pink dahlia at Golden Gate Park.

Hobbies include: tea, making art, animals, vegan things, buddhism, nature, creativity, books, writing, cooking, meditation, yoga.

I am a fan of many different teas but my favorites are blacks and oolongs, chai, also like darjeeling and pu-erh. I’n always learning and expanding my horizons!

Dislikes include: bergamot, jasmine, highly tannic or bitter teas, overly judgmental and bitter people. :)

Live in San Francisco, I’m a SINK (single income, no kids) and love the urban life, but traveling out to the middle of nowhere is always fun too.

I tend to not drink things I know I will hate so a lot of my tea ratings are on the higher side. Here’s my rating system, sorta

95-100 I love this tea and would like to keep it around

94-90 An excellent tea which I may or may not repurchase

89-80 Pretty good, above average

79-70 Acceptable

69-60 Mundane – Will probably drink it if I have it

59-50 Ick

49 and below Nasty

Location

San Frandisco

Website

http://sanfrantea.teatra.de

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer