Tea Habitat

Edit Company

Recent Tasting Notes

Delightfully strong fragrance and flavor. Is more accessible than the other Dan Cong’s I tasted, yet a flavorful and multi-steep-able brew.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

82

Just got started with this one, a little late in the day, so it’s going to have to wait overnight for a full tasting. The first couple of infusions, leaf enough to fill my little yixing Dan Cong pot about 60% full at this point, and water about 195 degrees, were quite brief—pour in, pour out. They show layers of sweet floral flavor, peach and lychee, quite delicate and lovely, and promising for more tomorrow.

Several more infusions, still mostly quite brief—had to dilute on accidental minute-long infusion several fold to get back to the concentration that makes me happy, and it did make me quite happy. Sweet, fruity, floral, but not the degree of spiciness that I associate with my favorites of the Dan Congs. More when I’ve reached the bottom of this tea….

Edit again: I never finished the post, but I did finish the tea—the leaves stopped making interesting infusion somewhere between the 20th and 25th infusions.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93

First time I’ve tried this tea: it’s a lovely tea, delicate and richly floral. I didn’t weigh the tea first, not really trying for a formal review, or take notes infusion by infusion, but it’s already apparent, about six infusions in, that this is a very friendly and forgiving sort. If it were less pricey, I’d call it a good beginner’s Dan Cong.

Editing to add some morning after impressions—still infusing the same leaves, left in the teapot overnight: spicy notes coming to the fore this morning: cinnamon & cloves along with the floral. Very nice.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88

Sweet and caramelicious, as described. Very very smooth and delicious. I’m brewing a little more than a gram of tea in a tiny yixing pot, water about 185 degrees for a start, amazing lovely stuff. This would make an excellent ‘starter’ Dan Cong—hard to imagine it going wrong in any unpleasant way. 3 infusions in, still very lovely. Sweet, caramel, fruity—stewed fruit rather than fresh, perhaps—and just a hint of spice.

Back many infusions later—infusions 30 seconds or more now, water 205 degrees, and still delicious—the spiciness is to the fore more now, and still sweet and rich, but a little thinner. Quite a lovely tea.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec
TeaBrat

Thief Poop!

Grace

Thief poop, lol

xhado123

I’ve wanted to try that one for a while, been afraid of the cost vs. volume.

teaddict

None of the TeaHabitat ‘single bush’ Dan Congs are cheap, but I’ve always enjoyed them. I brew them up in a very small pot or gaiwan, and get a lot of infusions out of them, so the price per unit of enjoyment is not so bad.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

Stunning initial sweet fruity scent when put into the preheated Chao Zhou teapot. Unfortunately I forgot to weigh the tea beforehand.

And the tea lives up to the preview aroma: superbly fragrant, sweet, fruity, delicious first infusion at 10 seconds. Very little change yet at the third very brief infusion. Gorgeous stuff.

Up to the 6th or 7th—lost track. Still keeping infusions fairly short, this one will be about 20 seconds. Have to set it aside for now, more later!

Now on to the 12th or so, after the poor leaves had to sit overnight. Some of the wonder was definitely lost in the sitting overnight, but still, this sweetwater phase is pretty sweet—nudging the rating up a bit more. LOVE this one.

If it were any more intensely aromatic and floral it would be too much—it’s right up there, close to the line that divides ‘fantastic!’ from ‘like drinking shampoo, yuck!’, waving at all the jasmines that went too far into undrinkability.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec
TeaBrat

wow – that tea has a SERIOUS name!

teaddict

it packs the aroma and flavor punch to carry it off handsomely

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

35

arômes liqueur: fumé à l’attaque, miel, fruité,végétal, minéral,lacté
texture: lisse, doux
saveurs:légèrement sucré, sans amertume
longueur en bouche sur notes végétales et minérales

Préparation: 2g (échantillon complet fourni par Imen) /zhong 7cl/(100°C,15");(95°,10");(95°,15");(95°,20");(95°,30")
au bout de ces infusions les feuilles sont toujours repliées. Méthode d’infusion pas optimale, à améliorer.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

91

Burying my nose in this packet of tea struck me with a strong whiff of real orchid scent. It wasn’t overpowering, but delightful and sweet. I brewed up 3g in a 90ml pot for short bursts, and the tea can’t be described with anything but “amazing.” The liquor is a warm gold, with a distinct silky feel to it that I was surprised to detect in such a clear tea. At first, the honey notes bowled me over, but with careful steeping this eventually shifts to airy florals. It is very easy to brew this one too light and get no fragrance, or too long and go too bitter, but dedication is so so rewarding. You can seriously sit all day with this tea, and not be disappointed.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec
Geoffrey

Nice to get some insight on this one. I’ve been eying Imen’s offerings since I first heard of her a couple months ago. Dancongs captivate me, and I’m on a quest for the best out there. I’d like to try one of the comprehensive samplers from Tea Habitat when I have some extra money to do so.

BTW, you have the best profile pic of anyone on here!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

87

I’m now several sessions in with this tea, and still don’t have a good formal tasting session where I’ve kept track of grams of tea and infusion times. I can say for sure that I can detect the resemblance to osmanthus, that it is floral, sweet, fruity, and tart; that it is possible to get a bitter infusion out of it, but I have to push it very hard, because it is a very forgiving tea; that it can yield many infusions, because I’m sure this batch is probably at least at 15 if not 20 infusions—I’ve refilled the kettle twice to at least the one liter mark, there is still half a liter in it, and it wasn’t entirely empty when I started this one; and that it is delicious brewed in a thin porcelain gaiwan as well as in a Chao Zhou pot from Tea Habitat. Good stuff. I will put the leaves to bed now but if I weren’t going home for the evening I’d try for another handful of long infusions.

Good stuff.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

91

Tasting for the first time…

Just picked this up yesterday at Ku Cha House of Tea in Boulder, CO.

By the description, I expected a heavier tea. This is actually quite light, very smooth. I did steep for 2 minutes only – my preferred time for most teas, even black teas. It has a slightly vegetal smell. I don’t taste the chocolate of the description. I taste…a hint of red wine. It’s not at all grassy, but yes a bit malty.

I like :)

My second steep: this time 3 minutes… Still very smooth, no bitterness at all. Still getting a hint of red wine. Am I crazy – have inadequate taste buds?!?!? I don’t care. This is tasty. The color is a rich brown, though not as dark as a black tea (at least in my green/brown glazed ceramic cup).

Gotta recommend this one for anyone who enjoys an oolong :)

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

I’ve been having trouble with this one: I bought it hoping it would be a little less intense or touchy than the full on Dan Cong versions, and that it might permit some bulk brewing for sharing with a wider group. It works decently gongfu, but not for the bulk brewing. So for the purpose I had for it, the rating should be low, but as the tea is meant to be brewed, its fine but not fantastic.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100

2008 Song Zhong #5
Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong from TeaHabitat,
March 2011
A first brewing of a spectacular tea. I was intending to reach for my 60mL Chao Zhou pot, having planned on a small series of infusions, but without really paying attention grabbed a larger pot instead. So there were fewer than anticipated infusions because the tea was really quite dilute. Despite that, it really shone.

Sweet, scent of dried apricots from the long, thin, twisted, quite dark brown leaves

Used 1.5g leaf in 100 mL clay pot—which as you can see is not much for the size of the pot

205 degrees, first infusion 20 seconds—still that apricot scent, floral in the first infusion, and the flavor matches—stone fruit with flowers. Oh my oh my.

2nd infusion, 45 seconds, sweet, floral, fruity, more intense with the longer infusion. A touch of spice—cinnamon, mace—on the back of the tongue, along with the floral.

3rd infusion, 45 second, more of the same—floral, fruity.

5th infusion, 1 minute—spicier coming to the fore, with the fruity/floral notes still rounding out the flavor, felt more at the sides of my mouth and in the sweet aftertaste. I open my mouth, inhale though it, and the sweet floral taste remains. I set a part of this apart in the aroma cup, and when I remembered it a couple of minutes later, it had cooled, but still, wow!, it was brilliant.

6th infusion, probably 2-3 minutes, more floral and fruity, didn’t drink it slow enough to really process the flavors in great detail.

Setting it aside for a while now, before I float away on this pool of tea inside me.

A 7th infusion again needed more patience. Will go away from the next one for a while, but pour water over the pot to try to keep it hot and brewing….

And 8th at about 6 minutes was clearly demonstrating that the leaves were spent. Sigh. They’re still an elegant mix of red edges and green middle.

Can’t wait to do this one again with the Chao Zhou pot and double the leaf.

Link to my web page version with photos

http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/2008SongZhong.3.11.html

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec
TeaGull

Why so little tea?

teaddict

I’ve occasionally found packing DCs to result in a difficult series of infusions, and generally start out a bit dilute for first infusions. However, this time my own caution was compounded by grabbing the much larger pot by mistake.

For my next infusions, in the 60mL Chao Zhou, I’ll probably double the leaf.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

83

I’m really enjoying this one in my tiny yixing or late evenings at work. The tea is mellow, floral, a little spicy, and I cannot begin to think how it could have inspired someone to think of duck poop as they prepared or drank it. It’s just too nice a dan cong!

Checking the now fully hydrated leaves (at infusion 8 or 10 or so), it looks like I put in enough leaf to fill the pot halfway when fully expanded. I’ve tried this one with denser packing and that risks a degree of bitterness that I do not enjoy, so I go more dilute for full enjoyment.

Edit to add: I forgot to mention fruity! the late infusions, when it is closing in on ‘sweet water’, still retain a delightful peachiness. If this is duck poop, the duck is laying golden peaches instead of eggs.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

83

Never did finish that previous note, though I did infuse the tea many more times that day.

Last night I had another session with this tea, in a tiny yixing pot, having to let the leaf soften a bit in the first infusion before I could fit the lid on without breaking the leaves. The peachiness kept going until well past the 10th infusion, fruity and floral and delicious.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

83

First impression is mild, floral, sweet, gentle spiciness. Delicious. Will edit/add to this note as I work through the infusions, but already happy with it.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

89

The package is almost empty, and still never a formal tasting session note. I enjoyed this one for 5-6 infusions in the evening, let the leaves sit overnight in the steeper, and then enjoyed another full day of infusions, floral, sweet, fruity, spicy, complex. One of my tea-buddies said, while enjoying today’s Alishan offering, “this one is nice, but that one yesterday [the Kan Tou] was something else…..so nice I want to wear it as perfume!” Another Dan Cong fan is born….

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

89

I’ve had this tea several times, but oddly enough, this is all I can find that I’ve written about it:

“A delicious and mellow Dan Cong. Fruity, warm, caramel notes, but still Dan Cong with some assertiveness too.”

Will try to take notes next time!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

My first (commercial) Phoenix oolong and I like its sweet taste and smooth aftertaste. Prepared in zhong, it gives me 6 infusions.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

I bought this tea mistaking it for the ‘commercial’ version of a Honey Orchid Phoenix oolong that I had been enjoying so much, and was brought up short by some harsher notes it expressed on first brewing. I looked again at the label and realized this was the single-bush Dan Cong version, and unsurprisingly it demands a bit more respect.

Tonight I am brewing it in the Chao Zhou pot I bought from Tea Habitat, and it is lovely. It’s flavors are sharper, spicier, and sweetness is more honeyed and distinct. It is like the prior tea brought into sharper focus.

So far I am on about the 9th or 10th infusion, and anticipate plenty more infusions are left in it.

I used about 2 grams of tea in the 60 mL pot, and infusions from 30 seconds at first to 1-2 minutes now, water 195 degrees, give or take 5, and the entirety of this gongfu session has been delightful.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

94

I haven’t had this tea since summer. There was something about the first day of October and the unseasonably warm rain that seemed to call for Dan Cong. I decided to splurge and filled by little pot (120ml Xi Shi from Tea Habitat) about two thirds full (which is a lot for my budget!). Rinsed as quickly as possible. Then shrimp eyed water. I took two deep breaths and poured. Slip into daydream: In the South where I spent childhood we ate ripe peaches with the peeling on. The peeling adds a very slight dryness without compromising the sweetness. This was the aroma coming from my cup. The aroma seemed to spread out and join the warm rain-cleaned air. I can’t remember how the tea tasted. Second and third infusions, same but three deep breaths; I don’t think I ever broke single digits in seconds, though. The aroma gets heavier: ripe peaches and apricots. The emphasis is still on the aroma, but the taste starts to assert itself. But this is interesting: for the fourth and fifth infusions, the aroma seems to shift to something more floral — ginger flower maybe, but I’ve never smelled a ginger flower that I remember. Definitely less peachy and more flower, though. And the taste is now way up front. More wood and nuts and spice. Dry, spreading horizontal to edges of tongue, brilliant feeling in my throat. I wonder if this one, this infusion, is the tea’s “true” character. I took a walk as the rain withdrew and the back-of-the-throat feel stayed with me. I will try more in the morning.

Preparation
0 min, 15 sec
Thomas Smith

I’m only familiar with California native wild ginger in terms of the flower fragrance. Definitely has a unique, lightly resinous spice note to it. I imagine making a rosewater mixing sorrel leaves and a few cloves in with the rose petals (and maybe an intact bit of cinnamon bark or cedar wood) would produce a distillation that has a similar aroma.

teaddict

Had a delightful session with a Bangwai puerh tonight, but now I want to start over with the Po Tou. I did see lots of wild ginger plants in Hawaii, but do not remember their scent. I will have to try to find it in this tea next time I brew it, maybe tomorrow. Might be time to finally do the Chao Zhou pot vs gaiwan comparison.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

94

Dan Cong tea is shrouded in seductive mystery for me, thanks in part to Imen, proprietor of Tea Habitat, and her blog Tea Obsession. As I understand it, each single bush of the ancient “originals” had a singular scent that often seemed to mimic other flowers. The Communist Party organized some of these fragrances as generic categories to use for labels for commercial teas, so a lot of different teas can be “Ginger Flower.” I don’t think this Po Tou is claimed to be from a “mother tree,” but it is claimed to be from a single bush or group of bushes derived from the old one. This is not your commercial PG Tips (it’s nearly $50/ounce).
I got this tea because of Teaddict’s helpful recommendation (thanks!). This tea is really worth spending time with. The aroma is like fresh flowers after a rain and just underneath definite stone fruit flavors like nectarines. The flowers and fruits seem inseparable. The spices demand attention at the edges of your tongue. Swallow and you get this pleasant back-of-the-throat feel. Joyfulness unbounded! Later infusions are sweet and mellow. The spice subsides and the nectar of the flowers remain, very round, still with fruit flavors.
Dan Cong is reputed to be difficult to brew. I followed Teaddict’s brew and it was perfect. Preheat the pot to enjoy aroma of dried leaves. My 120ml pot was half full of the long leaves. Water almost at a boil. I would suggest that the first infusion may be slightly longer than the next to open up the leaves. But too long will definitely produce some bitterness. I’m not sure you have to rinse this tea. I drank the first rinse straight from the serving pitcher — I couldn’t stop myself!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec
teaddict

If I rinse this one, I only do a flash rinse—hot water in & out, maybe 10 seconds at most—then enjoy the scent of the hot damp leaves, and start brewing. So glad you’re enjoying it!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

Sadly finished off this tea tonight, a nice set of last infusions, although the leaf seems to have given up a little earlier than I’d have expected. Sigh.

Have finished or nearly finished a few other Dan Congs from Tea Habitat—soon will be able to justify another order!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

A near perfect gongfu session tonight—a little tea, a little gaiwan, tap water about 185 degrees, and many infusions of varying lengths demonstrating sweetness, spiciness, fruitiness, floral essences, over and over in different proportions. It’s been a while since my last Dan Cong session—too long!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

This has been a tricky tea for me. It has very strong spicy flavor and astringency that can easily overpower the lighter floral notes. But when I get it just right, like tonight’s infusion, it is sweet, spicy, floral, with that extra complexity that just makes the best Dan Cong teas sing. And tonight, it’s doing a floral aria on my taste buds.

I wish I could give coherent brewing suggestions, but I can’t, because I lightly and thinly scattered the leaves over the brewing screen of my Kamjove, poured through water from my Pino set to about 190 degrees but didn’t check the temps before the infusions, and then didn’t pay attention to brewing times—1 minute? 2 minutes?—and mixed the two infusions together.

I was trying to prepare a pint of nice brew to share with some colleagues working late, so needed a larger set of infusions than I easily get from my small gaiwans, and tasted along the way rather than measured. Anyway, this came out so nice that I am going to let this tea out of the ‘doghouse’. Will try to get the same results with a more measured brewing and report back; I’m thinking maybe 0.5 grams in my 60mL gaiwan or the 60 mL Chao Zhou pot to start.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

94

I make this by filling a 120ml pot about 2/3 full of tea leaves, then I use water at fish eyes and first infusions very fast, a minute or less. I get the most amazing floral aroma and the taste of peaches or nectarines. I actually get giddy drinking this tea it is so good. Imen’s teas are expensive but well worth the investment. I’ve tried 8 immortals Ba Xian teas from other vendors and they can’t rise to this level. Highly recommended.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.